This major thesaurus, first published in 1994 is carefully designed and easy-to-use. It contains an original collection in A-Z format of over 200,000 synonyms and antonyms. It has been compiled by William Lutz, author of Doublespeak and a renowned expert on language use. Instead of indiscriminately listing every word associated with the headword, as many other thesauruses do, The Cambridge Thesaurus selects those that are synonyms or near synonyms in the widest range of contexts, labelling any that are slang or otherwise restricted in usage. Synonyms are listed according to their commonness and appropriateness, as are antonyms, and are distinguished by sense. In those cases where the distinction between senses in not clear, a brief definition is provided. Special attention has been given to phrasal entries such as come out (transpire), fall apart (collapse), look down on (disparage). The Cambridge Thesaurus of American English will be welcomed by both students of language and general readers interested in, or coming into contact with, American English.