To replace words in a sentence, phrase, or song with other words that mean the same thing. Implies poor results, or dumbing down. This is a common practice among hymnal editors of some denominations, who are apparently among the most clueless humans walking the earth.

There used to be an internal rhyme in the bridge, until the publishers thesaurusized it.

thesaurusize by Jay R July 1, 2005

Related Words

thesaurusize • Thesaurusized • thesaurasize • Thesauresize • Thesaurisize • Thesaurize • thesauritize • thesaurusification • thesaurusify • Thesaurusing

thesaurusify

To put each word in a sentence through thesaurus.com and replace all words with random synonyms

Person 1: What's the thesaurusified version of the quote "May the force be with you"?
Person 2: It's "Be allowed sudden sock remain upon you".

Definition of thesaurusify: "To put each word in a sentence through thesaurus.com and replace all words with random synonyms"

thesaurusify by AxolotlOnInternet May 4, 2020

thesaurize

To attempt to make your writing more formal and impressive by replacing simpler words with longer synonyms from a thesaurus

James thesaurized his résumé in hopes of landing a job with a higher salary

thesaurize by call_me_xale September 20, 2015

Thesaurusitis

When someone overuses a thesaurus in an essay or speech to make themselves sound smarter. However, by replacing small words with obscure words they don't really understand, it just makes them sound pretentious and stupid.

But, especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn.

Blood libel? Purport? Looks like Sarah Palin suffers from thesaurusitis.

Thesaurusitis by Joyu January 16, 2011

thesaurasize

To completely ruin an essay by referring to a thesaurus for every other word, thus inserting words that you don't really understand the definition of to make yourself appear smarter to the reader.

"Man, Julia's essay would have been amazing if she hadn't thesaurasized the damn thing. Now she just looks ignorant."

thesaurasize by StormInATeacup16x January 5, 2008

thesaurusification

unnecessarily overchecking words using a thesaurus to find words that make the writer look cleverer than they really are.

as a result, the writer looks somewhat ... silly

John's report is completely unreadable, so much thesaurusification.

thesaurusification by Akula October 18, 2009

You met me at a very Chinese time in my life

A moment in time where you feel distinctly Chinese over all other things.

Dante: "I wish I could be Nigerian, but I can't because I'm Chinese. You met me at a very Chinese time in my life."

You met me at a very Chinese time in my life by Sus Chad September 21, 2026

Word of the Day on September 25, 2026

crunchy

Adjective. Used to describe persons who have adjusted or altered their lifestyle for environmental reasons. Crunchy persons tend to be politically strongly left-leaning and may be additionally but not exclusively categorized as vegetarians, vegans, eco-tarians, conservationists, environmentalists, neo-hippies, tree huggers, nature enthusiasts, etc.

Also used to describe establishments where alternative foods and products are sold, i.e. natural food stores.

Modified derivative of granola.

"I need more crunchy guys in my life. I'm so tired of dating preppy metrosexual assholes."

"I'm heading out to the crunchy store to pick up some fair trade chocolate and tea tree oil, do you need anything?"

crunchy by EBC July 11, 2007

Word of the Day on September 24, 2026

Galantir

A group of people, typically women, searching through someone’s digital footprint in order to find more information about that person.

Susie wasn’t sure if her new Hinge match was a creep, so she assembled Galantir and they found out he used to post slurs on gaming forums.

Galantir by Ge-sus September 22, 2026

Word of the Day on September 23, 2026

murderhobo

In a tabletop game, a murderhobo is a player who murders NPCs indiscriminately. This is normally derogatory, referring to a player who totally ignores quests, dialog, backstory, trade, world building etc.

The term is most common with Dungeons and Dragons, but it can be applied to most RPGs where the player is allowed to kill most quest-giving NPCs and NPC traders. E.g. Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Divinity original sin.

DM: The sad little orphan girl tugs at Steve's trenchcoat to get his attention, and ask for help saving her pet dog from...
Steve: I'd like to roll a strength check against strangling the orphan.
Dave: I call dibs on the dog.
DM: You murderhobos disgust me.

murderhobo by Loup&S September 9, 2021

Word of the Day on September 22, 2026

Whale

In sales terms, a whale is a prospect that is significantly larger than an organization’s average customer.

Whales are large and extremely difficult to close. Due to their immense size, they are highly sought-after.

A whale is typically identified at first by a whale hunter on the sales team, but often requires cross-discipline participation in order to close; this includes assistance from operations, engineering, creative, client success, and business development teams.

"Shit...the sales director chewed me out on the sales call this morning. He's totally pissed that I have nothing in my pipeline. I've been focused on this one whale for so long that I haven't had time to prospect for normal-sized deals."

Whale by FQ_GFY February 3, 2020

Word of the Day on September 21, 2026