Do you know that feeling when it’s really hard to come up with the right word? It’s on the tip of your tongue and no matter what you do you just can’t seem to pull it out. Perhaps you reach for the dictionary, Thesaurus, or go online and yet it still remains elusive. 

I found out about a very useful tool for just this problem.  A few years ago, whilst sitting in a Creative Writing class at university, the tutor, a lovely lady with a natural ability to inspire her students, recommended a computer program called Visual Thesaurus.  Being the type of student who was always interested in finding new (and yes, easier ways to learn) I went online and had a look and haven’t looked back.

Visual Thesaurus provides a 3-dimensional, visual representation of a word with all its various meanings as a map. Synonyms and antonyms are displayed and colour-coded according to their use in grammar. Words that are connected to other words are linked by line dashes and the map updates when any of these related words are selected.  Over the years, when struggling to find the right word, I’ve found this simple, intuitive program continues to be my ‘go to’ solution.

"The Visual Thesaurus is an interactive dictionary and thesaurus which creates word maps that blossom with meanings and branch to related words. Its innovative display encourages exploration and learning. You'll understand language in a powerful new way."  (Visual Thesaurus 1998)

https://www.visualthesaurus.com. 2018. Visual Thesaurus. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.visualthesaurus.com. [Accessed 10 September 2018].

Important note:   I have no commercial relationship with Visual Thesaurus and do not receive any form of payment or benefit from them.