Memorizing a dictionary sucks hardcore.
Reading tons of books isn't feasible when you're in university and have to read hundreds of pages each week to stay afloat.

A thesaurus that has a large selection of words is beneficial when writing assignments, and learning other words to enhance ones own vocabulary.

The one at thesaurus.reference.com isn't really great, and is limited in terms of good words.

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My question is, do you know of any good online thesaurus dictionaries, or any books (thesaurus) in real life that go beyond the common "sad = upset, frown" 'basicness' that most places seem to suffer from?



PS: Its actually not thesaurii? lol.

I think the thesaurus at dictionary.com is okay.

But you have to ask yourself if using one is even worth it, unless your vocabulary is really shit. Peppering assignments with obscure terms doesn't get you anywhere and definitely doesn't help you communicate much better with regular people.

try wordnet. actually I´m programming some stuff with the RITA library for an online application.

http://wordnet.princeton.edu/

I am sorry that I am not really contributing however I just felt compelled to say this.

A thesaurus is probably the last thing you want to learn a language. It's the exact opposite of seeing a word in context. It gives you a whole list of words with similar meanings and it is a very good way of confusing yourself.

I hate to have to say this but I believe that there is no shortcut to learning a language. You gotta read lots and lots and there doesn't seem to be any other way.

This is not to say that thesaurses have no uses though; no, far from it. I personally rely heavily on thesaurses. I use it/them when I am thinking of a word, but it's not quite it, so I look it up in the thesaurus and out of the whole list of similar words it gives, I can usually find the one that I am looking for.

Just remember never to use a large word when a diminutive one will do.