The Phrontistery

As language sites go, The Phrontistery is one of my long-time favorites. More a compendium than a thesaurus, it’s an excellent resource for expanding and brightening your vocabulary, or even for browsing for ideas.

While one of the main features of the site is the International House of Logorrhea, a free online dictionary of weird and unusual words, I’ve found the separate lists of uncommon words, grouped by subject, to be just as useful. The color terms, fabric terms, and unusual animals are particular favorites of mine. I’ve returned to them again and again over the last few years, when I’ve been stuck and any common word just wouldn’t do.

If you’re bored of three dollar S.A.T. words and you’re looking to expand your vocabulary and throw a little more color into your writing, you could do worse than to browse The Phrontistery’s hallowed pages.

Be warned, though, that like any items of luxury, these should be used sparingly. Add one here or there for a little garnish or extra spice, but overdo it and you’ll look like you’ve been playing dressup in your mom’s thesaurus.

Tagged as: Resources