Oxford Dictionary & Thesaurus

I bought this primarily to replace my old Oxford Spanish Dictionary app, hoping to be able to use the English dictionaries as well as benefit from an updated application. The other dictionaries are all there but honestly, unless you speak or are learning multiple languages, there isn’t much need for all those other language dictionaries. The. Oxford Dictionary of English is most definitely not the OED. Not only is it abridged but all the quotes and archaic meanings are also not included. It’s really just another good but limited dictionary of English. I am still very happy to have the Oxford Spanish Dictionary on my tablet. In my experience it is one of the best in terms of content and thoroughness, capturing the various nuances of usage in both English and Spanish. The biggest disappointment with the new application is the slowness of the response. Not only do you have to go through the effort to pick your dictionary but with the foreign languages you then must pick the direction for translation and then type in your search word. Then the response from the dictionary is very slow, it can take several seconds for the application to respond with matching terms. The older interface was much faster. It appears that making the application all inclusive slowed everything down by an order of magnitude.

A quick note on the example sentences. It would be optimal if examples would be drawn from classic examples of good writing. Please watch your blatantly misogynistic language. For “mercenary”, the example sentence is “She’s nothing but a mercenary little gold-digger”. Seeing that the vast majority of professional “mercenaries” are men, it would be easy to come up with a sentence that does not viciously target women”. Perhaps we can refer to a business executive with mercenary tactics; there, it doesn’t even specify gender. I chose the Oxford English Dictionary (not American) because I wanted a definitive source for difficult English words. Interestingly, the strength of this dictionary is in colloquial American words. Although the name “Oxford” evokes the idea of old books and traditional education, if you read classic English literature by famous authors from the 18th or 19th centuries, you would be hard pressed to find definitions on this app. I found it terribly ironic that the Dictionary app or Google has more definitions than OED. I had the same problem with an American novel from the 20th century. It appears that the OED app is focused on modern newspapers and light fiction. I would pay handsomely for an app that has definitions for ALL non-technical English words; yes even the obsolete, archaic, and literary. I have no interest in reading blogs. I like to be able to read any book going as far back as Early Modern English, and find the definitions here.

I've always regarded the OED as the be all and end all of English language dictionaries, therefore it has been my favourite for as long as I can remember, it may have been the fact that you need a magnifying glass to read the print in the two volumes of the standard print edition and that one was included in a little drawer in the top of the case! Of course, how many people do you know that have a favourite dictionary? Yes, I'm a giant geek/nerd. 🤓 Anyway, this app is as close as you can get to owning the physical version of the dictionary. It has all of the wonderful little details and assists that the print version has, of course, without the magnifier, though you can use the triple-tap option on your iPhone to magnify the entry if you need it. The app is a bit on the pricey side, especially if you opt in on the translator add-on, but, as with the print version, the Oxford English Dictionary is worth whatever you spend on it. I love that I can look up obscure or unusual words and the OED has them listed! I truly loathe trying to locate the definition of a word that I've come across in my current novel and it's unavailable!! It then becomes a quest to locate the true definition, if not the etymological origins, of a particular word. Being someone who loves and collects words, the OED is the perfect resource for someone like me!😁 I think that the OED app is worth every cent that one decides to put into it. So, what do I say? Splurge!!🤑