Comparison of Dictionaries

Hello everybody! 

Welcome back to my blog.

Today we will be talking about some different Dictionaries and which one I like the most. The dictionaries we are going to compare are Oxford Dictionaries, Merriam-Webster and Word Reference.

To perform this task, we are going to look for the same word, Literature, in this three dictionaries and see what happens.

So, let's start!

The first dictionary is Oxford Dictionaries.

 When we write Literature in this dictionary, what we see is this:

It gives some definitions of the word given and you can hear the pronunciation. You can find, also, the grammatical category and some bottoms to look for more synonyms and examples for each definition. In addition, you are given and explanation of the origin of the word.

The second dictionary is Merriam-Webster.

When we write Literature in this dictionary, what we see is this:

This dictionary is similar to the previous one. It gives the definitions and you can hear the pronunciation, although this shows two different accents. The dictionary doesn't count with a bottom to look for synonyms, but it does with examples. One thing I don't like is that those examples are from the general definition and not from each meaning. A part from that, it gives you recent examples on the web of the word given.

The third dictionary is Word Reference.

When we write Literature in this dictionary, what we see is this:

This dictionary offers pronunciations as well and the definitions. It has synonyms, but inside a box, not in bottoms. In my opinion, is a bit more chaotic than the others. It has a section of Etymology with a brief explanation. 

If I had to choose one, I think I would select the first one. As it seems to me, it offered more content about the word than the rest did and I find it more useful. The examples and the synonyms were shown by meaning and I think that's really positive.

Now we are looking for Literature Learner's Dictionary, a section from Merriam-Webster's dictionary.

As can be seen here, the definition changes a bit. It goes from the production of literary work especially as an occupation to written works (such as poems, plays, and novels) that are considered to be very good and to have lasting importance. This last dictionary is design for students, so, the vocabulary used in the definitions is more accesible for them than the rest.