Merriam Webster Dictionary Reviews

Searched for involute; it took about 45 seconds of a white screen with a loading bar to pull the word up and it showed the least technical usage not the formal usage which you would expect. I had been spoiled by successfully searching and finding definitions using a web browser which pops up the definition in the bar before you can even finish typing but I figured I’d download the dictionary just to have it and use it when offline etc, but I’d rather not delay my searching time by about 100x just to use MerriamWebsterDictionary especially when it didn’t even show the formal usage definition which by the way is “involved or intricate”. Ads are unappealing too. Every app these days has to sacrifice user experience to make an extra penny and it all unfortunate but I suppose in a world where you can put out basically any low level of product and still catch some users in the funnel; it’s worth it to the developers, as the pennies add up. You aren’t getting mine however, or any user who has respect for their experience .

I purchased MerriamWebsterDictionary because I listen to a lot of history books on Audible. when listening to the books, I often hear words that I’ve never heard before in French phrases that don’t make any sense to me.

A couple words of encounter for the first time in the past couple days are peripatetic and calumny, for example. Call me a fool, but I guessed the spelling wrong on both these words by one letter, and as a result, obtain no results in search.

In contrast, a quick DuckDuckGo search automatically corrected my spelling error and presented the Merriam-Webster dictionary page directly from the search results as the first result. I just find myself in a situation, where if I have Internet access, it makes much more sense to just search it in a web browser, then rather than use MerriamWebsterDictionary . The only time MerriamWebsterDictionary is of any use to me as if I am caught completely without Internet access and I need to access something off-line. Otherwise, I end up trying to search it in MerriamWebsterDictionary , and then just going to Google it instead. i’ll give me MerriamWebsterDictionary to stars Soli book as it doesn’t have a spelling correction future or offer any suggested similar spellings. I think that people like me, who hear the word rather than see it, needs to know about this lack of a feature before they purchase. If Merriam-Webster wishes to add this feature in the future, or if it’s already there and I just don’t know how to use it, I’ll upgrade my rating to five stars.

I typically don’t mind viewing ads for the trade off of a free ad but the pop up ads here are extremely bothersome. They “pop up” and take over the entire screen and shouting at you in an outrageously loud voice asking you to complete an action or interact with the ad in some way all while displaying the false appearance of an X in the upper right corner making you think you can click out of the ad, but nooo you can’t, the X is fake and doesn’t work so your only option is to close MerriamWebsterDictionary and reopen it. Then promptly after reopening MerriamWebsterDictionary another similar ad pops up and you go thru the same ordeal. Like I said I don’t mind viewing ads, but these ads are just outrageous. They are so loud and since you’re not expecting it, they totally catch you off guard and startle the hell out of you. I realize the remedy to this is paying for a subscription, but honestly I find these ads so rude and in your face that I’m turned off by the entire app and am considering uninstalling it and going back to the old dictionary app I was using before.

I don’t understand why there would be two versions of MerriamWebsterDictionary in MerriamWebsterDictionary Store, a paid and unpaid. When the unpaid version has TONS of words that can’t even be accessed without being prompted to buy the full version. In addition to that, every third word lookup seems to bring up an advertisement that cannot be exited out from. Just a never-ending pop up that you have to close and restart MerriamWebsterDictionary just to get out of. If this is the FREE version, than advertisements are necessary, I get that. But at least give me the option to close out of it after 15-20 seconds or something. Also, why put in words with definitions that are unavailable, unless you pay? Isn’t there a whole other app for that? If I’m limited to only a certain number of words, make that clear. Don’t go around teasing this whole array of words that aren’t even accessible to the free-using people that chose to install MerriamWebsterDictionary . I downloaded for the sake of convenience. Seemed like this would be a solid alternative to using google every time I needed quick access to a definition. I mean this is a DICTIONARY, right? Back to google it is.

Great dictionary app! However, Merriam does not make clear the difference between the Premium app (one time payment of $4.99) and the Original app with a yearly subscription ($2.99/year and $5.99/year). The premium app lists all of it’s features in MerriamWebsterDictionary Store, but the Original (free) app says you pay $2.99 for removal of ads and $5.99 for “additional features”. There is no information about this on there website either, so how is a consumer supposed to decide on which to purchase? Will the Premium app eventually be phased out for just the subscription model? I purchased the $5.99 subscription before I knew about the Premium app. I remember there being information on the features before purchase. But now that I’ve purchased it, the section with the features has disappeared. I wasn’t aware of a one time payment premium app, so now I want to compare and see if I’m getting my money’s worth. This information needs to be readily available and in plain sight. Can someone from Merriam please respond with this information? I email you but got and auto response saying “ Due to the volume of correspondence we receive, we unfortunately cannot personally respond to each message”
and the generic info included in that email did not answer my question. Otherwise great app. Best dictionary for Americans.

I love using MerriamWebsterDictionary...I always need a dictionary to look up descriptions...a small amount of big words are not used in MY dictionary due to my uncertainty of the correct use or meaning...there are of course many more uses of MerriamWebsterDictionary, but what I use it for, is to build my vocabulary...AND LEARN...every time I look up a word in this dictionary, I cant seem to do under 10 minutes...at least...lol...due to where each word takes me...once the word is opened, you can tap on any number of other words in describing that such word...by doing this, I am learning their description, their origins, their uses and their most amazing history in some cases...I love MerriamWebsterDictionary...the only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 is because if u misspell the word in the end, you don’t get anymore options for the word your looking for and/or if you use the wrong vowel and can’t figure it out, it’s a bust...if the can find a way to give you options of different ways to spelling what u might be looking for, then you’d get 5 ⭐️!, BUT GREAT APPLICATION AND DICTIONARY...IVE ALWAYS LOVED WEBSTERS DICTIONARIES!...thank you AmyB

I still really love MerriamWebsterDictionary , it’s so useful for my writing, but since one of the recent updates you have to pay a yearly subscription to be able to see the definition for certain words, whereas before the update I could see the definition for those very same words without needing to pay, it’s a little disappointing that MerriamWebsterDictionary has went in the direction of payed subscriptions, I would have bought the payed version gladly if it were a one time payment, but not everyone is going to want to worry about a subscription, even if it is yearly. I know you have to make your money somehow, so I do understand, but I wish it were a one time payment instead of subscription...The reason I got MerriamWebsterDictionary is because I wanted an offline dictionary and it has worked very well, but if I can’t find the words in MerriamWebsterDictionary that I need then I probably will have to use google, which is beside the point. It’s a great app, I am just not one for subscriptions. (The games are really fun though.) (:

Look. Like everyone I USED to read books. (Books are small, square things that hold paper ((paper is a man-made product of trees)) (((trees are them large stand up things with green things on em, they live outside))) with typing on the pages). But FF 20 years and my vocabulary is like max 10 words. So getting MerriamWebsterDictionary makes me see that a) Jesus Christ I need to read a real book again and b) my memory recollection still works. So MerriamWebsterDictionary for the vocabulary quiz is fan-bloody-tastic. When my internet is out (I’ve got like adult ADHD so I need to look at reddit or an app or a game) this is my new go-to app. I just keep trying to unlock the vocabulary quiz levels. It kind of makes me miss university and writing thesis papers lol omg that’s sad. But it’s also a mind game to try to use big words and confuse everyone so you can be like yeah I got a vocab wassup lol anyway 10/10

Being bilingual is a privilege. However being able to speak Spanish and English, the two most frequently used languages in the world today can also be challenging. Especially when you have grown and live in multicultural society. Speaking or writing both languages correctly is very important if you want to have good and clear communication. A decade ago one would need time and plenty of space to accommodate books, notes and a couple of dictionaries on ones desk to read, write and check your spelling. Correct pronunciation was a challenge by itself. Merriam Webster simplified it all with MerriamWebsterDictionary. Especially when the iPhone has become my personal desk. I do a lot of reading, research and writing in social media. I also have public speaking engagements where correct and proper grammar is important. MerriamWebsterDictionary has helped me accomplish it all, allowing me to express myself clearly to the world.

I read books that often have unusual, or at least not in the common vernacular, words in them. I used to write them down and at the end of the day look them up in my physical dictionary or Encyclopedia set. Now I have one right in my pocket that is constantly being updated (my physical dictionary was from the early 1990s and encyclopedias given to me by my grandpa before he died when I was ten - I’m 30 now. New things are out there, new ideas, new ELEMENTS. And since I’m a writer, and I hate reusing a word too many times in an essay, paper, or story, the Thesaurus is a great and convenient tool that’s a nice little add on.
Plus my family and I try to make up alternative definitions for the ‘Word of the Day’. Funniest or most outrageous wins. Try it! It awesome! Especially if you don’t know what the word means in the first place!
Also, like me, if you are writing a story and need someone with the ranking of town mayor but in a tribal setting, the Thesaurus can actually give you the word you are looking for. I typed in ‘lord’ in the thesaurus and it gave me ‘nabob’ and ‘nawab’ two Urdu words for a local Muslim governor in the Mogul Empire (so like a mix between governor, lord, tax collector, and sheriff). If my story develops into neading a Muslim- type country, I can make sure the provinces have ‘nabobs’- cause now I know that word!

First, it’s awesome for providing the spoken pronunciation of the word you are looking up. Very helpful if you’re only familiar with a certain word because you keep coming across it in your reading. I like that the definitions go into great detail about the origins of the words. Each entry also includes similar words so you really get a feel for a variety of words that also pertains to what you’re looking up.
Second, the games are actually really fun and I’ve learned a ton of new vocabulary. It also helps build your knowledge base so you can more easily determine the definition of a word based on context when you are reading certain things. And it truly is fun to try to increase your personal best. If you repeat a level, the words change so you aren’t just memorizing things.
Very useful little app. I learn new things every time I open it up.

I’m still in school, so something like a portable dictionary can be really handy. Though I don’t pay for the premium so I can’t look up everything(especially names) it’s still extremely helpful. Sometimes I hear this strange word on TV or see it in a novel I’m reading and wonder what it is. Sometimes I’m doing school and something asks for the exact definition of a word. Instead it trooping to my basement and flipping for ages through gigantic, long, make your eyes bleed pages, I turn to my phone charging behind me and switch on MerriamWebsterDictionary. I’m also a small time writer, so the thesaurus is REALLY helpful when looking for that just right word to fit your story and writing style.
I also love the quizzes-they’re really unique and honestly do teach me words. It’s a little tempting slice of the Quissitive app. I can’t wait until next week’s comes out.
This also very easy to navigate, and everything is clear and concise-so if your not sure you want to use some electronic confusing dictionary, never mind that. Webster is just a few clicks and you’re to your definitions, and one more easy to see button will lead you to the thesaurus. Making an account is easy too!
Great app overall; It’s helped me a ton through school, writing, and my endeavors to increase my vocabulary. Thanks, Merriam Webster! No complaints here on my part.

Downloading MerriamWebsterDictionary right now with high hopes. Was looking for an app that will give me a word each day to learn. I’ve been searching through many app, but most of them had complains abt ads that would even give u the time to finish reading info abt a word. The apps’ excuse was that they needed ads to survive. Well, i guess it’s kinda true, but not for me. I am too impatient to go through that.
I finally found this one. Being a big website and app, i am hoping i wouldn’t have to go through ads just to check out a “word of the day.”
what convinced me was the review of user Cidaddict (if i remember correctly) mentioning emails abt “word of the day” and right below his review an update history mentioning MerriamWebsterDictionary now had word of the day as widget. Deal! I’m in!
Let’s see how it goes. I would update if i have to give less stars. If I do not update my review, consider me deeply satisfied.

This is a great dictionary/thesaurus app that is very easy and quick to use.

I’ve seen several reviews complaining about ads, but they really aren’t that bad. There’s usually a little one across the bottom, but it isn’t distracting. Also if you search another word for the second time during when you have MerriamWebsterDictionary open, it might pull up a still ad, but you can click the x immediately and get back to the dictionary. That’s all the ads it has. Not bad, especially if you just look up one or two words every once in a while.

P.S. when I first got MerriamWebsterDictionary I had a little trouble finding the thesaurus, as there’s no obvious button to switch to it. Here’s how you get to it: when you click the search bar, the option pops up to search dictionary or thesaurus right below it. (Obviously you shouldn’t have the same problem if you use the dictionary first, but if you try to look for the thesaurus first, that’s how you do it.)

This is a review of Version 4.3. Used to love it, now I hate it. It’s really pretty, but the print is so small and dim I can’t read it. I never had any problems with the previous version. Now it’s worthless to me. Guess I’ll try to reload the old iPad-only app.

Update (and up to three stars from two): Okay, I just discovered you can "pinch" to enlarge the font, but then it doesn’t fit the screen and you have to slide it back and forth to read little bits of the entry at a time. It would be much better if, when resizing, the text would wrap around to fit the visible dimensions of the screen.

Update 2 (up to four stars): Okay, I’m warming up to it. Another reviewer mentioned that they wished you could "back-arrow" to return to the home screen. I’ll admit that annoyed me as well, but the developer's response (swipe from the left side of the screen) solved that problem for me. And I like how you can now go back several days in case you missed the "Word of the Day." Still hope they fix the font size issue though.

A+ on MerriamWebsterDictionary . Easy search for dictionary and/or thesaurus, even offline! Also includes online audio pronunciation. Favorite words and view your recent searches. I especially enjoy the Word of the Day and the quizzes. It even gives a new weekly quiz each week. (Internet access necessary to receive Word of the Day and weekly quizzes, then they are available offline.) I never paid for anything and have never gotten ads.

Like most apps it has bugs... particularly a problem with the search bar dropping down from the top of the screen. This is especially annoying when you're trying to play a quiz game and it covers the countdown time and score. It simply does this randomly. Hopefully they will fix this issue soon. Also there are no back arrows. If you're wondering how to go back... just swipe away from the left edge of the screen. The same method can be used for moving forward to a previous screen (after going back). Simply swipe away from the right side.

Why are you waiting? Download now and enjoy!!

I’m an unusual person who loves to read the dictionary for fun. I blame both my father who was an incredible wordsmith (and who made up games to encourage my sibs and me to expand and then use our new vocabularies) and my 4th grade teacher who taught us to love not only learning new vocabulary words but to look at how a word is put together (prefixes, suffixes, root words) and to become word detectives by looking for certain characteristics that would give away the national origin of the word. I’m also an avid reader who underlines any word I don’t know and then writes the definition in the margin of the page the word is on. Through the years I’ve tried using a variety of different dictionaries, but the one that I trust most is Merriam-Webster. It gives me the most complete information that I need about pronunciation(s), definitions, word origin (one of my favorite bits) plus synonyms, antonyms, and proper usage of the word. The games are great fun and keep me on my toes, so to speak, helping me sharpen my skills and add new words to my vocabulary. No other dictionary does so much and does it so well! Many thanks.

I have an excellent vocabulary proven by many tests and games of this type. In one hour (while paying attention to the news) I played all three games and reached the top competency of all three as well as trying to score no mistakes in the least amount of time. I have had smart phones since they have been available and have resisted until now playing any without someone (my sister, usually) trying to talk me into it.
The Mirriam Webster app games broke through my resistance. Even the “beyond difficulty” level is not impossibly difficult, but there are words and pictures (What is This?) and the True and False questions that I don’t know. That is where my fun comes from - learning something I hadn’t previously known. I also learned that some of the questions have rather nit-picky answers. Some of the questions require somewhat closer reading than I gave, sacrificing the closer reading for the sake of speedy answers.
But, it is only a game played for my own amusement. I am not going to get my knickers in a twist if I am not perfect. Didn’t Watson prove superior to any human competitors? Isn’t that the point of AI? Scary, but true!
Lizzibet

I used to read constantly in my youth and into my twenties but it’s so difficult to find ample time to physically crack open a book these days and read the amount of content that satisfies me, so I started listening to more audiobooks to keep up with my “reading” while performing menial tasks like washing dishes and cleaning floors/etc. But I have to admit my vocabulary unfortunately seems to be paying the price for this convenience! But the WOTD calendar and word games help to continue the expansion of my vocabulary, and while sometimes they are words I already know they are usually words that can be used in writing and sometimes even every day conversation, and it’s nice to be reminded of those fleeting words that aren’t quite seared into memory. There are so many WOTD calendars/apps that seem to think finding the most useless, nonsensical and out of date words in the English language is some great accomplishment, but it’s a waste of everyone’s time in my opinion. The point is to expand the vocabulary of words still in use, or words that at least have an interesting backstory... and Merriam Webster does just that in my opinion. Check out the games as well, fun and educational for all levels of proficiency!

This has always been my number one dictionary to pick up first and the one I always referred to when expanding my vocabulary and to aid my understanding of the different meanings of a word based on the context it’s used in. I remember when I was a little kid I would just pick up a dictionary (especially Merriam-Webster), sit down, and start reading through it randomly learning new words. Now with MerriamWebsterDictionary on my phone I do like the idea of having a dictionary with me everywhere I go, that I can literally carry around with me in my pocket. Whenever I bring it up to check something I don’t even have to turn a single page to find the word I’m looking up. I guess I just appreciate the multitude of uses that technology brings us, the fact that I already appreciated the physical book itself before smartphones even existed and that I just like everyone else had to remember and or write down everyone’s landline number has something to do with it too. MerriamWebsterDictionary is definitely useful to have, and it has come in-handy for me on numerous occasions. So far for me it has been working smoothly, no glitches or anything. I absolutely recommend MerriamWebsterDictionary if your looking for a good reputable dictionary to have as a part of your phone’s abilities.

I first bought the Merriam Webster dictionary many years ago when it was a new app, and at that time it was the complete unabridged version with no ads. It cost $65, which was incredibly high compared to other apps at the time. But my wife is a linguistics expert and I majored in English in college, so we deemed it a good purchase because carrying around the actual unabridged Merriam dictionary, which sits now on the dresser in our bedroom for easy access, was not practical. It weighs about ten pounds.

We were very satisfied with it. Then one day that version would no longer open, was no longer available, and was no longer supported. We were directed to download the new version, which we did. The new one is free, filled with ads, and abridged. After spending $65, the thought of paying $4.95 more for the ad free version of an inferior product made me slightly nauseous.

If you must have a dictionary, and we certainly use it frequently, this one is as good as can now be had. But you will find the ads annoying, they make you sit through them for a while before you can close them, and you will find the entries to be limited. Not that it’s terrible for the majority of the people. We feel cheated however because we paid heavily for the unabridged version and Merriam has made the decision to rescind it’s availability in order to further monetize its product.

A sad commentary on what was once a superior company with an unmatched product.

I have been using MerriamWebsterDictionary for years and always had the red title screen when I clicked it. After I looked up a word, I always would tap the back arrow to return to the initial screen. The back arrow is no longer there. I am disappointed and irritated. It changes the whole feel. Yes, there is a bar to go back to previously seen words, but I normally don't need to go back, as I have already seen that definition. Maybe they have a developer with a really poor memory.
UPDATE: The developer responded that "You can still go back at anytime by swiping from the left side of the screen." My question is why they think that's good enough. There is no help in MerriamWebsterDictionary to tell you that. The FAQ on the m-w website doesn't mention it either. Do you expect your longtime users to read your minds? Just put it back, please. That made it obvious and intuitive, which are two important qualities in an app.
MORE: Swiping from the left side worked a couple of times but is not working now.

Been using this same app since I was in Junior college several years ago and have been using it on a daily/weekly basis ever since; from transitioning to a 4 year college some time later and writing more difficult papers; to my post-school work life and writing emails on the reg. Words are a beautiful and powerful thing to behold and only through the constants learning of a language and it’s plethora of words added to our own lexicon can we truly master it and learn how to communicate with one another on different levels so we may understand one another. Though English is technically my 2nd language, I now consider it my more dominant language in large part thanks to MerriamWebsterDictionary as well as conventional dictionaries. I’ve used other dictionary apps as well, but always found myself coming back to MerriamWebsterDictionary due to its simple interface with limited ads. Major thanks and kudos to the creators of MerriamWebsterDictionary.

First, let’s face it, this is Miriam-Webster. MerriamWebsterDictionary is basically the electronic version of their hard cover books. So synonyms, antonyms and the like, are included. I sometimes will use it as a Thesaurus.

What’s really cool is the audio pronunciation feature! This is really handy when you come upon a new word and don’t know how to pronounce it.

I really like the way this dictionary app helps you quickly find the word you are searching for, especially if you aren’t sure how to spell it! As you type in each letter of the subject word, the auto fill feature starts to list possible words. You can select your word when it comes up on the list, or keep typing until your word comes up. It’s also a quick and easy way to learn how to spell!