I’ve never been too happy about it, but Dictionary.com has been my online dictionary of choice for a long time. It’s not the most exhaustively detailed resource, but they’ve kept simplicity and ease of use in mind over the years (since 1997), and offered decent definitions, some etymology, and both IPA and spelled pronunciations. Not too shabby. Unfortunately, sudden uninvited changes have tainted our luke-warm love affair. The site has taken a marked downturn in virtually every way: thoughtless new design elements, a decrease in the depth and number of results, more advertisements, slower performance. Gaww. Disappointing. A little research reveals the cause of this sad story: an acquisition. Apparently Ask.com acquired Lexico Group (Dictionary.com’s parent company) this summer.

So I’m moving on. What follows is a survey of some of the more compelling dictionary contenders on the web..

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