Most word-processing programs include an electronic thesaurus. To use this tool in Microsoft Word, highlight a word in your text for which you would like to find a synonym and then click on “Thesaurus” in the “Tools” menu. You will get a pop-up box with several alternatives for your highlighted word. If one of these synonyms creates a better word picture, you might want to replace your original word with the new one. A word of caution, however, about using any thesaurus, whether electronic or traditional: Be sure that you know the alternative word well enough to understand its connotations and grammatical usage. A thesaurus should remind you of a word with which you are already familiar, not launch you into an uncharted adventure in diction!