Some definitions for words include a sort of thesauric comparison to synonyms, describing how the sense of each word differs. (For example, one synonym might have an aggressive tone, while another is more often used honorifically.) Dictionaries only do this for certain words; some dictionaries do not offer this functionality. Thesauri, while they provide numerous synonyms and often group them according to sense, do not go far enough in explaining how a word should be used.
A comparative dictionary would define its words entirely through its distinctions relative to each word's synonyms. (Those words with only one interpretation may be ignored.) This would be useful for students of a new language and professional writers.
I agree
No opinion
I disagree
Add your comment
Although each additional attribute a word may have is useful to know, in a printed book additions make a volume more and more bulky. But a digital compendium designed with links for more elaborate relationships of each word is much easier to assemble in a useful form and a CD provides an easy transportable form for this more elaborate source.