The Longman Defining Vocabulary of around 2000 common words has been used to write all the definitions in this dictionary. The words in the Defining Vocabulary have been carefully chosen to ensure that the definitions are clear and easy to understand, and that the words used in explanations are easier than the words being defined. Words in the Defining Vocabulary are constantly being researched and checked to make sure that they are frequent in the Longman Corpus Network, and that they are used correctly by learners in the Longman Learner’s Corpus.
The words listed below are the main forms which are used in definitions. However, there are other limits on which word forms and meanings may be used:
The definitions use only the most common meanings of the words in the list.
For some words in the list, a word class label such as n or adj is shown. This means that this particular word is used in definitions only in the word class shown. So anger, for example, is used only as a noun and not as a verb.
Phrasal verbs are not used in definitions, except for the ones included in the list. Other phrasal verbs which are common in English and could be formed from words in the Defining Vocabulary list (such as put up with) are not used.
Some words on the list may have prefixes (like un-) or suffixes (like -ly) added to them to make different word forms in the definition. The list of these affixes is included below. The forms which are common, or which change their meaning when a prefix or suffix is added, (such as acceptable and agreement) are included in the full list.
Prefixes and suffixes that can be used with words in the
Defining Vocabulary
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-able | -ed | -ical | ir- | -less | re |
-al | -ence | im- | -ish | -ly | self |
-ance | -er | in- | -ity | -ment | -th |
-ation | -ful | -ing | -ive | -ness | un |
dis- | -ic | -ion | -ize | non- | -y |
The Defining Vocabulary does not include the names of actual places, nationalities, religions, and so on, which are occasionally mentioned in definitions.
It is sometimes necessary or helpful to use a word that is not in the Defining Vocabulary. These are shown in SMALL CAPITAL LETTERS, and sometimes followed by an explanation in brackets.
Sometimes a definition includes a word which has its own entry and definition very close by. This word is written in ordinary type, even if it is not in the Defining Vocabulary. For example:
The word cricket is not in the special list of defining words, but its own definition is the entry above, so it can be found very easily.
The example sentences in this dictionary are allowed to use words outside the Defining Vocabulary. They are based on corpus evidence, and show the ways in which a word or phrase is used in a natural, typical context. However, care has been taken to make sure that these examples are helpful to the student. Where necessary, changes have been made to sentences found on corpus, or new examples have been written, to show the uses found on corpus in a simpler form.