Look up synonyms for a word or phrase in a thesaurus
Commentary
Look up synonyms for a word or phrase in a thesaurus.
Getting Started
---------------
To use library Synonyms, you will need the Moby Thesaurus II file,
`mthesaur.txt', available here:
https://archive.org/details/mobythesauruslis03202gut
Put this in your initialization file (~/.emacs):
;; The file names are absolute, not relative, locations
;; - e.g. /foobar/mthesaur.txt.cache, not mthesaur.txt.cache
(setq synonyms-file )
(setq synonyms-cache-file )
(require 'synonyms)
As an alternative to the first two lines, you can use Customize to
set `synonyms-file' and `synonyms-cache-file' persistently. The
second of these files is created by this library, to serve as a
synonym cache for completion.
The main command is `synonyms'. It prompts you for a word or
phrase to look up in the thesaurus. The synonyms found are then
displayed in buffer *Synonyms*. For example, `M-x synonyms RET
democracy' displays synonyms for `democracy'.
If you do not define `synonyms-file' and `synonyms-cache-file'
prior to using command `synonyms', that command will prompt you to
define them. If you want to use the same values during subsequent
Emacs sessions, then you should use `M-x customize-option' to save
those newly defined values.
Some Definitions
----------------
The thesaurus is divided into "entries", which are like glossary
entries: each entry is followed by associated words and phrases,
which, for lack of a better word, I refer to as "synonyms". For
example, `democracy' is an entry, and it is followed by its
synonyms. Some synonyms are not also entries. For example,
`patriarchy' is in the thesaurus as a synonym but not as an entry.
Note: What I call "synonyms" here are not necessarily synonyms, in
the sense of having the same or even similar meanings. They are
simply terms collected together with the same thesaurus entry
because they are related in some way - the grouping is what
defines their relation.
In Moby Thesaurus II, the meanings of synonyms in the same group
do have something in common, but this might be simply the fact
that they are terms of a similar kind. For example, the
"synonyms" following the `democracy' thesaurus entry are words
such as `dictatorship' and `autocracy'. These are different forms
of the same general thing: government - they are certainly not
synonymous with each other or with the entry `democracy'.
Searching the Thesaurus
-----------------------
The default input value for command `synonyms' is the word under
the cursor. Alternatively, if a region is active and you are in
Transient Mark mode (recommended), then it is the text in the
region (selection).
Your input is actually treated as a regular expression (regexp),
so you can also input patterns like `for.*ion', which will match
thesaurus entries `formation', `formulation', `fornication',
`fortification', and `forward motion'. Note that the last of
these is a phrase rather than a single word.
Using a regexp as input is a powerful way to search, but be aware
that it can be costly in CPU time and computer memory if the
regexp is not appropriate. The regexp `.*' will, for example,
likely use up available memory before being able to return the
entire thesaurus (it's very large). You can always use `C-g' to
interrupt a thesaurus search if you mistakenly use an inefficient
regexp.
Using a Prefix Argument To Do More
----------------------------------
You can use a prefix argument to modify searching and the
presentation of search results, as follows:
`C-u' - Search for additional synonyms, in two senses:
1) Return also synonyms that are matched partially
by the input.
2) Search the entire thesaurus for input matches,
even if the input matches a thesaurus entry.
`M--' - Append the search results to any previous search
results, in buffer *Synonyms*. (Normally, the new
results replace any previous results.)
`C-u C-u' - `C-u' plus `M--': Search more and append results.
If you find yourself often using a particular prefix argument (for
example, to append results), then you might want to instead change
the default behavior to reflect this preference. Options
`synonyms-match-more-flag' and `synonyms-append-result-flag'
correspond to using `C-u' and `M--', respectively. In fact, a
prefix argument simply toggles the value of the corresponding
option for the duration of the command. So, for example, if
`synonyms-append-result-flag' is t and you use `M--', then results
will not be appended.
When partially matching input (`C-u', sense #1), complete synonyms
are matched against your input. This means that you generally
need not add a preceding or trailing `.*' to try to match a
complete synonym. For example, input `format' will match the
complete synonyms `conformation', `efformation', `format',
`formation', `formative', `formational', `information',
`informative', `informational', `malformation', `deformation',
`reformation', `transformation', `reformatory', and so on - there
is no need to input `.*format.*' to match the same synonyms.
To better understand the meaning of #2 above for `C-u' (to
continue the search even if your input matches an entry), try, for
example, `C-u M-x synonyms RET widespread'. You'll see not only
the main synonyms listed for `widespread' as an entry, but also
lots of different meanings of `widespread', judging by the entries
for which it is listed as a synonym:
`accepted', `ample', `broad', `broadcast', `capacious',
`catholic', `commodious', `commonness', `conventional',
`currency', `current', `customary', `deep', `deltoid',
`diffuse', `discrete', `dispersed', `disseminated',
`dissipated', `distributed', `epidemic', `established',
`everyday', `expansive', `extended', `extensive', `familiar',
`fan shaped', `far flung', `far reaching', `flaring', `full',
`general', `indiscriminate', `infinite', `large scale',
`liberal', `normal', `normality', `open', `ordinary',
`outstretched', `pervasive', `popular', `prescribed',
`prescriptive', `prevailing', `prevalence', `prevalent',
`public', `rampant', `received', `regnant', `regular',
`regulation', `reign', `rife', `roomy', `ruling', `run',
`scattered', `set', spacious`', `sparse', `splay', `sporadic',
`sprawling', `spread', `standard', `stock', `straggling',
`stretched out', `sweeping', `time-honored', `traditional',
`universal', `usual', `vast', `voluminous', `wholesale', `wide
open', `wide', and `wonted'.
These are just the entries! Each of these is of course followed by
its own synonyms - perhaps 100 or 300, including `widespread'.
This list of entries is not the same list as the synonyms for
entry `widespread'. There are words and phrases here that are not
in the latter list, and vice versa. For example, the former (but
not the latter) list includes `full'; the latter (but not the
former) list includes `wide-reaching'.
The latter are the words most closely related to `widespread'.
The list above are the other thesaurus entries (corresponding to
main categories) to which `widespread' is most closely related.
Looking at all of the synonym groups in which `widespread' appears
can tell you additional information about its meanings - and it
can provide additional synonyms for `widespread'.
Using Completion with Synonyms
------------------------------
You can complete words and phrases in the minibuffer, as input to
command `synonyms'. You can use library Synonyms together with
library `Icicles to complete a partial word in a text buffer into a
word or phrase in the thesaurus. If you use both libraries then
load Icicles after Synonyms. For more information on Icicles, see
`https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/Icicles'.
** Minibuffer Input Completion **
You can enter any text to match against thesaurus synonyms. When
you are prompted by command `synonyms' to enter this text, you can
also use input completion to complete to a thesaurus synonym.
That is, even though you can enter any text (including a regexp),
completion will only complete to synonyms in the thesaurus.
If you load library Icicles, then a more powerful version of
command `synonyms' is used. In particular, it lets you:
- Use `S-TAB' during completion to see the list of all synonyms
(thesaurus terms) that match your minibuffer input so far.
- Use `next' (or repeated `S-TAB'), and `prior' (usually keys
`Page Down' and `Page Up') during completion to cycle through
the completion candidates (synonyms) that match your input.
- Use `C-next' and `C-prior' during completion to display the
synonyms of the current completion candidate.
** Completing Buffer Text Using the Thesaurus **
Icicles also provides two commands for using completion to insert
thesaurus entries in a buffer:
- `icicle-complete-thesaurus-entry' completes a word in a text
buffer to any word or phrase in the thesaurus. I bind it to
`C-c /'.
- `icicle-insert-thesaurus-entry' inserts thesaurus words and
phrases in a text buffer. It is a multi-command, which means
that, within a single call to it, you can insert any number of
thesaurus entries, in succession. If you want to, you can
write an entire book using a single call to
`icicle-insert-thesaurus-entry'!
Browsing the Thesaurus
----------------------
Besides using command `synonyms' to search for synonyms, you can
use Synonyms to browse the thesaurus. This is really just the
same thing, but key and mouse bindings are provided in buffer
*Synonyms*, so you need not input anything - just point and click
the hyperlinks. Buffer *Synonyms* is in Synonyms major mode,
which provides a few additional features.
You can still choose to search for additional synonyms or append
search results, without bothering with a prefix argument, by using
modifier keys (Control, Meta) with a mouse click.
Another way of browsing is to revisit previous search-result
pages. You can do this using commands `synonyms-history-backward'
and `synonyms-history-forward'. In buffer *Synonyms*, these are
bound to the following key sequences, for convenience:
`l', `p', `mouse-4' - `synonyms-history-backward'
`r', `n', `mouse-5' - `synonyms-history-forward'
The `l' and `r' bindings correspond to the history bindings in
Info. The `p' and `n' bindings stand for "previous" and "next".
The bindings to additional mouse buttons correspond to typical
bindings for Back and Forward in Web browsers.
In addition to these bindings, the same history commands can be
accessed by clicking links [Back] and [Forward] with `mouse-2'.
If you have previously used the append option (via, for example,
`M-mouse2'), so that there are multiple search results in buffer
*Synonyms*, then using a history command simply takes you to the
preceding (for [Back]) or following (for [Forward]) result in the
buffer, measured from the current cursor position. Depending on
the cursor position, this might be different from the previous or
next search made previously.
This is for convenience, but it is also more efficient in the case
of a regexp search that takes a long time. Except for this
special treatment of appended results, whenever you navigate the
search-results history you are actually searching again for a
synonym you sought previously. The case of appended results is
analogous to accessing a Web browser cache when navigating the
history.
You can of course use modifier keys (Control, Meta) while you
click links [Back] and [Forward], to impose their usual behavior:
search for additional synonyms or append search results, or both.
Finally, some people prefer menus, so there is a Synonyms menu-bar
menu when you are in Synonyms mode, complete with all of the
functionalities described above.
For more information on the browsing possibilities in buffer
*Synonyms*, use `?' in Synonyms mode.
Dictionary Definitions, Antonyms, etc.
--------------------------------------
Synonyms works with a large but simple database of groups of words
and phrases that are synonyms of each other. This database does
not provide definitions of words or phrases; it simply groups
them. Command `synonym-definition' (aka `dictionary-definition')
lets you look up a word or phrase (or a regexp) using one or more
dictionaries on the Web. That is usually the best source for this
kind of information, but you obviously need an Internet connection
to use this command.
Options (variables) `synonyms-dictionary-url' and
`synonyms-dictionary-alternate-url' are URLs you can set to point
to the dictionaries of your choice. The default value of
`synonyms-dictionary-alternate-url' looks up the search term in
multiple dictionaries, and it lets you use wildcards. Use `C-h v
synonyms-dictionary-alternate-url' for more information. The
default value of `synonyms-dictionary-url' usually provides a
quicker answer. Both of these URLs also give you access to
additional information about the search term (antonyms, etymology,
even pronunciation).
In buffer *Synonyms*, you can simply hit `d' followed by `RET' or
`mouse-2' to look up a term that is in the buffer. Just as for
looking up a synonym by clicking `mouse-2', if you select text
(region), then that text is looked up.
A Cache File of Synonyms
------------------------
The very first time you use Synonyms, a large list of synonyms
will be compiled and written to a cache file. This is slow - it
takes 2-3 minutes - but it is only a one-time cost. From then on,
whenever you first use Synonyms during an Emacs session, the cache
file will be read (quickly), to create the list of synonyms that
are used for minibuffer completion.
Using Other Thesauri, Dictionaries, and so on - CSV data
--------------------------------------------------------
There is nothing in library Synonyms that ties it to the Moby
Thesaurus II thesaurus. All of its functionality will work with
any file of comma-separated values. Each line of such a file is
interpreted as a synonym group, as understood here, and the first
word or phrase on each line is interpreted as a thesaurus entry,
as understood here. This means only that search results are
organized into sections with entry headers.
If, for example, you had a CSV file of personal contacts, where
the first term in each line was a last name or a company name,
then you could use library Synonyms to query it, producing the
same kind of output as for the thesaurus.
One thing to keep in mind if you try to use library Synonyms with
a different CSV file is that there are several different CSV-file
syntaxes. The one that Synonyms is built to use is a simple one,
with no quote marks around entries and no embedded quote marks
within entries.
Similarly, there is nothing here that limits the functionality to
English. If you had a thesaurus in another language, it should
work as well.
Currently, Synonyms works with a single raw synonyms file
(thesaurus) and a corresponding single cache file (for
completion). However, it would be easy to extend the
functionality to use multiple thesauri or, in general, multiple
CSV files. Suggestions of requirements (e.g. ways to select a
thesaurus for particular passages of text) are welcome.
Things Defined Here
-------------------
Faces defined here -
`synonyms-heading', `synonyms-search-text',
`synonyms-mouse-face'.
User options (variables) defined here -
`synonyms-append-result-flag', `synonyms-cache-file',
`synonyms-file', `synonyms-fill-column',
`synonyms-match-more-flag', `synonyms-mode-hook',
`synonyms-use-cygwin-flag'.
Commands defined here -
`dictionary-definition', `synonyms', `synonyms-append-result',
`synonyms-append-result-no-read', `synonyms-definition',
`synonyms-definition-mouse', `synonyms-definition-no-read',
`synonyms-ensure-synonyms-read-from-cache',
`synonyms-history-backward', `synonyms-history-forward',
`synonyms-make-obarray', `synonyms-match-more',
`synonyms-match-more-no-read',
`synonyms-match-more+append-result',
`synonyms-match-more+append-result-no-read', `synonyms-mode',
`synonyms-mouse', `synonyms-mouse-append-result',
`synonyms-mouse-match-more',
`synonyms-mouse-match-more+append-result', `synonyms-no-read',
`synonyms-write-synonyms-to-cache'.
Non-interactive functions defined here -
`synonyms-action', `synonyms-add-history-links',
`synonyms-default-regexp', `synonyms-define-cache-file',
`synonyms-define-synonyms-file', `synonyms-file-readable-p',
`synonyms-file-writable-p', `synonyms-format-entries',
`synonyms-format-entry', `synonyms-format-finish',
`synonyms-format-synonyms',
`synonyms-hack-backslashes-if-cygwin', `synonyms-lookup',
`synonyms-nearest-word', `synonyms-p',
`synonyms-search-entries', `synonyms-search-synonyms',
`synonyms-show-synonyms'.
Internal variables defined here -
`synonyms-history', `synonyms-history-forward',
`synonyms-list-for-obarray', `synonyms-mode-map',
`synonyms-obarray', `synonyms-search-text'.
Key bindings made here - see `synonyms-mode'. All key bindings
are local to Synonyms mode; no global bindings are made here.
Acknowledgements
----------------
The basic functionality provided here was derived from library
`mthesaur.el', by Tad Ashlock . That
library, in turn, was inspired by library `thesaurus.el', by Ray
Nickson. Thanks also to those who sent helpful bug reports.
Note on MS Windows Emacs 20 and Cygwin `grep'
---------------------------------------------
There is apparently a bug in the Emacs (at least versions 20-22) C
code that implements function `call-process' on MS Windows. When
using native Windows Emacs with Cygwin commands, such as `grep',
the C code removes a level of backslashes in some cases, so string
arguments supplied to `call-process' need to have twice as many
backslashes as they should need in those cases. It is for this
reason that option `synonyms-use-cygwin-flag' is supplied here.
When that option is non-nil, backslashes in regexps are hacked to
do the right thing. (In Emacs 20, this means doubling the
backslashes; in Emacs 21-22, this means doubling them unless there
are spaces in the search string.)
Maybe To Do?
------------
1. It would be ideal to have not only synonym information but also
definitions, antonyms, more general and more specific terms,
filtering by part of speech (verb vs adjective etc.), and so
on. A good example of what I'd really like to have is provided
by the free Windows program WordWeb (available here:
https://wordweb.info/). Combining that functionality with
Icicles completion features would provide a great tool, IMO.
`synonyms-definition*' goes a long way toward providing this,
and perhaps it is the best way to go, since there is so much
more definitional info on the Web.