Wiktionary:Thesaurus/Purpose

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Wikisaurus is intended to fulfil a number of purposes as an electronic Thesaurus.

• Given one word, by searching, to provide lists of alternative words with the same or similar meaning.
  • for writers, this may provide an alternative, instead of repeating the use of one word.
  • for readers, this may provide an additional insight to the meaning of a word, which may not be clear from the definitions in the main entry for a word.
  • A user may be trying to recall a particular word. They can be helped to find that word by finding a word with similar meaning in the Wikisaurus.

In all cases, the user will still be best advised to check the main entry for the word they have found, to check its usage, definitions etc.

Wikisaurus also serves a purpose for new words just finding their way into Wiktionary.

• A word may not have its own entry (perhaps not yet meeting the exacting Critieria For Inclusion,) and may first appear in a Wikisaurus entry. The meaning can be understood just through the list of synonyms.
  • This can be particularly true for newly generated words, which will often be found only in the /more page of a Wikisaurus entry.

Further uses of Wikisaurus may develop, as this purpose, and the Wikisaurus content, are by no means yet set in concrete.