Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Quickly Finding Synonyms.

Quickly Finding Synonyms

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 15, 2023)

Long-time users of Word know that the program offers several different writing tools you can use, such as a spell checker, grammar checker, and thesaurus. You can easily find synonyms for a word (from the thesaurus, of course) by right-clicking on a word and then choosing Synonyms from the resulting Context menu.

As you are using this feature, you may notice that it is not available at all times. If there are no synonyms, for instance, then it doesn't make sense to offer the option. In addition, the Synonym option won't be available on the Context menu if the original word is in a bulleted list, a numbered list, if it is misspelled, part of a marked grammar error, or if it is part of a hyperlink.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (471) applies to Microsoft Word 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Quickly Finding Synonyms.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Tracing Errors

Sometimes it can be confusing to figure out the source of an error that is displayed in your worksheet. Excel provides a ...

Discover More

Returning Item Codes Instead of Item Names

The data validation capabilities of Excel are really handy when you want to limit what is put into a cell. However, you ...

Discover More

Finding the Address of the Lowest Value in a Range

Uncovering the lowest value in a range is relatively easy; you can just use the MIN worksheet function. Discovering the ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Removing Entire Paragraphs from Your Document

If you need to get rid of a lot of paragraphs in a document, it's easy to do as long as the document relies on styles for ...

Discover More

Deleting a Page

Want to delete the current page? There is no automatic command to perform this task in Word, but you can create your own ...

Discover More

Using the Copy or Move Text Keys

Most people use the Clipboard to copy and move text in Word. Before the Clipboard, Word used F2 to move text and Shift+F2 ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 7 - 4?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.