The Oxford Essential Guide to Writing.pdf - alexandriaesl

IMPROVING YOUR VOCABULARY: DICTIONARIES 347
one Roget under the category seclusion/exclusion are solitude,
isolation, loneliness, and aloofness. They are merely listed as
alternates with no distinctions drawn, but, except in a very
loose sense, these words are not synonymous and may not be
interchanged indiscriminately. Solitude means physical apartness,
out of the sight and sound of others, a condition not
necessarily undesirable; in fact, solitude may be used with
positive connotations, as in "She enjoys solitude." Loneliness,
on the other hand, has a more subjective significance, relating
to the feeling of being apart; it does not necessarily imply
physical separation—one can be lonely in a crowd of Christmas
shoppers—and it would never be given a positive sense.
Isolation stresses physical separation, out of connection and
communication with others, and is often used when that separation
is not desired. Aloofness, finally, is self-chosen separation,
a deliberate withdrawal from others, which may suggest
a sense of superiority, though it does not have to.
To use these "synonyms" effectively you need to know
considerably more about them than a thesaurus is likely to
tell you. With many words—those in this example, for instance—a
good abridged dictionary is more helpful. That is
not to say that a thesaurus is a waste of money. Used wisely
it can improve your working vocabulary. It may remind you
of a word you have forgotten, or acquaint you with a new
one. But before you employ that new word learn more about
it.
A more useful source of synonyms is a work published by
the G. & C. Merriam Company: Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms.
It discusses meaning at greater length than does the
typical thesaurus. For example, Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus
uses about one inch of a column for solitude, the
Dictionary of Synonyms spends more than seven inches, carefully
distinguishing solitude from isolation, loneliness, and so
on.