Customer Reviews

Merriam-Webster's 11th Edition Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I already owned the Microsoft Encarta World English Dictionary when I bought Merriam-Webster because I wanted the software to pronounce every word, and Encarta doesn't.

Merriam-Webster's main good point:
pronouces every single entry, including various forms of each word, such as "beauty", "beautiful" plus you can copy the whole disc into your computer, so you don't have to put in the CD every time you look stuff up. Can't do with Microsoft.

Other than that, it isn't a very good computer dictionary. It looks like somebody just scanned the information into the computer. The dictionary has limited space, that's why stuff is crammed in the there, but the computer should read with more paragraph separations which costs no more memory. There are few examples.

I also don't like the fact that you have to clear each entry before you can look up the next word, which I don't have to do with Microsoft's.

It is a usable dictionary and thesarus, and has plenty of entries. I think it is particular worth it for someone learning English as a foreign language.

This is undoubtedly the best dictionary & thesaurus available today. The features that impressed me the most are:

1: You don't have to leave the CD in the drive to use the 'pronounciation' feature. You can optionally install the sound files on your hard disk. (Approx. 532 MB)

2: Multiple pronounciations invoked where appropriate.

3: Installs without a glitch and integrates with MS Word.

4: Has a lot of nice features like 'Spelling Help'.

I hope the 12th Edition will integrate with email browsers, not just with MS Word. Also, I would have preferred the thesaurus invoked automatically in an additional pane instead of switching between dictionary and thesaurus.

I'm typing this on a Powerbook G4 running Mac OS X 10.3, according to the top utility, the Merriam-Webster application is taking between 7% and 12% of the CPU time while idling in the background. If every application I owned did this, I would be in trouble. Thankfully, most commercial applications are better written.

Not that I don't appreciate the product for what it does. It is incredibly useful for looking up words, solving crossword puzzles and the like. I know I use it frequently and think it a bargain.

However, as a Mac coder, I find its interface and performance well below professional standards. It is easily the ugliest application I use on a daily basis with its mixture of faux 3D elements and Mac native widgets, its garish color scheme, blocky icons and its tendency to suck down cycles as if its programmers had never heard of a Carbon Event.

Any e-dictionary will give you definitions of course, but what I especially like about this one is that it is lightning fast. Also, when a definition contains an illustration it's indicated by an icon which you double click to view (and which comes up instanteously in a seperate window). This dictionary also allows you to search a word by different criteria other than for just its definitions: rhymes with, Homophones are, Date of, Author quoted, Definition contains...etc, etc. One note on installation: make sure you temporarily disable active virus software (and it wouldn't hurt to do the same for those other programs on the right side of the task bar).

I had an old version of this software (2.0, I think), which requires Mac OS 9 or classic. This new version runs in native OS X. I agree with other reviewers: the interface is ugly, but it does the job. I like the audio capability. English is not my first language so I find the pronunciation feature indispensable (don't forget to install it; it's not included in the "easy" install option). Another great feature is the "Defining text contains" search. You can find a word by entering the words that are in the definition. What is the word that denotes the noise a duck makes? You can easily find that, of course, ducks "quack," not to mention that you will also find all kinds of ducks -- the blue-winged teal, the bufflehead, the eider -- and all sorts of duck relatives and even duck dishes. You can also find words that rhyme with duck: cluck, guck and many more. Other ways of searching include usage paragraph contains, forms a crossword, homophones, cryptograms and more. I don't understand why these features are not prominently used to market the dictionary. They are one the reasons for using a dictionary in a computer, and they make the $20 a joke. I would pay so much more for it.

Although this dictionary's contents are extensive, the screen functions are relics from the DOS era. They are laborious and clumsy. To find a word for difinition, it has to be spelled perfectly, there's no list of proximations to the word entered. Changing a word selection is also clumsy especially in the thesaurus when the cursor doesn't show up in the entry slot. If someone knows of a better software, I'd sure like to hear cause this thing sucks!! Maria McGowan

The definitions and thesaurus cross referencing are very good. The user interface is quite honestly shameful. Software companies got away with this years ago, but there are now accepted standards for windows user interfaces (e.g keyboard short cuts are missing). Integration with Word 2003 is weak. Numerous bugs and exceptions and very slow.

It is wondeful software. Simple, easy to use, user-friendly, and very accurate in the pronunciation.

Buy this CD. Don't waste your money on the subscription at merriam-webster's website.

ALso try the Medical dictionary. It is as equally superb.

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate is the standard for many of us in magazine and book editing. Beware, if you expect to receive an up-to-date rendition of it on disk. I bought the printed Eleventh Edition a couple of months ago, then bought the disk version earlier this week because I thought it would expedite my word checks while editing onscreen. For most needs, this certainly is ample (although I don't like the awkwardness imposed in switching between dictionary and thesaurus). Although the disk box claims it to be the "Eleventh Edition of America's #1 Dictionary," I believe it's four or five years out of date already. Certainly the printed Eleventh Edition which I received contains terms not yet included in this product. Quick test: Look up "blog" in the print edition; it's defined there, as you would expect from the latest version of any dictionary. See what happens when you type that word into your "new" disk version.

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Three is no other dictionary that I can rely on more than Merriam Webster dictionary. This new edition, 11th, got all updated words used for internet and new high tech terms with accurate vocal sound. I saw some other dictionary with sound, but this dictionary got most accurate sound that I can trust. For some words that have two sounds, it pronounces both of them.
I can not work without this dictionary.