The Oxford Essential Dictionary of Difficult Words [Paperback]

Oxford University Press (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (July 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425180700
• ISBN-13: 978-0425180709
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #741,443 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Instant Illumination of Verbal Perplexities, July 19, 2001

By 

Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Oxford Essential Dictionary of Difficult Words (Paperback)

What a relief it is to know that one does not have to carry around the Oxford English Dictionary to keep one's head above water with the English language. I am often at a loss for the correct spelling or usage of a word that I think is the right one. Common business dictionaries often fail to provide the material for creative writing, and usually fail to provide useful examples. And, of course, it helps to have something handy when someone else decides to show off their language skills.

This little gem, "The Oxford Dictionary of Difficult Words" is intended to fill this particular gap. Only 1-1/2" thick, the paperback is just the size for slipping into a briefcase or portfolio. It provides all the basics; pronunciation, parts of speech, and concise definitions, and sample sentences. It covers both technical as well as English usage. So if you are occasionally non-plussed by the appearance of elucubrate or exactly how to use sardonic, this is the handy reference for you.

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real gem, July 28, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Oxford Essential Dictionary of Difficult Words (Paperback)

This little book has just about any word you might look up, and omits those you won't (e.g., "cat"). In addition, it provides example sentences and explanatory notes for many words (e.g., "further" vs. "farther"). All this in a small and inexpensive package. This is perhaps the only dictionary you'll need.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as difficult as I thought, January 3, 2007

By 

S. Bailly "dulcis_et_utilis" (New Orleans, LA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Oxford Essential Dictionary of Difficult Words (Paperback)

I bought this dictionary because I have just started a graduate program in English. I thought it might cut out some of the more well-known words and give me a more compact dictionary that I could really use. It seems that they only cut out small words (apparently, "difficult"=polysyllabic), and I find myself still turning to this worn-out old Webster's dictionary my boyfriend bought in high school. Also, there is not much etymological information. Having a B.A. in Latin and being very interested in poetry, I find that the dictionary is not very useful for my purposes. It's good for a basic overview of words--probably good for GRE or LSAT study. Not the dictionary for English grad students. (I have access to the OED online, so I rely on that much more heavily)