Concise Oxford American Thesaurus »

This new thesaurus is an essential tool for everyone who needs to write quickly, clearly, and well. A convenient and complete thesaurus for school, work, and home, The Concise Oxford American Thesaurus includes more than 15,000 main entries and over 350,000 synonyms, sample sentences and phrases for virtually every sense. Synonym Studies that show the subtle differences in meaning among a group of easily confused words are included, as well as the Oxford exclusive Language Guide, with information about grammar, usage, punctuation, frequently misspelled words, and much more. All Oxford American dictionaries use an easy-to-use respelling system to show how entries are pronounced. It uses simple, familiar markings to represent common American English sounds.

Library Journal

These fabulously easy-to-use Oxford books combine to make a robust pair of reference resources. With more than 180,000 words, the dictionary is written with daily use in mind. Entries list the primary usage of the word first, with the first definition the word's standard meaning. This makes it simple and straightforward to find the information a user is typically seeking. The thesaurus contains over 15,000 entries with more than 350,000 synonyms and is also arranged with the typical synonyms listed first. As with the dictionary, this simple arrangement makes this thesaurus particularly user-friendly. Reference sections at the end of each book expand their usefulness without detracting from either book's primary purpose. The "Ready Reference" section of the dictionary provides information about things like commonly misspelled words, redundant expressions, punctuation issues, and some basic information to have handy, such as weights and measures and lists of U.S. Presidents and states. The "Language Guide" in the thesaurus contains information on grammar and usage. Bottom Line With these two books available as everyday resources for students and others who are looking for easy-to-use language reference books, it should no longer be difficult to choose among the many options on the reference shelf. Recommended for public and school libraries.-Manya Chylinski, Boston Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.