Tagging dictionary words as cliches

[Tess]

I'd like to use Word's tools to highlight for me whenever I use certain words
in a document (e.g., "bad" or "evil") so I can be prompted to rethink the use
of these words and select alternatives. I don't want automatic replacement,
though it might be nice to have suggested alternatives available (thesaurus
capability). I've reviewed what I can do with custom dictionaries (operation
not supported), autocorrect (too automatic) and the grammer/style checker.
The style checker seems like it could do the job, however I can't figure out
how to add my list of words/phrases to this.

According to Word's Help, the Style checker flags colloquilisms in a
document using the dictionary words that are noted as "cliches". But I can't
find a way to bring up the dictionary word attributes, so I can't note that
my "bad" words are cliches. Does anyone know of a way to do this? Or are
there any better ways to do what I want?

 

[Jean-Guy Marcil]

I'd like to use Word's tools to highlight for me whenever I use certain words
in a document (e.g., "bad" or "evil") so I can be prompted to rethink the use
of these words and select alternatives. I don't want automatic replacement,
though it might be nice to have suggested alternatives available (thesaurus
capability). I've reviewed what I can do with custom dictionaries (operation
not supported), autocorrect (too automatic) and the grammer/style checker.
The style checker seems like it could do the job, however I can't figure out
how to add my list of words/phrases to this.

According to Word's Help, the Style checker flags colloquilisms in a
document using the dictionary words that are noted as "cliches". But I can't
find a way to bring up the dictionary word attributes, so I can't note that
my "bad" words are cliches. Does anyone know of a way to do this? Or are
there any better ways to do what I want?

You cannot really customize the grammar part of the dictionary. You can
create a custom dictionary or an exclusion dictionary (so that Word flags
words that are part of its main dictionary as errors).
You may want to use the latter as a way of flagging those cliche words. This
way whenever you use them, Word will flag them. Then you can ignore the
"error" or replace them with a synonym by doing SHIFT-F7 on the word to
display the thesaurus.

 

[Tess]

Thanks for the tip. I found the instructions to set up an "exclude
dictionary" and it works pretty well. I also appreciate the thesaurus link -
it'll make fixing up my "bad" words a lot easier!