Visual Thesaurus

An ideal teaching resource for students of all ages with a visually captivating display that engages students in learning new words and concepts.

What is the Visual Thesaurus?

The Visual Thesaurus is an interactive dictionary and thesaurus which creates word maps that blossom with meanings and branch to related words. Its innovative display encourages exploration and learning. You’ll understand language in a powerful new way.

Say you have a meaning in mind, like “happy.” The VT helps you find related words, from “cheerful” to “euphoric.” The best part is the VT works like your brain, not a paper-bound book. You’ll want to explore just to see what might happen. You’ll discover — and learn — naturally and intuitively. You’ll find the right word, write more descriptively, free associate — and gain a more precise understanding of the English language.

With the Visual Thesaurus, you can:

  • Find the right word. The VT has over 145,000 English words and 115,000 meanings. Find the word you need and discover related meanings.
  • Develop a better vocabulary. See how words are used in different parts of speech.
  • Use words precisely. The intuitive interface helps you find words through their semantic relationship with other words and meanings.
  • Master word usage. Roll over a meaning to see its definition and example sentences that express that meaning.
  • Improve your grammar. Meanings are color-coded to indicate parts of speech.
  • Explore 39,000 proper nouns. Historical figures, phrases and trademarks are included. Look up Mozart, Manda or simply, “M.”
  • Check your spelling. The VT suggests a word if you spell it wrong.
  • Hear words pronounced correctly. The VT offers both American and British pronunciations (Internet connection necessary)
  • Personalize your experience. Use the Settings Panel to control font size, filter content, display up to 17 semantic relationships and more.
  • Connect to the Internet. Right-click on any word to launch an Internet search for images or information.
  • Access the VT from anywhere. No software to install, access from virtually any computer with an Internet connection.
  • Email word maps to friends. Share your favorite words with friends and family.
  • Explore five additional languages. Search for words in Spanish, German, Italian French and Dutch, as well as English. (International features are still in beta)

Visual Thesaurus is available to all NAD PK-12 students and teachers – funded by the NAD and our nine unions.

For account information, contact Martha Ban