Occasionally, if you get stuck on a difficult word, there’s always the big fat dictionary waiting to be dusted off. But what if you find that process a tad old-fashioned? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. These days, more and more people are using online dictionaries instead of the traditional paper-made ones to find synonyms, definitions and antonyms. Also, for looking up words on the go, there are a myriad of apps available for smartphones and tablets. So, if you’re an Android user and are looking for some good dictionary apps to try out, read on as we cover the best ones for the platform.
Advanced English & Thesaurus: Allowing you to lookup more than 1.4 million words, Advanced English & Thesaurus is a free Android application that finds words from the Wordnet database. What make this one stand apart from other dictionary applications is that it groups nouns, adjectives, and adverbs into sets of cognitive synonyms.
Instead of simply showing the definition, the app shows how each word is linked to other words in terms of synonyms, opposites and similar words. In addition, Advanced English & Thesaurus also shows hypernyms (more generic words), hyponyms (subordinate words) and meronyms (part names). This makes it easier to remember the word and is particularly helpful for people who are trying to improve their vocabulary.
Dictionary.com: This is the official app of the popular dictionary website Dictionary.com. One of the most-downloaded dictionary apps for this platform, dictionary.com includes definitions for 375,000 words along with 300,000 synonyms and antonyms.
With built-in voice searching capabilities, you can lookup meanings for any word along with its synonyms, antonyms, pronunciations, and examples. There are also other interesting features like ‘Word of The Day’, trending words and ability to save words as favorites, which make Dictionary.com even more interesting. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars, the app is freely available ( ad-supported) for download from the Android Marketplace.
Merriam Webster: This next app brings the famous American dictionary to Android devices. Merriam-Webster is a free ( ad-supported ) application that lets you lookup definitions, synonyms and antonyms using either the usual text search or using your voice. Since the app stores the database offline, you can lookup words even while you’re not connected to the internet. However, to listen to audio pronunciations you’ll need to be online.
In case there’s a word you like or need to work on, you can save it to your favorites by pressing the star button next to it. Moreover, for those working on their vocabulary, Merriam-Webster also shows the word of the day, making it easier to learn a new word every day.
Snapanda: Snapanda is an innovative new dictionary app that lets you find meanings of words by simply touching the word. Once installed, point the camera of your phone over a book or newspaper and just touch the word you want to look up. The app then finds the meaning of that word using OCR technology along with its synonyms and examples. Here’s a video of Snapanda in action :
This augmented reality app also allows users to save words into lists as well as import popular lists like TOEFL Test Simulator and TOEIC Test Simulator. Snapanda is definitely one of the most groundbreaking dictionary applications around and the best part is that it works pretty well as long as you don’t shake the camera too much. Moreover, I’ve found snapping a word is actually faster than typing it, provided one handles the camera well. The app is free (ad-supported) and is available for download from the Android Marketplace.
Colordict: Colordict is another popular dictionary application for Android that looks up words from various sources like Wikipedia, Stardict, Wordnet, and Google Dictionary. Once installed, you can go to marketplace and start adding multiple dictionaries. Colordict comes in quite handy for non-native English speakers as well, since the marketplace includes various dictionaries like Japanese-English , Czech-English and German-English. Moreover, one can also install a thesaurus and start looking up synonyms.
The app works online as well as offline, and it integrates perfectly with a couple of ebook readers which we’ve previously covered. With added features like Voice Recognition, Text-to-Speech, and the ability to theme the application, Colordict gets 4.4 stars out of 5 in the Android Marketplace.
Urban Dictionary: If you’ve been on the internet for a while, then there’s a big chance you might have heard about the Urban Dictionary. It’s a web-based dictionary that provides definitions of slang words and phrases. Urban Dictionary by Tim Clark is a free Android app that lets you lookup words from the famous website.
The app is simple and easy to use. You can search for words, star them, and also look through your history. Another interesting feature about it is that you can lookup random words by simply shaking the phone. The app has been rated 4.4 stars in the Android Marketplace and is freely available for download (ad-supported )
Free Dictionary Org: Free Dictionary Org is a simple no-fuss dictionary app for Android. Packed with features like auto-suggestion, offline searching and Wikipedia integration, this free application also lets you listen to the word’s pronunciation. If you search for a word, the app shows the definitions along with a list of examples and synonyms.
On the top, there are three tabs: the first is for searching the word on Google images, the second one for looking up the word on Wikipedia, and the rightmost one for going through history. When it comes to searching, not only can you lookup words using voice search, you can also integrate the app with the default search widget on Android. Rated 4.2 out of 5 stars, Free Dictionary App is freely available for download from the Android Marketplace.
Image Credits : TexasT’s
About Tech Laze
Pingback: LXer: Best Dictionary Apps for Android | Coders & Admins
Pingback: Links 13/11/2011: Linux Mint 12 “Lisa” RC, Sugar on a Stick 6 | Techrights