20 Great Thesauruses for Kids of All Ages

Find Just the Right Word With a Thesaurus for Kids!

Examples of thesauruses

Thesauruses are an important tool in any student’s arsenal. They can elevate a child’s vocabulary while helping them find just the right word for their writing assignment. Many of them include extra sections with helpful hints for writing or grammar as well. Don’t know whether to use our or are? You can find that answer in a thesaurus too! Some students and teachers may prefer a hard-copy thesaurus while others may prefer an online version that can be accessed on a number of devices. Finding just the right thesaurus for kids of different ages can be a hassle, but we’ve taken the guesswork out of it for you. Check out our list of the best online and physical thesauruses for kids of all ages.

(Just a heads up, WeAreTeachers may collect a share of sales from the links on this page. We only recommend items our team loves!)

Physical Thesauruses

An Illustrated Thesaurus

A book cover says Children's in white lettering on a pink background, Illustrated in white lettering on a yellow background, and Thesaurus in white on a teal background (thesaurus for kids)

This thesaurus for kids is the sister book to DK’s Children’s Illustrated Dictionary. With more than 4,000 entries, this thesaurus will easily help expand students’ vocabulary. We especially love the mix of photography and illustrations that add to the visual allure of this fun thesaurus.

Buy it: DK Children’s Illustrated Thesaurus at Amazon

A Thesaurus for Middle School

A green thesaurus cover says Merriam-Webster's Intermediate Thesaurus.

While we think this thesaurus would be good even for high school students or adults, it is a perfect thesaurus for fifth through eighth graders. This thesaurus is perfect for our modern world since it includes updated vocabulary pertaining to social media and technology.

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Buy it: Merriam-Webster’s Intermediate Thesaurus at Amazon

A Pocket-Sized Thesaurus

A yellow cover says Merriam Webster's Pocket Thesaurus (thesaurus for kids)

Merriam-Webster make some of the best dictionaries and thesauruses on the market, but the full-size options aren’t always convenient for on-the-go. This little pocket-size version will fit perfectly in your high school student’s backpack!

Buy it: Merriam-Webster’s Pocket Thesaurus at Amazon

A New and Updated Thesaurus

A brightly colored cover says Scholastic Student Thesaurus and features all different colored colored pencils on the bottom. (thesaurus for kids)

What’s better than a thesaurus? A thesaurus that also features four pages of back matter that includes information on how words evolve!

Buy it: Scholastic Student Thesaurus at Amazon

A Well-Spoken Thesaurus

A cover says The Well-Spoken Thesaurus. It features two columns side by side the left says Don't Say That and the right side says Instead Say This. (thesaurus for kids)

If you have a teenager interested in creative writing, this is the thesaurus for you! In addition to providing guidance on how to better phrase things, it also gives examples from actual authors.

Buy it: The Well-Spoken Thesaurus at Amazon

A Thesaurus for Grades 7-12

A purple bar at the top says The American Heritage. Then a green bar has the text student thesaurus. It also features a compass and flowers on the cover.

This thesaurus boasts over 6,000 main entries and over 70,000 synonyms inside! We also love that each entry includes a sample sentence demonstrating the best usage of the word.

Buy it: The American Heritage Student Thesaurus at Amazon

Synonyms, Antonyms, and Homonyms

A book cover says Scholastic Pocket Dictionary of Synonyms, Antonyms, and Homonyms It features an old fashioned airplane, a football, a bunch of balloons, and other items (thesaurus for kids)

This is another handy pocket-sized thesaurus. We love that it teaches kids the difference between commonly confused homonyms like our and are or principal and principle.

Buy it: Scholastic Pocket Dictionary of Synonyms, Antonyms, and Homonyms at Amazon

A First Thesaurus

A cute little dinosaur is shown holding a flag that says Thesaurus Rex.

We just love the idea of using a cute character like Thesaurus Rex to teach kids synonyms for some common words. Each page features him in a variety of entertaining situations while sharing synonyms for the activity he is doing.

Buy it: Thesaurus Rex at Amazon

A Biography About Words

A book cover says The Right Word Roget and His Thesaurus. It features a book being opened with illustrations of various items spilling out the top (thesaurus for kids)

In addition to being the founder of the thesaurus, Peter Mark Roget was a physician, theologian, and lexicographer. While not technically a thesaurus, this beautifully illustrated and written book will teach children about using a thesaurus as well as the value in finding just “the right word.”

Buy it: The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus at Amazon

The Original Roget’s Thesaurus

An orange and light blue book cover says Roget's International Thesaurus Eighth Edition Revised and Updated.

If you’re looking for the best thesaurus for kids, you will definitely want to check out the world’s bestselling thesaurus. We would advise against using this thesaurus for kids younger than high school though as it might be a bit dense for them.

Buy it: Roget’s International Thesaurus at Amazon

A Children’s Thesaurus by Oxford

A yellow book cover says Oxford Children's Thesaurus. It features a number of photos of things like planets, butterflies, and reptiles (thesaurus for kids)

This is another great thesaurus option from a truly reputable name. Students can find any synonym they need and then turn to the included homework supplement for writing tips.

Buy it: Oxford Children’s Thesaurus at Amazon

A Thesaurus-Dictionary

A purple book cover says The Clear and Simple Thesaurus Dictionary. Revised Fully Updated.

This well-reviewed thesaurus-dictionary is easy enough for even elementary school–aged children to use. We love that this single book will prove equally useful as a dictionary and a thesaurus!

Buy it: The Clear and Simple Thesaurus Dictionary at Amazon

Online Thesauruses

A Free, Straightforward Online Thesaurus

This website provides users with a straightforward thesaurus—just type in your word and then read through the provided list of synonyms. We also love the Synonym of the Day and daily crossword puzzle on this page.

Try it: Thesaurus.com

Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus

Tried and true, Merriam-Webster is one of the best names in thesauruses and dictionaries, and this online version is certainly no exception. Expand your vocabulary with the fun Word of the Day feature.

Try it: Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus

An Online Picture Thesaurus

This is a perfect online thesaurus for young children since it includes photos and illustrations for entries. There is even an “add a word” feature where you can email info@kidthesaurus.com to let them know you want them to add your entry!

Try it: Kid Thesaurus

Collins Online Thesaurus

This site is so much more than a thesaurus. It includes a dictionary, a translator, games, and more!

Try it: Collins English Thesaurus

Macmillan Thesaurus

All the synonyms you could ever need are just one click away with this easy-to-use online thesaurus. Another great feature is that it links directly to the Macmillan online dictionary.

Try it: Macmillan Thesaurus

A Thesaurus Plus More

This is a very thorough thesaurus for kids of all ages. While you’re already on the Fact Monster page, check out some of their other valuable tools like an atlas and an almanac.

Try it: Fact Monster Thesaurus

A Powerful Thesaurus

This thesaurus for kids contains helpful sections like definitions, sentences, antonyms, idioms—the list goes on and on. Check it out for yourself!

Try it: Power Thesaurus

A Free Online Tool

We love that in addition to providing a long list of word options for your entry, this online thesaurus also includes definitions for each synonym.

Try it: Your Dictionary Thesaurus

What are your favorite reference books for kids? Share your ideas in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

Looking for more reference books for young readers? Check out our list of dictionaries for kids.

It can be hard for students to find just the right word when writing. Find the perfect thesaurus for kids to help them do just that!