Roget's II: The New Thesaurus - Hardcover

The Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries and of other reference titles published by Houghton Mifflin Company are trained lexicographers with a varied array of interests and expertise. Most of the editors hold graduate degrees and have studied at least one foreign language. Several have degrees in linguistics or in the history of the English language. Others have degrees in science or sometimes other disciplines. All the editors familiarize themselves with the vocabulary in specific subject areas, collect materials on new developments and usage, and work in association with consultants to ensure that the content of our publications is as accurate and as up-to-date as possible.

This is a completely new and entirely reconceived edition of Houghton Mifflin's 1988 edition of Roget's. The editors are to be congratulated for successfully eliminating some of the problems identified with the earlier work. For example, the limited number of synonyms provided for each word in the 1988 edition has been greatly increased (e.g., glee now has 17 synonyms instead of the one listed in the 1988 edition), and the use of cross-references to words in a category index provides antonyms and lists of synonym groups related to a particular sense of the headword. Although helpful, some users may be initially confused by this latter vehicle. For example, users looking up the word uproot are referred to the words make and help in the index (where reasonable synonyms are found under the antonyms unmake and harm). Easier to use are indications that synonyms for specific senses of a headword can be found as headwords elsewhere in the thesaurus (e.g., for the headword squirt, jet is indicated by a superscript as a synonym also listed as a headword).

Deleted from this edition are illustrative quotes (unfavorably viewed by RBB in its review of the 1988 edition), but added are helpful slang and regional synonyms and more idioms. Also added are clearer differentiations among senses of a word. The definitions provided for each headword are less telegraphic in writing style than those in the 1988 edition, but may, in some cases, be misleading. The editors indicate that every definition was checked by the editors of the American Heritage Dictionary (3d ed.). However, some definitions do not seem to reflect this process. For example, distraught is still defined as "afflicted with or exhibiting irrationality and mental unsoundness," even though the American Heritage Dictionary defines the most common sense of the word as "deeply agitated, as from emotional conflict" .

Roget's II does not provide the comprehensive coverage of Roget's International Thesaurus (HarperCollins, 1992) or Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus (Dell, 1992). However, its alphabetical sequence of headwords supplemented by a category index and plentiful cross-references supplies an array of colorful and vivid synonyms that will be helpful for writers who do not have the time to engage in the long process of using a classified or category-indexed thesaurus like those mentioned above. Recommended for all types of public and academic libraries and for high-school libraries.