A thesaurus in focus: A media review of https://www.thesaurus.com/

Abstract

Many applications, software, websites, and online dictionaries have been introduced thanks to the advent of computer- and mobile-assisted technologies. Recent technological advancements have resulted in more targeted apps (e.g., BoldVoice for pronunciation) or reference tools (Etymonline.com for an etymology dictionary) for language learning and practice. One such tool is Thesaurus.com, an online thesaurus freely accessible through mobile devices and computers. Given the significance of synonyms and antonyms for vocabulary learning and the problems English as a foreign language learners have with these lexical subfields, this media review evaluated the aforementioned online thesaurus. The results indicated potential pedagogical opportunities and several areas of improvement. The review concludes with suggestions for further research to corroborate the findings.