Thesaurus: “Mini-Thesaurus” of Three Verbs by Travis Robertson

Discussion of this Thesaurus used in                                          “The Neurosurgeon,” a psychological novel

Thesaurus, an in-depth word-finder for synonyms is found elsewhere: Roget’s Thesaurus.

Thesaurus. How often have we wished for a better verb to write what we have in mind, other than the all-too-common he said or she thought or they walked?

In the year 2000, I finished the major portion of the following Mini-Thesarus. After reading numerous books of fiction and non-fiction during the previous thirty years, I kept note of verbs that were used in place of said, thought, and walk. The word, “said,” in particular is used so often that one wonders if some authors could have improved their writings with other verbs to indicate the same thing as “said” but perhaps in a more vivid or dramatic way. At any rate, I attempted to enhanced my writing by applying other words in place of “said.” I will leave it up the reader to decide if such was worthwhile. One might read The Neurosurgeon to assess this conclusion. Here is an example from the book:

          “…‘Daddy, please come with us to the Planetarium. We promise to be quiet,’ begged Lexi.

          ‘Yes, please, please, Daddy!’ Denni, blonde hair bouncing on her shoulders, pulled on my hand and chipped in with, ‘We never get to see you.’

          ‘I have too much to do, girls. Mommy will take you to Pittsburgh, and I will see you when you return,’ I hedged.

          Their faces turned from childish glee to…to something else…”

In 2000, I submitted the list to Writer’s Digest for publication in their journal, but they turned down my thesaurus. Since then I have expanded the project and put each list (there are three: saying, thinking, walking) into the Microsoft Excel format. This compilation of 2,060 verb synonyms may be of value to both aspiring and seasoned writers. It is published here as an addendum to my discussion of psychological novels and The Neurosurgeon. Anyone is welcome to use it.

There are 1,274 verbs for said, (first list) 191 verbs to substitute for thought, (second list) and 595 verbs in place of walked (third list). The Excel document below begins with the said words (#4 to #1277), followed by the thought words (#1279 to #1469), and then the walked verbs (#1471 to #2065). (Note: the words in the three top introductory cells of this Excel document were displaced a bit when document transferred to website via skydrive.com. Scroll to the very top to SAID before starting. Click on the “Full Screen” box in right lower corner of imbedded Microsoft Excel document for a better view.)

[Editing of this Excel document is forbidden and protected by copyright ©].

[This website, the Mini-Thesaurus, and my novel, The Neurosurgeon, are protected by copyright ©]

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Thesaurus: a “Mini-thesaurus:”

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See home page of this website, Books and Links, for information about psychological novels, including The Neurosurgeon,  available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.