How do I use OneLook's thesaurus / reverse dictionary feature?
This tool lets you describe a concept and get back a list of words and phrases related to that concept. Your description can be anything at all: 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.
Has this changed recently?
Yes! Here's a description of what's changed for version 2.0. If you're really fond of the old system, or if you have JavaScript disabled in your browser, you can still access version 1.0 here or click on the link that says "Try your query on the old system" that appears at the very bottom of the results page.
How does it work?
The reverse dictionary uses the Datamuse API, which in turn uses several lingustic resources described in the "Data sources" section on that page.
Yikes. Why are so many of my search results complete nonsense?
For some types of searches only the first result or the first few results are likely to be useful. We urge you to click on a word to check its definition before using it in your Oscars acceptance speech or honors thesis.
If you get back nothing but junk, try restating your query so that it's just two or three simple words. Some queries are very difficult for our system. That's because not every dictionary indexed by OneLook is used by the reverse dictionary, and our search algorithm still needs a lot of work. We're continually adding more references and improving the precision of the system.
Can I use this service from anywhere on OneLook?
Sure! Just type a colon (:) into any OneLook search box, followed by your concept. If you put
a wildcard pattern before the colon, your results will be filtered by that pattern. (This is particularly useful for crossword puzzle help, as shown in the examples above.)
Is this available in any other languages besides English?
The same interface is now available in Spanish at rimar.io (select the "Palabras relacionadas" button.)
Can I add this to my browser's search bar?
Certainly! Just follow these instructions.
Is there an API for retrieving these results programmatically?
Yes! Check out the Datamuse API.
You can send feedback here.
