Keep your paper dictionaries

[Wafflestomper]

Good points. IMO, people use a dictionary as validation for acceptable (proper) meaning/use for a word. Recently the definition of RACISM was changed. US dictionary Merriam-Webster to change its definition of racism

Changing a definition or adding additional meanings isn't necessarily a bad thing. The problem comes when it becomes easy to put pressure on companies like Merriam-Webster to change definitions to re-enforce the "new" meaning as a means for validation. As in, "See, it's in the dictionary. It must be true." This quote by M-W is a bit concerning, “We apologise for the harm and offense we have caused in failing to address this issue sooner,” the editor wrote, according to a message published by Drake University and retweeted by Mitchum.

Regarding people always using a dictionary or Google to get the meaning the word, don't underestimate the stupidity of the woke culture. Remember the tennis analyst that referred to Serena Williams using "guerilla" tactics with her approach to defending the net:? https://nypost.com/2020/01/25/espn-...er-still-paying-for-absurd-racist-accusation/

What's in the dictionary shouldn't be considered the "right" definition since they are all subjective. The purpose of a dictionary is to report how words are typically used, pronounced, etc.

 

[Boca Vol]

What's in the dictionary shouldn't be considered the "right" definition since they are all subjective. The purpose of a dictionary is to report how words are typically used, pronounced, etc.

Here is the definition of definition as it pertains to a word or phrase:

The formal statement of the meaning or significance of a word, phrase, idiom, etc., as found in dictionaries.

It may not the right definition but it is the accepted definition.

 

[W.TN.Orange Blood]