Sunday 28 June 2009

Search for a word that is at the tip of your tongue



How often have you realized that there is a word that is at the tip of your tongue, but just isn't coming out? While similar to writers block, this can be just as deleterious. But fear not, there is an online web app that can now help you find the word that you are searching for.

Instead of having searching the word database like you would in a conventional dictionary, you can now search on on other factors like "Sounds like", "word meaning" and the letters the word contains. The app is called Tip of My Tongue, and I guarantee you that if you are a blogger or a writer, you'll be using this online web program more than once.

Of course, it's not perfect yet, but it's just a matter of time before it becomes more robust, or a web engine like Google picks up the idea. Typing in say 'eek' and using the sounds like box to refine the search actually yields several results, even those that are distant from the pronunciation of the word 'gawk', and to narrow it down, you'll have to give the app more input.

The app uses several online dictionaries, mostly wordnet apparently, and a host of other websites. However, in my brief inspection of the site, I've noticed that some words, especially those associated with idioms and containing other meanings are not present when you use the 'Word Meaning' feature, and the results from the letters features can be quite overwhelming. Nevertheless, while the app is no substitute for a proper dictionary or a thesaurus, it will sure help you find the word that you already know and is on the tip of your tongue.






Got a question, tip or comment? Send them to beyondteck+question@gmail.com and we'll try to answer it in a blog post!

1 comment:

  1. Wow, I love this. Is it also a good resource for technical writers....say IoT focused writers writing about features such as ISIM and iUCC

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