We’re often asked “Where’s the thesaurus in your dictionary?” What some users don’t recognize right away is that synonyms, similar words, and antonyms are matched with each sense of a word and appear directly under the appropriate definition for a particular headword. This is why we call it an “integrated thesaurus.”
Wordsmyth Features
Lookup by Spanish or Chinese in WILD
To help young learners whose native language is Spanish or Chinese, WILD allows some level of lookup by Spanish or Chinese directly in the lookup box. For example, if you type in…
Idiomatic phrases in Wordsmyth dictionaries
Wordsmyth has recently updated its collection of idiomatic phrases. We’ve added both more senses and more example sentences, especially to phrasal verbs. This update will make Wordsmyth an even more helpful and powerful tool for learners and teachers of English.
Did you know that Wordsmyth phrases each have their own entries? This makes searching for a particular phrase very simple. Just type the phrase into the search box! No need to look up and search through the entry for “get” if you’re looking for “get away with” or “get around to.” Still, if you’d like to see other phrases with “get,” they can easily be seen listed in the entry for “get.”
Word Parts II: basic suffixes
Suffixes are word parts that are added to a root to create a word (e.g., “dent” + “-al” = “dental”) or to a root word to create a new word (e.g., “soft” + “ness” = “softness”). Suffixes often change a root word’s part of speech and sometimes they make a significant change in the meaning too. For example, the suffix “-less” changes a noun to an adjective and also changes the meaning a great deal. Compare “tooth” and “toothless,” for instance! Some suffixes add grammatical information to a root without changing the part of speech.
Word Parts I: A handy list for introducing Greek and Latin roots to your students
As educators, we are all aware that learning words parts, particularly Greek and Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes can help students guess the meaning of new words as well as help them…