Dictionary or Thesaurus?

Dictionaries and thesauruses are reference books for words. But what's the difference between them? When do we use a dictionary and when do we use a thesaurus?

Dictionary

A dictionary is a list of words arranged alphabetically, and for each word you can see:

• definition : the meaning or meanings of the word, often with example sentences
• part of speech: whether the word is a noun, verb, adjective etc
• correct spelling: the exact spelling and any possible alternatives
• pronunciation : how to say the word
• etymology: the origin of the word (did it come from Latin, for example?)

Here is a simple example of a dictionary  entry for the noun "dog":

When you want to know what a word means, you look in a dictionary.

Thesaurus

A thesaurus is a list of words arranged in conceptual groups or alphabetically, and for each word you can see:

• similar words: a number of words that have nearly the same meaning or the same meaning (synonym)
• opposite words: one or two words that have the opposite meaning (antonym) or nearly opposite meaning

Here is a simple example of a thesaurus  entry for the noun "dog":

When you don't know the exact word you that want, you look in a thesaurus.

Note:

• A thesaurus does not  give the meaning of words.
• A thesaurus does not always include antonyms.
• The plural of thesaurus is "thesauri" or "thesauruses".

sources : Original Link