2007 Microsoft® Office System Step by Step

Finding the Most Appropriate Word

Language is often contextual—you use different words and phrases in a marketing brochure, in a letter requesting immediate payment of an invoice, and in an informal memo about a social gathering after work. To help you ensure that you are using the words that best convey your meaning in any given context, Word provides a Thesaurus where you can look up synonyms (alternative words) for a selected word. The Thesaurus is one of a set of Research services provided by Word.

To look up alternatives for a word in the Thesaurus, you select the word and then click the Thesaurus button in the Proofing group on the Review tab. The Research task pane opens, displaying a list of synonyms. You then click the synonym that you ...