Quote:
Originally Posted by OtterBooks
If you use a dictionary when reading, you may not need it as much when writing. Incidentally, imo no writer should even own a thesaurus. Words taken from one will invariably stand out as such, since it's through reading and usage that you learn to use words naturally. If you use a thesaurus to find a word, you aren't ready to use it.
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When you get to my age you may find that your memory sometimes fails and you just know that the right word exists but you can't think of it!
I don't use a thesaurus to find unfamiliar words but to remind me of words I know but can't call to mind. It's also useful sometimes in order to avoid tedious repetition, particularly where the same word might otherwise be used twice in the same paragraph but with different senses.
I use a dictionary for writing (when I do) for a variety of purposes. Sometimes it is to check spelling, sometimes derivation. Occasionally it's to check a word that I think I might be using wrongly.