Date
Saturday
Jan
18

January 18

National Thesaurus Day

Celebrate National Thesaurus Day with a fun word hunt! Challenge yourself to find the perfect words to express yourself and get creative!

Yearly Date
January 18
Type
Day

Introduction

Celebrate National Thesaurus Day on Jan. 18! This day honors the first published thesaurus, which was created by Peter Mark Roget in 1852. Since then, many other versions of the book have been produced and it has become an essential tool for writers and scholars alike. On this day, take some time to explore all of the creative ways one can use a thesaurus to express themselves more accurately and creatively through their writing or speech.

National Thesaurus Day Timeline

1852
Roget's Thesaurus Published
Peter Mark Roget, a British physician, theologian, and lexicographer, publishes the first edition of "Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases."
1911
Expansion and Revising
Roget’s Thesaurus goes through a massive augmenting and revising, more than doubling its original breadth.
1962
First Electronic Thesaurus
IBM releases the first electronic thesaurus as part of its 1962 World Wide English Language Processing System.
1984
Thesaurus in Word Processors
Microsoft Word becomes one of the first word processors to include a built-in thesaurus.
2007
Thesaurus Day Recognition
National Thesaurus Day is recognized and celebrated for the first time on January 18th, marking the birthday of Peter Mark Roget.

How to Celebrate National Thesaurus Day

1

Explore a thesaurus

Grab your favorite thesaurus, whether it's physical or digital, and take some time to explore it. See how many creative new words you can find and start to incorporate them into your vocabulary.

2

Create synonym art

Take a phrase or word and create artwork using only its synonyms. Let your creativity run wild as you come up with unique ways to express yourself with this new form of art.

3

Play a game of synonyms

Get together with friends and family and see who can come up with the most synonyms for a given word in 2 minutes. It's a great way to practice and learn new words while having fun.

4

Compile a list of favorites

Create a list of your favorite words and their synonyms. You could even print them out and hang them up in your home or office as an inspirational reminder.

5

Write an ode to the thesaurus

Take some time to write an ode to the thesaurus, expressing your appreciation for all of the new words that it has introduced you to over the years.

Why We Love National Thesaurus Day

A

Thesauri help with language development

Using the correct words to describe something or express an emotion can be tricky, and Thesaurus Day is a great reminder to students and writers of any age to increase their vocabularies. By utilizing a thesaurus, people can explore new words which can expand their understanding of a subject or even just add nuance to everyday conversation.

B

Thesauri promote creativity

Learning new words gives us opportunities to be more creative with our writing. We can add variety to our work while also honing our craft. Using a thesaurus when writing helps us find new ways to say the same thing in different contexts, which can bring new perspectives to our readers.

C

Thesauri make language accessible

Not everyone has a vast vocabulary at their disposal, and that's why Thesaurus Day is important - it encourages language learning for all levels. It creates the opportunity for nonnative English speakers and children alike to discover new words in an easy way that's fun and engaging.

National Thesaurus Day Dates

Year
Date
Day
2023
Jan 17
Tuesday
2024
Jan 17
Wednesday
2025
Jan 17
Friday
2026
Jan 17
Saturday
2027
Jan 17
Sunday