I'm using wordhippo right now, but strict synonym lists are not cooperative to my needs. I'm looking for loose-association wordlists. Right now I'm struggling with a prideful person trying to express that he would apologize if they had some privacy. Throwing stuff at the thesaurus is giving me very limited results. I've decided that crowded or embarrassed are both the wrong trees to climb.
I'd just brainstorm a bit to figure out what you're going for. Jot stuff down for a good five minutes till you can circle in on what you want to say. It might not be a precise word that you want, it could just be a problem of wording the sentence(s) right.
I don't know which Thesaurus you use, but Rogets Thesaurus is NOT a synonym thesaurus, but a 'related concept' one. It's incredibly easy to use, once you get the hang of it, and it's fun to just browse through it as well. For your purposes, that's the one I'd recommend.
I had been using Merriam-Webster before switching to WordHippo. I'll try Rogets. For everyone who wanted the sentence... I don't want to come here every time I get somewhat stuck.
I've just had a quick look at the online versions, and they aren't complete—in fact a few are just lists of synonyms. I'd recommend getting a paper version of Rogets, otherwise you'll be tearing your hair out, as it involves a lot of to-ing and fro-ing to use it.
I word hop in the Free Online Dictionary thesaurus. You find a related word that is closer to what you want then click on that and so on.
the best, easiest-to-use one i've ever come across is 'the new american roget's college thesaurus in dictionary form'... but if you don't have an exceptional vocabulary and knowledge of word meanings/usage, be sure to check each word you consider using in a good dictionary first, to make sure it's appropriate... and, if you have to do that, i would strongly recommend locking up the thesaurus till you don't need one...
In my case, the damage has already been done. I'm often diving at a thesaurus just to find simpler versions of certain words. One of my characters would have to be excruciatingly bored to use interminable or even ceaseless instead of unending.
Thanks for the tip! I've just ordered a copy. The only Roget's I own just now is the British/Penguin edition. I think this updated American version might be exactly what I need to bridge the gap. I don't use a Roget's thesaurus (or any other) very often, but it's a handy tool for the toolbox. It promotes out-of-the-box thinking, when it comes to words.
Sounds to me like you're searching for a way that you can tell the reader what's happening in the scene you envision. But if you're in the character's POV, as against talking about them as an invisible narrator, why not show what they think and do/say, instead. Talk about the emotion they're feeling, and make the reader know what is making them feel it. The reader wants to empathize and share the emotion, not learn precise details.
