dictionary

Free, straightforward, and attractive, Dictionary.com for Android does exactly what you expect. It quickly serves up definitions and synonyms in its ad-supported dictionary-thesaurus combo. There's a history screen for referencing words you've previously requested, and another to bring you the daily definition in English or Spanish. As for other tricks, you can text or SMS definitions to a friend and press to hear the word's pronunciation.

It's a solid effort that has brand name appeal for Internet vocabulary geeks, but the Android version lacks some of the power behind Dictionary.com on the Web--most notably, … Read more

We are of the humble opinion that Mystic Board publishes some of the worst software available on Download.com; they are almost without exception poorly designed and utterly useless. Nonetheless, we always try to approach each program with an open mind and a positive attitude. So we did with MB Dream, but to no avail. If anything, this program is one of the worst of the worst, and that's saying something.

MB Dream bills itself as three programs in one, containing sections for Dream Interpretation, Dream Dictionary, and Inner Dreams Number. We started with Dream Interpretation, which is set … Read more

Dean's Law Dictionary provides an impressive collection of legal reference materials suitable for any practicing attorney or law student. Its organizational tools and in-depth data make this a great daily tool and a fine educational program, too.

The program's interface provides a simple menu and command icons that feel natural to operate. It's a bit annoying that a few of the program's commands are locked during its trial period, but for the most part the dictionary is easy to use and yields fast results. The program's heart is the Law Dictionary, a great source of … Read more

In OS X there is a systemwide dictionary for spell checking text entry fields in programs, provided the developer has implemented this in their code and not used their own spelling solutions. This feature can generally be accessed through the "Edit" menu, and when activated will underline any misspelled words immediately with a red dashed line.… Read more

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus provides a definitive reference of words in the English language in an easy-to-use electronic format. With a simple layout and excellent results, this is the king of electronic dictionaries.

The program is delightfully simple to navigate, with an intuitive layout and highly readable results. We never considered looking for the Help file because everything is so crystal clear, which is a good thing in a reference work. You can scroll through an alphabetical list of the entire dictionary or simply type in a word to call up a definition. If you misspell a word, the … Read more

Google is making a new move to lower language barriers, offering the ability to translate search results from one language to another.

The search giant is in the process of adding the feature to the "show options" button that shows at the top of search results page. "We've offered this feature in Google Translate for a while, but now we're integrating it fully into Google search, making it easier for you to find and read results from pages across the web, even if they weren't written in a language you speak," said Maureen Heymans, the project's technical leader, and Jeff Chin, its product manager, in a blog post.

Clicking the option can dramatically change the results you see. For example, my ordinary search for "Taipei Museum of Fine Art" produced mostly English-language results. The translated results, though, featured Chinese Web sites with a different perspective (see the result below). Among other things, there was a Chinese Wikipedia entry--also conveniently translated by Google when I clicked the link--where there is none written in English. … Read more

Wordsmiths know that the BlackBerry has spelling covered, but even perfect grammar won't hold much water if your words don't match your meaning. Dictionary.com's dictionary for BlackBerry packages a dictionary, thesaurus, and pronunciation feature into a single app. With it, you can quickly look up definitions and synonyms, either texting or e-mailing the record to a friend. As with the online site, you can switch between the dictionary and thesaurus without having to retype your term. A separate screen shows your search history.

In addition to making you more erudite when you search for a word, … Read more

Once upon a time, desktops were the tops of actual desks, and nearly all of them had a paper dictionary on or near them. The best dictionaries were so huge they needed their own stands. You can still see them in libraries. But nearly everyone who has a computer uses a Web-based dictionary, such as the cleverly named Dictionary.com, or some kind of software-based reference. TheSage's English Dictionary and Thesaurus is the latter sort. It's a free utility that maintains a huge dictionary and thesaurus locally, not online, so it's completely portable, though it can access … Read more

It's funny. We've seen so many awful and completely useless programs from Mystic Board that when we come across one that actually does something, even if it only sort-of works, we're impressed. MB Free Tarot Reader And Dictionary is one such program. By any normal standards, it's awful. By Mystic Board standards, it's above average.

The program's interface, like that of all Mystic Board programs, is cluttered with advertising. On the first screen, users select whether they want a tarot reading or to view the tarot dictionary. The tarot reading option asks for the … Read more