Customer Reviews

Merriam Websters Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus 11th Edition

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

 

 

I've been using a CD-ROM dictionary -- beginning with The American Heritage edition -- for about eight years now, and I've become spoiled by the audio pronunciations and various look-up features. Along with standard definitions, I've come to expect a CD-ROM to include at least a Thesaurus and a reverse look-up (for when you remember the words used in the definition, but not the term itself). I bought the latest American Heritage CD-ROM, and was greatly disappointed because it lacked the latter feature, so I bought the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus 11th Edition CD-ROM, too. With this one, I was very satisfied, and it in fact was more than I needed.

Unlike the previous two AHD CD-ROMs I owned, this Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus 11th Edition CD-ROM provides multiple pronunciations for the same word. That was a nice surprise. Though not a big deal, the product description and the package for it claims it has twenty-one search options, but I can locate only nineteen. That doesn't matter to me, because it provides the options that were essential for my decision to buy it, and everything else is lagniappe.

As for the other search options, if someone had asked me for input in designing these features, I never would have thought of them. People who enjoy solving word puzzles might find useful the cryptogram and jumble searches. You can also search by rhyme, which will return a list of words that rhyme with the entry; by homophone; by a word in the etymology; by the year a particular usage was established; by an author quoted; by the example sentences used to illustrate the word in a context; and a couple of search options for which I'm unsure of the advantage. While all this was definitely more than I required, I can imagine situations in which I might find them useful. I definitely can see how others might.

To sum it up, the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus 11th Edition CD-ROM provides the essential features you'll need, and then some. I'm very satisfied with its performance and it's more than worth the price. Perhaps there are better CD-ROM dictionaries available, but I can't figure out how to find them without buying every one available and testing them myself. Luckily I've found one that works, and it'll do until I somehow get a lead on a better package. Meanwhile, I hope my review provided enough helpful details to satisfy any doubts you have about this one.
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Bought it to replace my old AHD. Like the vocal pronounce feature. My twelve year old AHD handled spelling errors better.

Says it's Vista ready but it's not. Strange. The HELP feature won't work unless you go to MS and download a driver which for some reason I can't find.

A good value for money and likely as good as any other.

a little bulky, but appears to be very thorough

you don't need to keep the cd in the drive for it to work.

If you've never used a dictionary or modern software I guess this electronic dictionary would be satisfactory.

The software installation process was overly complicated and included a sales pitch for their other products - it did not help installing the product I bought. The installation used a product password that was barely readable; very small print in a confusing font. The software interface was ho-hum and not very intuitive - reminded me of a DOS program. I used this program twice and set it aside - a waste of money.

I was looking for dictionary software that would be simple to use and have the features I desire. This product meets my needs and has audio pronunciations, a very important feature for me. It was easy and quick to install and use. The cost is a real value as compared to similar software. I am running Windows XP and do not know how it will function on Windows Vista. As a result, I am holding back on a full 5-star recommendation. Good product.

I bought this to update a version that came packaged in the hardbound dictionary. It is fast, clear, and easy to use. It can be opened and left in the background in the icon tray, task bar, or as a floating icon. When this is done, any word in just about any application can be highlighted; then press CONTROL C C (the key sequence is changeable) and the word is looked up in the dictionary. Very handy feature.

The fact that it presents entries for the dictionary and thesaurus together is also helpful. It can integrate other Merriam-Webster dictionaries (e.g. medical) if you purchase that license separately.

It is running on a Vista Service Pack 2 64-bit PC. Works fine with no need to download any drivers as reported by another reviewer.

This edition is not quite as easy to use as earlier but seems to be more complete and up to date.

I installed this dictionary on two computers I own. I needed to reformat the hard drive (three times) on one of the computers. Now I cannot seem to register the product because I the 'product key' has already been registered. I do not seem to be able to find any way to contact customer service (if any) to resolve the problem. When I was able to install the Merriam-Webster program, it was hard to install.
I have used many computers over the years, and I have successfully installed MANY programs. When Merriam Websters Collgaite Dictionary & Thesaurus 11th Edition does install, you are forced to install other products on a trial basis.

I JUST WANT THE PRODUCT THAT I PAID FOR!!!!!!!!!!

Don't buy it; it's not worth the hassle.

We bought this to replace our old American Heritage talking dictionary which won't run on Vista. Key features for me are being able to do wild card searches (for cheating on cross words), i.e. a ? to match any character and a * to match any string of characters. This dictionary supports that, but amazingly it's not documented anywhere. In fact this dictionary has ZERO documentation on user interface. The logical word search that is hyped in the ads seems useless to me since it doesn't search in the meanings, but only the words. It's doing the job for me and it actually has better coverage of two word phrases which are often absent in dictionaries.

I was hoping to find a replacement for Microsoft Bookshelf, which does not work with Windows 7. Bookshelf offers an integration of dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopdia, and atlas. I was very disappointed in the comparison. The Collegiate dictionary was more complex to use and had less to offer. I guess Bookshelf spoiled me.