Words Vocabulary.com Defines Better than Dictionary.com

Adam C.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. ill-defined
    poorly stated or described
    Such groups have long struggled to survive inside China’s ill-defined, shifting margins of official tolerance, but they have served as havens for socially committed citizens.
    —New York Times Feb 26, 2015
    Dictionary.com's definition of this word is:
    "badly or inadequately defined; vague", which is a classic case of a circular definition, using a form of the word in the definition of the word itself.
  2. immoral
    deliberately violating principles of right and wrong
    Most of us conceal actions that, while neither immoral nor illegal, we are unwilling to own up to.
    —Newsweek Mar 22, 2015
    The Dictionary.com definition is:
    "violating moral principles; not conforming to the patterns of conduct usually accepted or established as consistent with principles of personal and social ethics."
    The vocabulary.com definition is clearer, and with its use of "deliberately" helps the learner differentiate between the three terms in play here: moral, amoral and immoral. The Dictionary.com definition does not put enough distance between the definitions for amoral and immoral.
  3. otiose
    serving no useful purpose; having no excuse for being
    It could be that, because postmodern novels permit themselves such extraordinary liberties with the very history and geography that they exploit, fact-checking is now otiose.
    —The Guardian Oct 17, 2010
    The Dictionary.com definitions are:
    "being at leisure; idle; indolent."
    and
    "ineffective or futile."
    The first definition isn't nearly negative enough-"Otiose" is always used negatively, and "being at leisure" could certainly be a good thing. One would never describe a run of the mill vacationer as "otiose", for instance. The vocabulary.com definition highlights the negativity properly associated with this word.
  4. chagrin
    strong feelings of embarrassment
    Several days later, we were chagrined when my wife’s car turned up out of gas less than a mile from our home.
    —Washington Post Apr 28, 2015
    The dictionary.com definition is as follows:
    "a feeling of vexation, marked by disappointment or humiliation."
    Perhaps the sentiment of "vexation" belongs in a definition of chagrin and perhaps it doesn't, but the real issue with this definition is that "vexation" might be too advanced a word for the language learner who has to look up "chagrin." It is very frustrating when the definition itself contains a word one doesn't know.
  5. fugacious
    lasting a very short time
    Generally speaking, it is more beautiful than durable, and is often decidedly fugacious, fading on exposure.
    —Thomas Salter
    The dictionary.com definition is:
    "fleeting; transitory"
    This definition suffers from much the same problem as "chagrin" above—there is a distinct likelihood that if you are looking up "fugacious", you might not know "transitory." The vocabulary.com definition is in simple, straightforward language.
  6. antipathy
    a feeling of intense dislike
    China and Pakistan long have maintained close political and military relations, based partly on mutual antipathy toward neighbor India.
    —Washington Times Apr 21, 2015
    Dictionary.com:
    "a natural, basic, or habitual repugnance; aversion."
    This definition contains two words a word learner might not know-"repugnance" and "aversion", whereas the vocabulary.com definition contains no barriers to understanding.
  7. uncouth
    lacking refinement or cultivation or taste
    The problem is that I feel like an uncouth backwater American when I write.
    —Slate Oct 15, 2014
    The dictionary.com definition is:
    "awkward, clumsy, or unmannerly"
    And it could be argued that the first two adjectives in this definition simply miss the mark– being "uncouth" is all about manners and lack of them, as the vocabulary.com definition brings to the forefront.
  8. indefatigable
    showing sustained enthusiasm with unflagging vitality
    He was an indefatigable performer who seldom left the concert trail for more than a few days at a time.
    —Los Angeles Times May 15, 2015
    Dictionary.com:
    "incapable of being tired out; not yielding to fatigue; untiring."
    This definition commits a cardinal sin- all its descriptions are in the negative. There is no positive sense of what "indefatigable" actually means, just what it isn't. The vocabulary.com definition incorporates an "un-" word, but also provides a concrete sense of the word's true meaning.
  9. incongruity
    the quality of disagreeing
    But Mr. Buress also exploited the comic possibilities of the incongruity between a clean image and a violent transgression.
    —New York Times Feb 9, 2015
    The Dictionary.com definition of "incongruity", in its entirety:
    "1.the quality or condition of being incongruous.
    2.something incongruous."
    This is the definition of circular thought, and even in an age of Internet links to other entries is really disappointing and lazy.
  10. unremitting
    uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing
    Lanny Proffer of Denver called the section “one of the paper’s special delights,” and “an antidote to the unremitting bad news and political craziness.”
    —New York Times Mar 13, 2015
    The dictionary.com definition:
    "not slackening or abating; incessant:
    unremitting noise; unremitting attention."
    This definition contains at least two words the word learner might not be familiar with, "abating" and "incessant," while "slackening" might be recognizable and might not be. This definition erects potential road blocks to comprehension, it doesn't really foster understanding.
Created on Thu May 21 16:32:24 EDT 2015 (updated Fri May 22 16:52:00 EDT 2015)

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