How many of you still use a dictionary or a thesaurus? I do. Although I have been using computers since the early to mid-1980s, I rarely turn to an online reference unless I want to copy and paste something because my results are invariably more satisfactory using a printed reference. I don't use a dictionary as often as I do a thesaurus because I usually know what a word means and I can often spell it correctly even if I don't know what it means, but there are times when someone wants to argue about the definition of a word, so it's nice to have one handy. This is particularly true when the discussion is over the historic definition of a word because I have a couple of old dictionaries from the early to mid-1800s. Sometimes people like to use modern definitions for words used in historic documents, either because it fits their agenda or because they don't know any better. Plus, from time to time, I will come across a word for the first time, or one that I had forgotten. I use a thesaurus more often. While I wouldn't feel comfortable using a word that was unfamiliar to me until I found it in a dictionary or thesaurus, due either to age or stupidity, or perhaps a combination of the two, there are times when I know there's a better word for something that I want to say but I can't think of it. More often, I use a thesaurus while working in my web directory job. I spend all day describing websites that are pretty much the same as thousands of other websites that I have described, yet I still have to describe them differently, at least the ones that are going to be on the same page of the directory. I use a thesaurus often for that and, in that task, I will sometimes use words that were new to me. I know this stuff is online, and I will sometimes Bing something before reaching for a book. More often, the online version is too abridged for my needs, and the few synonyms that I can find on a Bing search are the ones that I have already overused. I also have Grammarly installed, which points out and can automatically correct typos, and also suggests changes in grammar. Roughly half the time, I take Grammarly's suggestions but they are sometimes good ones, while at other times they are downright dumb. So, anyhow, do you use printed dictionaries or thesauruses? Mine are on the shelf right above my computer, where I can reach them without getting up, although I keep my vintage dictionaries elsewhere because this is the same shelf that Ella uses as a path from one place to another, so she regularly tromps across the tops of them.
I still use the dictionary occasionally. Haven't used thesaurus since I stopped doing crossword puzzles.
I use both but haven't used printed versions for years. When I moved last, I threw away all paper dictionaries and only kept a handheld electronic dictionary for several languages from Casio which I find quite useful and would like to keep, should there be no internet connection. Also when I'm reading in bed at night and have no internet connection, I may want to look up a word which I can easily do using the small electronic dictionary in my nightstand. As soon as they entered the market I got one of those for myself because they are so handy and reference is so much quicker than using bulky paper dictionaries while offering the same information. Back then I was also impressed with what was squeezed into them. As far as grammar is concerned, I don't rely on any electronic help because I found what MS Word, for example, had to offer often not convincing. Nonetheless, I read with interest that there is such a thing as Gammarly which I had never heard of. Not surprising, though, that it was originally developed by Ukrainian authors.
I use to read the Webster's dictionary all the time. Whatever the book would open up to I would read it, study it and close it up with a few knew words in my vocabulary. I keep a very old dictionary and some current ones handy but rarely use them. The thesaurus I use it more it helps me from being redundant when writing and speaking.
I haven't used a print version of a dictionary or thesaurus in years. It's too easy to look things up electronically.
I use online dictionary and thesaurus, but when it comes to refreshing my rules of construct and grammar, I reach for my Strunk & Whites or my Practical English Handbook. But there's a loss to using the internet. When online, you look for the word and you find the word. With a physical dictionary, you sift through words to discover yours, and you learn in the process.
My neighbors home-schooled their two boys (probably 5 and 9 years old at the time) and I would stay with the kids when mom & dad did Date Night. We would play Boggle, with a modified rule: there was no penalty for an invalid word, but you had to verify your words using the dictionary. We would spend more time with our noses in the dictionary giggling at some of the silly words we would find on our quest for the made-up words we would put forth. Regarding your use of the thesaurus: I, too, try to avoid being "echoic."