Product Overview
The unmatched guideand perfect giftfor stymied scribes and working wordsmiths everywhere, now expanded and updated.
A singular and indispensable reference tool, The Describer's Dictionarynow expanded and updatedhas served for over twenty years as the go-to resource for writers who are determined to capture the world in just the right words.The dictionary uses a unique reverse definition-to-term format that makes it easy to zero in on the term you're seeking. Turn to the new section on sensory impressions, for example, to find vivid terms for loud or jarring, such as grating, harsh, piercing, blaring, thunderous, cacophonous, and raucous. And at the end of each section dozens of illustrative passages by notable fiction and nonfiction authorsincluding Donna Tartt, Michael Lewis, Zadie Smith, Khaled Hosseini, and Paul Therouxbring the terminology to life.
New in this edition:
Hundreds of additional definitions, terms, and synonyms
Brand-new categories, including Physical States and Symptoms, Temperament and Behavior, Rooms and Interior Spaces, Weather and Forces of Nature, and The Solar System
Over 400 new quotations from books, periodicals, and digital media by established and rising literary stars
An index of the more than 600 authors quoted in the book
