I know of people who had the habit of learning lists of synonyms by heart, so that any one of a set of words could be brought quickly to mind, and also, if they used one, and found they needed it again soon after, they could avoid the repetition by selecting another with the same meaning. This is a childish occupation, a mark of effort ill-spent, and not even particularly useful; it simply assembles a crown of words, out of which the speaker can snatch the nearest without any discrimination.
What we have to do is to acquire our stock with judgement, aiming at forceful oratory, not the patter of a street trader. And we shall achieve this by reading and hearing the best models. By taking this trouble, we shall learn not only the words for things but which words are best in each place.
- Quintilian, The Orator's Education, Book 10, 257.
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