Hello Mike,
I agree with Aser that jDicitionary Mobile's Advanced English Dictionary &
Thesaurus app would be a good choice for you; I actually tried typing in your
sample word search of "Potemkin" as a test. What happens is that the app
filters the results as you type, so you if you're not sure of the spelling, you
can type the beginning of the word and start reading off matches in the results
listed in the lines below the search text field, then double tap to select the
entry you want.
I'm going to paste in the text from a two-year old list post I wrote about
dictionary apps. It includes a description of The Advanced English Dictionary
& Thesaurus, and also of the WordBook app. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary app
was not released at that time, in case you're wondering why it isn't included.
I would add that I no longer recommend getting the Dictionary.com app, at least
for the iPhone, because over a year ago they changed the app so it is more
difficult to use with VoiceOver. The iPad version continued to work OK for
some time after. I haven't updated the iPad version of the Dictionary.com
app, because I suspect the same issues are now present.
<begin quote>
From: Esther
Subject: Summary on Accessible Dictionary apps for the
iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad [was Re: Looking for a dictionary]
Date: May 7, 2010
Hi Paul,
<comment: Dictionary.com app for iPhone is no longer recommended as
accessibility with VoiceOver is not as good now>
I agree with Enjie that the Dictionary.com app is a very good choice for
iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad users who use VoiceOver. It's free, has nearly
1,000,000 words and 90,000 synonyms, a thesaurus, and will pronounce words if
you double tap on the link image that follows each word. Furthermore, all
these functions work (excerpt for the pronunciation of the word) whether or not
you have an internet connection. There's a nice history function, and also a
"Word of the Day", and it's all accessible.
To answer your question, the WordBook Dictionary is accessible, also has a
thesaurus, is modestly priced ($1.99 for iPhone or iPod Touch; $2.99 for the
iPad) and has some nice functions like allowing you to choose the voice used
for pronunciation. It also has some nice links to other web dictionaries.
bookmarking features, word of the day, etc. But what makes this app rather
annoying for the VoiceOver user is the fact that the basic definition portion
of the dictionary has linked nearly all the words in each definition. Although
you can double tap any one of these definitions to go to the linked entry, the
definition gets read out by VoiceOver with "link" following nearly every word.
You might want to explore this yourself to see whether the added features
outweigh the annoyances. I think that the voice selection gets turned on when
you do a search and then you are given options for the voice to choose for the
pronunciation under the audio button.
The other dictionary app that I've used is the Advanced English Dictionary &
Thesaurus ($0.99 or £0.59) by jDictionary Mobile, the same people who produce
The World Factbook 2010 ($0.99). The Advanced English Dictionary is more of
interest (to me) for its thesaurus use and links to related terms that come up
in general contexts. These could be, for instance, cooking terms, popular
science words, economic terms, etc. (Linked terms are kept under a separate
entry, so definitions are read out fine.) Here's a link to a review of
jDicitionary Mobile's Advanced English Dictionary & Thesaurus app that outlines
some of the strengths in the way this app links to related words:
<http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/09/19/review_iphone_app_advanced_english_dictionary/print.html>
Their quick summary: "AED cleverly fits words into a structure of meaning
rather than a simple alphabetical list. One for explorers of language rather
than crossword buffs."
I'd suggest that most list users will want to check out the freeDictionary.com
app first, and leave these other apps for additional exploration.
Here are links to the apps mentioned in this post. All should be available
internationally, All apps for the iPhone work on iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad
(according to the store listings). However, the WordBook andDictionary.com apps
have separate versions optimized to use the larger screen of the iPad. Please
note that the Dictionary.com apps in particular can take a while to load --
they're over 42 MB and best downloaded over a WiFi connection. Remember that
all these apps work independent of a network connection, so the database must
be held on the device.
• Dictionary.com - Dictionary & Thesaurus (free) by Dictionary.com
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dictionary-com-dictionary/id308750436?mt=8
• Dictionary.com - Dictionary & Thesaurus - For iPad (free) byDictionary.com
http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/dictionary-com/id308750439
• WordBook English Dictionary & Thesaurus ($1.99) by Trancreative Software
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wordbook-english-dictionary/id289694924?mt=8
• WordBook XL - English Dictionary & Thesaurus for the iPad ($2.99) by
Trancreative Software
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wordbook-xl-english-dictionary/id364030280?mt=8
• The Advanced English Dictionary & Thesaurus ($0.99) by jDictionary Mobile
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/advanced-english-dictionary/id293150206?mt=8
• The World Factbook 2010 ($0.99) by jDicitionary Mobile
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-world-factbook-2010/id310064645?mt=8
<end quote>
HTH
Cheers,
Esther
On Mar 5, 2012, at 2:42 PM, Aser Tolentino wrote:
> Very sorry, was actually referring to the one by JDictionary Mobile.
> Apologies for the confusion.
>
> Respectfully,
> Aser Tolentino, Esq.
>
> On Mar 5, 2012, at 4:33 PM, Mike Busboom <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Hello Aser,
>>
>> Is the dictionary to which you referred in your second posting from Oxford
>> University Press? I frequently recommend the Oxford Advanced Learner's
>> Dictionary to my students in Vienna. This dictionary is great for both
>> students of English and those of us who grew up with the language. I will
>> have a look. I am sure that it is accessible. :)
>>
>> Best regards and thank you,
>>
>> Mike
>>
>> On 5,Mar,2012, at 4:21 PM, Aser Tolentino wrote:
>>
>>> Actually Advanced English Dictionary might be a better idea, since the way
>>> in which WordBook let's you look up any word in a definition by making each
>>> word a link makes definitions a pain to listen to. They're both pretty good.
>>>
>>> Respectfully,
>>> Aser Tolentino, Esq.
>>>
>>> On Mar 5, 2012, at 4:06 PM, Mike Busboom <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hello everyone,
>>>>
>>>> I recently downloaded the Merriam-Webster dictionary App for my iPhone,
>>>> and I really like it. There is one feature, however, that it either
>>>> doesn't have, or I haven't been able to activate it.
>>>>
>>>> Sometimes, when entering an unfamiliar word, I don't get the spelling
>>>> quite right, and the dictionary accurately states that the word isn't in
>>>> its database. I am looking for an offline dictionary that automatically
>>>> lists alternative words that it thinks might be the word I am actually
>>>> looking for. My old Franklyn Language Master has this feature, and I am
>>>> looking for something similar for the iPhone. Any and all suggestions
>>>> would be greatly appreciated. In case you're interested, the word over
>>>> which I stumbled, i.e. the word that made me wish for this feature was
>>>> "potemkin."
>>>>
>>>> Mike
>>>>
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