When working with text data, it is often useful to have a word thesaurus that maps each word to its synonyms. This can be particularly helpful for tasks such as text classification, information retrieval, and natural language processing. In this article, we will explore three different ways to build a word thesaurus in Python.

Option 1: Using a Dictionary

One simple way to build a word thesaurus is by using a dictionary data structure in Python. We can create a dictionary where each key represents a word, and the corresponding value is a list of synonyms for that word. Here’s an example:

thesaurus = {
    'building': ['structure', 'edifice', 'construction'],
    'word': ['term', 'vocabulary', 'lexicon'],
    'thesaurus': ['dictionary', 'wordbook', 'lexicon']
}

In this example, the word ‘building’ is mapped to a list of synonyms [‘structure’, ‘edifice’, ‘construction’], and so on. To access the synonyms for a specific word, we can simply use the key to retrieve the corresponding value from the dictionary.

Option 2: Using a List of Tuples

Another approach is to use a list of tuples, where each tuple contains a word and its synonyms. Here’s an example:

thesaurus = [
    ('building', ['structure', 'edifice', 'construction']),
    ('word', ['term', 'vocabulary', 'lexicon']),
    ('thesaurus', ['dictionary', 'wordbook', 'lexicon'])
]

In this case, each tuple represents a word-synonyms pair. To access the synonyms for a specific word, we can iterate over the list and check if the word matches the desired key.

Option 3: Using a Nested Dictionary

A more advanced approach is to use a nested dictionary, where each word is mapped to another dictionary that contains its synonyms. Here’s an example:

thesaurus = {
    'building': {
        'synonyms': ['structure', 'edifice', 'construction']
    },
    'word': {
        'synonyms': ['term', 'vocabulary', 'lexicon']
    },
    'thesaurus': {
        'synonyms': ['dictionary', 'wordbook', 'lexicon']
    }
}

In this example, each word is associated with a nested dictionary that contains a ‘synonyms’ key, which maps to a list of synonyms. To access the synonyms for a specific word, we can use the key to retrieve the nested dictionary and then access the ‘synonyms’ key.

After exploring these three options, it is clear that the best choice depends on the specific requirements of your project. If you need a simple and straightforward solution, using a dictionary (Option 1) might be sufficient. However, if you require more flexibility or additional metadata for each word, using a nested dictionary (Option 3) could be a better choice. Ultimately, the decision should be based on the specific needs and constraints of your application.