The Oxford Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms (3rd edition)

摘要

The English language is remarkably rich in words with closely related meanings. I have never seen a French or Classical Latin dictionary of synonyms but, if such exist, I would expect them to be extremely slender. English, in all its varieties, is currently the main international language - people all over the world have to study it for commercial, academic or cultural purposes. There is therefore an enormous, worldwide demand for cheap books and other guides to English usage. Oxford University Press is, of course, the publisher of the main English dictionary and therefore has a huge head start over all other publishers in this field.