adjectives - Is there a reference book that lists words by usage or theme?


Similar to how a thesaurus lists synonyms, is there a book that groups words (or phrases) together by conceptual usage?


For example, this question is looking for words that describe a person's character. I would be interested in a book that would help me identify words commonly used to describe



  • an inanimate object

  • a physical motion

  • nature


Ideally this would highlight what is considered a cliche description.



Answer



Roget's Original Thesaurus was organized exactly that way. Its table of contents is organized by general theme; it is only once you traverse down to single words that he provides the set of synonyms.


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