Ideas for compatible online thesaurus?

[annie]

I'm a newcomer to Mac from PC, just started with Scrivener. I really miss WordWeb online thesaurus...more comprehensive than the Mac tool, and easier to use. You just have your cursor on the word + Control to get a big range of word options. Is there any online thesaurus I could buy compatible with Scrivener that does this? (I'd prefer British to American)

[AmberV]

Moved to Software by Other Folk; more people will see your question there.

[Cadence]

Hi there.
First of all, I haven't actually found an adequate WordWeb replacement for Mac, so I have WordWeb installed in Parallels (=virtualization software that can run a Windows virtual machine), as well as Babylon.

Possible alternatives:
Nisus Thesaurus. Free. Can't compare to WordWeb, me thinks

ThinkMap Visual Thesaurus. Has desktop edition + online edition. Also available here: Writer's Store.

Write Brothers' Word Menu. Big discount now at Writer's Store. Personally, I prefer the book, and it looks as though the software hasn't been updated for a [long...] while.

Much more than a thesaurus, and quite expensive (though the developer's website offers a monthly subscription option as well): MasterWriter by Master Writer, Inc.-- now cheaper (holiday sale) at Writer's Store. I tried it, loved it, but was too slow on my system, and too expensive.

And, of course, if we're talking expensive, there's Babylon for Mac. Dictionary and thesaurus. I have the PC version though, installed in Parallels.

[AmberV]

I'll second the Visual Thesaurus recommendation. That is my favourite thesaurus outside of paper volumes. It's neat to be able to see a visual model of the English language and how it all fits together like that. Browsing through a cloud of 3d words can lead to interesting realisations about the different shadings that different words have in their meanings.

It doesn't actually integrate with anything at all. It's a cross-platform Java application---which of course has its own positive merits.

[Cadence]

BTW, Nisus Thesaurus does integrate. You need to highlight the word, then choose Services, then Lookup Selection in Thesaurus.

I also stumbled upon Ultralingua, which seems to be far more than a thesaurus.

Also take a look at Spell Catcher: among other things, it has a dictionary+thesaurus.

And check out these two lists, they mention thesauri among other Mac apps "for writers": 8)
The Top 6 Best Mac Add-On Writing Tools
Face To Face: The Top 20 Best Mac Writer’s Tools

P.S.
Oh, and annie, you did notice that to get a little pop-up window of Mac's built-in dictionary/thesaurus, all you need to do is hover mouse over a word (in any app) and hit Control+Command+D ?

[ptram]

Nisus Thesaurus. Free. Can't compare to WordWeb, me thinks

I cannot compare English reference works, but it seems the Nisus Thesaurus has a decent pedigree:

http://wordnet.princeton.edu/

Best, Paolo

[Sophie]

First of all, I haven't actually found an adequate WordWeb replacement for Mac

Is this the Mac version? http://www.wordwebsoftware.com/mac/WordWeb.html

[Cadence]

First of all, I haven't actually found an adequate WordWeb replacement for Mac

Is this the Mac version? http://www.wordwebsoftware.com/mac/WordWeb.html

Hi Sophie, yep, that's the Mac version. Came out some time after my post. Maybe because I sorta, well, harassed the developer that he *should* make a Mac version (sorry about all those emails, Developer!).
Anyways.
I also bought the Mac version (though I like the PC version just a liiiittle better, maybe it's an old-habit thingy ). I'm still on Snow Leopard, though. No idea how the app runs on Lion.

[nikkoo]

Hello Sophie, yes, that's the Mac version
http://www.centplay.com/affiliate/id_199/