How do I use OneLook’s thesaurus / reverse dictionary?
OneLook lets you find any kind of word for any kind of writing.
Like a traditional thesaurus, you
can use it to find synonyms and antonyms, but it’s far more flexible.
Describe what you’re looking for with a single word, a few words,
or even a whole sentence. Type in your description and hit
Enter (or select a word that shows up in the autocomplete preview)
to see the related words.
You can order, filter, and explore the
words that come back in a variety of creative ways.
Here’s a video which
goes over some of the basics.
What are some examples?
Exploring the results
Click on any result to see definitions and usage examples tailored to your search,
as well as links to follow-up searches and additional usage information when available.
OneLook knows about more than 2 million different
words and expressions covering every topic under the sun.
Try exploring a favorite topic for a while and you’ll be surprised
how much new stuff there is to learn!
Ordering the results
Your results will initially appear with the most closely related word shown first,
the second-most closely shown second, and so on.
You can re-order the results in a variety of different ways, including
alphabetically, by length, by popularity, by modernness, by formality, and by other
aspects of style. Click the
box that says «Closest meaning first…» to see them all.
(Here’s a short video about sorting and filtering
with OneLook Thesaurus.)
Filtering the results
You can refine your search by clicking on the «Advanced filters» button
on the results page. This lets you narrow down your results to match
a certain starting letter, number of letters, number of syllables, related
concept, meter, vowel sound, or number of syllables.
Read more details on filters if you’re interested in how they work.
I’m only looking for synonyms! What’s with all of these weird results?
For some kinds of searches only the
first result or the first few results are truly synonyms
or good substitutions for your search word.
We highlight these results in yellow.
Beyond that, the results are meant to inspire you to consider similar words and adjacent
concepts. Not all of the results will make sense at first, but they’re all
connected with your search in some way. We’d rather give you too many options than
too few. If you’re unsure of a word, we urge you to click on
it to check its definitions and usage examples before using it in your Oscars
acceptance speech or honors thesis.
What are letter patterns?
If you know some letters in the word you’re looking for, you can enter a pattern instead of, or in addition to, a description. Here are how
patterns work:
- The asterisk (*) matches any number of letters.
That means that you can use it as a placeholder for any part of a word or phrase.
For example, if you enter blueb* you’ll get all the terms that start with «blueb»; if you enter
*bird
you’ll get all the terms that end with «bird»; if you enter
*lueb*
you’ll get all the terms that contain the sequence «lueb»,
and so forth. An asterisk can match zero letters, too. -
The question mark (?) matches exactly one letter.
That means that you can use it as a placeholder for a single letter
or symbol. The query l?b?n?n,
for example, will find the word «Lebanon». -
The number-sign (#) matches any English consonant.
For example, the query tra#t finds the word «tract» but not «trait». -
The at-sign (@) matches any English vowel (including «y»).
For example, the query abo@t finds the word «about» but not «abort». -
NEW! The comma (,) lets you combine multiple patterns into one.
For example, the query ?????,*y* finds 5-letter words
that contain a «y» somewhere, such as «happy» and «rhyme». -
NEW! Use double-slashes (//) before
a group of letters to unscramble them (that is, find anagrams.)
For example, the query //soulbeat will find «absolute»
and «bales out»,
and re//teeprsn will find «represent» and «repenters».
You can use another double-slash to end the group and put letters you’re sure of to the
right of it. For example, the query //blabrcs//e will find «scrabble».
Question marks can signify unknown letters as usual; for example, //we???
returns 5-letter words that contain a W and an E, such as «water» and «awake». -
NEW! A minus sign (—) followed by some letters at the end of a pattern means «exclude these letters». For example, the query sp???-ei finds 5-letter words that start with «sp» but do not contain an «e»or an «i», such as «spoon» and «spray».
-
NEW! A plus sign (+) followed by some letters at the end of a pattern means «restrict to these letters». For example, the query *+ban finds «banana».
- On OneLook’s main search or directly on OneLook Thesaurus, you can combine patterns and thesaurus lookups
by putting a colon (:) after a pattern and then typing
a description of the word, as in
??lon:synthetic fabric and the other examples above.
Other ways to access this service:
- Drag this link to your browser’s bookmarks bar for a convenient button that goes to the thesaurus:
OneLook
- Enter onelook.com/word into your browser’s address bar to go directly to the OneLook Thesaurus entry for word.
- We offer a OneLook Thesaurus iPhone/iPad app
for a low subscription fee, with a two-week free trial.
This gives you OneLook at your fingertips, and
several cool app-only features, while helping us maintain the service for all! - If you use Google Docs, the thesaurus is integrated into the free OneLook Thesaurus Google Docs Add-On as the «Synonyms» button. (Wildcard patterns are not yet suppoerted by this add-on.)
- If you regularly use the main OneLook site, you can put colon (:) into any OneLook search box,
followed by a description, to go directly to the thesaurus. - If you’re a developer, the Datamuse API gives you access to the core features of this site.
Is this available in any language other than English?
The same interface is now available in Spanish at OneLook Tesauro
as a beta version. More languages are coming!
How does it work?
We use a souped-up version of our own Datamuse API,
which in turn uses several lingustic resources described in the «Data sources» section
on that page. The definitions come from Wiktionary,
Wikipedia, and WordNet.
Here are some known problems
with the current system.
Much gratitude to Gultchin et al for the algorithm behind the «Most funny-sounding» sort order.
Profanity and problematic word associations
If you’re using this site with children, be forewarned you’ll
find profanity and other vulgar expressions if you use OneLook frequently.
(We take an unflinching look at how words have actually been used; scrubbing out
hurtful wordswould be a disservice to everyone.)
Some of the thesaurus results come from a statistical analysis of the
words in a large collection of books written in the past two
centuries. A handful of times we’ve found that this analysis can lead
us to suggest word associations that reflect racist or harmful
stereotypes present in this source material. If you see one of these,
please know that we do not endorse what the word association implies.
In egregious cases we will remove it from the site if you
report it to us via the feedback link below.
Privacy
No personally identifying information is ever collected on this site
or by any add-ons or apps associated with OneLook. OneLook Thesaurus sends
your search query securely to the Datamuse API, which keeps a log file of
the queries made to the service in the last 24 hours. The log file is deleted
after 24 hours and we do not retain any long-term information about your
IP address or invididual queries.
Who’s behind this site and where can I send my comments and complaints feedback?
OneLook is a service of Datamuse.
You can send us feedback here.
The sunburst logo (🔆) is the emoji symbol for «high
brightness», which we aspire to create with OneLook. (The
graphic came from the open-source Twemoji
project.)
4 Easy Ways to Find Meaning of Any Word with Google
Ofter while reading online, we need to find simple meaning of some complex word. For example, while reading about unfamiliar topics or in-depth article from McKinsey Quarterly, we may find some unfamiliar words in course and then we leave/misunderstand them due to lack of time. This is not at all advisable as a little misunderstanding with a word can change the complete meaning of the sentence.
Being a Google oriented blog, we will solve with this concern with available Google tools. Here are 4 easiest ways to find meaning of any word:
1. The Easiest Way – Using Google Dictionary
For any word, the simplest tool to use Google Dictionary. It is a dedicated site for finding word meanings, definitions, related phrases, synonyms and pronunciations. It also offers word bookmarking for remembering complex words and translations for better understanding.
Note: Dictionary may not work in all countries. In that case try – http://www.google.ca/dictionary
2. Using define Operator in Google Search
Do you know that you instantaneously find the web meaning of any word by searching it on Google with define prefix. For example, try define:endogamy .
To use this method, just write define: before your search word in Firefox Search Box or Chrome Omnibar (Address bar)and press Enter. You will be surprised to see its simplicity and usefulness.
Related: Google Search Prefixes for better redefined results.
3. Use Browser Addon or Extension
This method is quite preferable as you don’t have to leave the page to check any word meaning. You can keep on reading and to find any word definition, just double click on it for fancy in-page popup.
For Chrome, here is the official extension available from the Google team which works perfectly.
For Firefox, try “Google Dictionary and Google Translate” addon. Though it is a third party addon, but words equally great.
4. Hack Firefox Address Bar Default Behavior
Previously, we have written about turning Firefox address bar into word lookup dictionary. You can use this hack to directly jump to result page of Google Dictionary.
Mostly I use define: prefix in Google. Its easy, convenient and fast. Which method will you use? Tell us in your comments.
If you’ve ever forgotten that one word you can never remember, here’s a useful tool to help you out.
Dictionaries help us find the meaning of a specific word we are searching for. But what if you don’t remember the word, but you know its meaning? You have it at the tip of your tongue, but can’t quite remember.
In such cases, One OneLook Reverse Dictionary comes to the rescue. It is designed to solve this common problem for writers, speakers, and other language enthusiasts who just can’t put a finger on the word they’re looking for.
What Is the OneLook Reverse Dictionary?
OneLook Reverse Dictionary is a free reference site to find a word by its definition. Most language producers face the problem of finding the right word at the right time, just when their brains can’t recall it.
OneLook Reverse Dictionary helps users find the word by explaining what it means. The dictionary allows users to find synonyms and phrases related to the word they’re looking for. You can also type the suggested definition that falls into the same category of the related word and the dictionary will provide you with the best-related words.
How to Use OneLook Reverse Dictionary
OneLook Reverse Dictionary is a simple tool with a powerful search interface. Follow the steps below to use this tool:
Head to the OneLook Reverse Dictionary site.
Type in a word or phrase related to the word you’re looking for and hit Enter. You will get the list that defines that word.
You’ll now be shown a list of all the matching words. The first few results are likely the closest match to the word you’re looking for.
Alternately, you can type wildcard patterns consisting of certain letters you know along by replacing the ones you don’t know with an asterisk. The right format to type a pattern is to type the word with asterisks, add a colon, and use the phrases to describe it. This is an especially useful tool to help players solve crossword puzzles.
Conclusion
With the help of the OneLook Reverse Dictionary, you can find a word when you know its definition. You can also explore synonyms, generate a list of words in the same category, or can even get answers for basic identification questions.
So, when you fail to remember a word, use the reverse dictionary and get all suggested definitions and related words to get your job done the easy way.
Search words by mask
On this page you search by cryptography. This means that unknown letter or letters are replaced with promptness cryptography. The search algorithm understands this and takes the necessary result.
All the known letters in the word indicated by the corresponding letters.
If any of the words you do not know what to write the letter, put it in place of the word ? (the question mark).
If any of the words you do not know a few letters, replace this part of the word in the * (asterisk).
If you specify in the form, imp???an?, the service displays the words containing the letters, and instead of the question mark each one will try to substitute any letter. For example:
- important
- impeccant and others.
If you are in the form of record, ca*t*, then the service will look for these letters and instead sign * will substitute any combination of letters. For example:
- cabalistic
- cabotagem
- cart and others.
If you enter the letters in the form of h*n?, the service displays the words containing the entered letters, and instead vzvezdochki try to substitute any combination of letters. Instead, a question mark — one substitute any letter. For example:
- haapana
- hacksawing
- hailing
- half-bound and others.
Now, just enter the letters and words of the mask. Then click on the search button or «Enter» on the keyboard.
Cortana is a digital assistant bundled with Windows 10. You can control it using voice commands or type into its search box to find various information from the web or automate certain tasks on your computer. Cortana can do many interesting things. One of the lesser known features of Cortana is the ability to find the meaning of a word. Here is how it can be used as a dictionary.
In one of our previous articles, we already showed you a not-so-typical usage of the search box and Cortana in Windows 10. It allows you to perform basic calculations. Refer to the article here to see how to do that: Use Search for basic calculations in Windows 10.
Cortana also lets you find the meaning of a word right from the search box on the taskbar. It works quickly and shows the results immediately after you type the following:
What does YOUR_WORD_HERE mean
You can also speak this if your PC has a microphone and the voice recognition feature of Cortana will show you the meaning of that word.
Once this is done, Cortana will show you the definition of the word that you asked for.
There is another shorter form of the text you need to type. Use the following query to ask Cortana:
define YOUR_WORD_HERE
See the following screenshot:
The first result will show you a quick definition, which might be all you need in most cases. To see more details, click that quick definition or press Enter. That opens an expanded definition, and if that’s not enough you can click to see the full definition in your web browser.
There is a catch though. Cortana is using its online backend to show you word definitions, i.e. the online part of Cortana needs to be enabled and connected to Microsoft servers to use this feature. If you are working offline or if you have disabled web search by disabling Cortana and kept only the local search feature on, this feature will not work in the search box.
Of course, instead of using Cortana, you can do the same with any search engine such as Google or Bing in a web browser(via ZDNet).
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