Have you ever been typing mid-sentence and unable to find the perfect word to finish your thought?
Here are a few tools that writers can use to find the words they need to get their point across.
The Rhyming Dictionary
Helpful for everything from poetry to every day writing projects, the Rhyming Dictionary allows you to input the word you're looking for to receive rhymes, synonyms and definitions, as well as allowing you to organize the results by either synonyms or letters
With the ability to use the tool to find similar sounding words, homophones, and to also include well-known phrases to your results, the Rhyming Dictionary at Rhymezone is a helpful tool that will bring an added musicality to your writing.
OneLook Dictionary Search
The OneLook Dictionary is search engine for words and phrases. More than just your average dictionary, the search engine allows you to input a word and receive results which include general definitions, synonyms and phrases that include the word you're looking for.
The site also includes a Reverse Dictionary, which allows you to enter concepts into the search box to obtain words and phrases that are related to your search word.
Using the asterisk (*) as a wild-card, you can receive a variety of results, such as:
- bluebird Find definitions of bluebird
- blue* Words/phrases that start with blue
- *bird Words/phrases that end with bird
- bl????rd Words that start with bl, end with rd, with 4 letters in between
- bl*:snow Words that start with bl and have a meaning related to snow
- *:snow or :snow Any words related to snow
- *:winter sport Words related to the concept winter sport
- **winter** Phrases that contain the word winter
- expand:nasa Phrases that spell out n.a.s.a.
With so many different applications, OneLook is a robust tool that any writer should add to his or her arsenal.
The Double-Tongued Dictionary
If you want to give your characters a truly unique vocabulary, the Double-Tongued Dictionary is exactly what you need.
With a focus on slang, jargon, and new words, this dictionary provides a resource of words or expressions are not normally found in mainstream dictionaries.
While they are not looking for words that are coined or invented by you or someone you know, the Double-Tongued Dictionary does accept submissions of words to their site.
- If you are looking for a word to describe a combination protest and festive, why not call it a protestival?
- If someone has hair that you would love to have, then you probably have a hair crush
With an extensive database that you can search for the perfect word to give your writing a little extra flavor, the Double-Tongued Dictionary is an entertaining lexicon for writers and lovers of words.
Resources
In the Toronto area and looking for a dictionary, thesaurus or other word-search tool in classic book form? Check out blogTO's lists of The Best Bookstores in Toronto or The Best Used Bookstores in Toronto.
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Comments
I usually just take the lazy way out and ask my wife, as she is much more smarter than I am. She even spells the word out and gives it to me in a sentence... The only thing she lacks is her knowledge of word origins, but when it comes down to it, who really cares if a word is Latin origin. (unless of course you are on Jeopardy... but then again, if you are someone who reads the dictionary or thesaurus instead of a Playboy while sitting on the can, chances are you wont know the final question if it's anywhere near sports related !)
ps.. i never knew or thought of using wild card searches when looking on a dictionary site.. good point !
I use the Rhyming Dictionary quite a bit but had never heard of the other two resources. One Look is fabulous. I just subscribed to your column too.
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