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Year 8 English — Using a dictionary and a thesaurus

Find a word by alphabetical order and guide words, read what its entry tells you, and use a thesaurus to find a better word.

Name: ________________________

Before you start

One entry from a dictionary page, with every part of it drawn as a block. Find out what each part is there to tell you.

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  1. 1. The two guide words at the top of the page
  2. 2. The headword — the word being explained
  3. 3. How the word is said aloud
  4. 4. Which part of speech it is
  5. 5. The first meaning
  6. 6. A second meaning of the same word
  7. 7. An example sentence, showing the word in use

The guide words are the fastest thing on the page: if your word does not fall between them, the whole page can be turned past without a single entry being read.

  1. 1.A thesaurus is most useful when you want to ____.

    • a) find another word with a similar meaning
    • b) find out how to say a word aloud
    • c) find out where a word came from
    • d) find out how to spell a word

  2. 2.In "She could not bear the noise", which meaning of "bear" fits?

    • a) to give birth to
    • b) a large wild animal
    • c) to carry a heavy load
    • d) to put up with

  3. 3.Match each word to a stronger word that means almost the same.

    • big
    • sad
    • hot
    • happy
    • cold
    • tired
    • exhausted
    • scorching
    • freezing
    • enormous
    • delighted
    • heartbroken

  4. 4.Which comes first in a dictionary, "celery" or "cellar"? Write the word.

  5. 5.A dictionary page has the guide words "harmony" and "harvest". Which of these words is on that page?

    • a) hammer
    • b) hard
    • c) hasty
    • d) harp

  6. 6.Put these words in the order you would find them in a dictionary.

    • page
    • paint
    • packet
    • pair
    • pack

  7. 7.Sort each job by whether you would reach for a dictionary or a thesaurus.

    Groups: Dictionary · Thesaurus

    • Find a more interesting word for "nice"
    • Check whether a word is a noun or a verb
    • Stop yourself repeating one word all through a paragraph
    • Find a word meaning the opposite of "brave"
    • Find out what a word means
    • Check how a word is spelled
    • Find out how a word is said aloud
    • Find three other words for "walk"

  8. 8.Which comes first in a dictionary, "quiet" or "quite"? Write the word.

Answer key — Year 8 English — Using a dictionary and a thesaurus

  1. 1. a) find another word with a similar meaning
  2. 2. d) to put up with
  3. 3. big → enormous; sad → heartbroken; hot → scorching; happy → delighted; cold → freezing; tired → exhausted
  4. 4. celery
  5. 5. d) harp
  6. 6. 1. pack 2. packet 3. page 4. paint 5. pair
  7. 7. Find out what a word means → Dictionary; Check how a word is spelled → Dictionary; Check whether a word is a noun or a verb → Dictionary; Find out how a word is said aloud → Dictionary; Find a more interesting word for "nice" → Thesaurus; Find a word meaning the opposite of "brave" → Thesaurus; Find three other words for "walk" → Thesaurus; Stop yourself repeating one word all through a paragraph → Thesaurus
  8. 8. quiet