Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Finding Related Words.

Finding Related Words

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated July 8, 2017)

One of the tools that Word provides is a full thesaurus. You can use this tool to find alternative words with the same meaning (synonyms), words with the opposite meaning (antonyms), or related words. Related words are typically similar words based on the root of the word you specify. To find a related word, follow these steps:

  1. Position the insertion point in the word you wish to check.
  2. Press Shift+F7. Word displays the Research task pane at the right side of the screen, with the thesaurus information displayed.
  3. If related words are available for the word, you will see the Related Words choice in the task pane. Click on Related Words.
  4. In the Related Words list, select the desired related word.
  5. Click the down-arrow to the right of the related word and choose Insert.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10933) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Finding Related Words.

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

Connecting To a Discussion Server

How to connect to a discussion server for online collaboration.

Discover More

Changing Information in Multiple Documents

If you need to change text in many documents at the same time, Word isn't the best tool to use. Here's some ideas on ways ...

Discover More

Filling Forms and Editing Documents

Word allows you, as part of your document, to create forms. To start using the form, you need to protect the document. If ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Turning Off Hyphenation for Individual Words

Word does a semi-decent job when it comes to automatically hyphenating your documents. It even lets you exclude certain ...

Discover More

Word Count is Zero

If you use the Word Count tool and are surprised that it returns a count of 0, it could be because of what you selected ...

Discover More

Word Count for a Section

Dynamic word counts for your entire document are easy to get when you use using fields. There is no built-in method to ...

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.

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

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}] 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 eight minus 8?

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 ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.