Excellent app for puzzlers
My long-time go-to app for crosswords and other word puzzles. Life is too short to spend ages on unscrambling anagrams so let this app do the work. And a very extensive vocabulary of obscure words to back up the excellent search options. Worth every penny!
Fine app, terrible UI
It hurts my soul how badly messed up the UI is in this app. The latest refresh, picking up iOS 26 controls a mere 11 months after it was released, has managed to make the UI even worse.
Now disappointing
This was absolutely great until a recent update which means it it looks worse and annoyingly needs more taps to use. Was simple and easy, you would think it would be hard to mess that up.
Return colour format to white not grey
Please put return the look to a white not grey format, hate the update
No “cataphatic”
Great app! Thank you, especially for the etymology.
However (there’s always a ‘but’), I couldn’t find the word ‘cataphatic’ which I had only just come across.
No big deal but it would be nice to have it included in an update. And yes, it IS a word. 😁
However (there’s always a ‘but’), I couldn’t find the word ‘cataphatic’ which I had only just come across.
No big deal but it would be nice to have it included in an update. And yes, it IS a word. 😁
Words not defined
I have been using the Dictionary and thesaurus for some months. Today I typed in ‘carnal’ and no results found.
Also the list of definitions for words is limited and not as comprehensive as I expected. Very disappointing to use for crosswords when it’s the recommended resource.
Also the list of definitions for words is limited and not as comprehensive as I expected. Very disappointing to use for crosswords when it’s the recommended resource.
Issue with sharing
I chose to share an entry via the messages app.
I used the “Copy to clipboard” sharing feature.
The resulting text was unusable, full of character encoding defects.
I used the “Copy to clipboard” sharing feature.
The resulting text was unusable, full of character encoding defects.
Simply the Best
I’ve been using this for years. It’s fantastic.
As it should be
A dictionary should be
Accurate
Complete - with all definitions and relevant info
Refined - concise in language
This dictionary app contains most features you would expect:
Going to previous word
Dark mode
Advanced word searching
Etymology / derivation / origin
And a few unexpected features.
But does not have:
audio pronunciation
example sentences
Free version - which is why there are so few users
Accurate
Complete - with all definitions and relevant info
Refined - concise in language
This dictionary app contains most features you would expect:
Going to previous word
Dark mode
Advanced word searching
Etymology / derivation / origin
And a few unexpected features.
But does not have:
audio pronunciation
example sentences
Free version - which is why there are so few users
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Brilliant
I’ve used this app for years, along with the thesaurus and love it. Simple and easy to use. As well as working fully offline. I use it most days. Thanks!
Good User Interface
It’s nice when something works well, even down to small details - I like how when re-activating the app by unlocking the phone, it goes back (from a previous look-up) to an empty search box so you can immediately type in a word. This only seems to happen on the iPhone app though, not on the iPad app…
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Staple
I’ve had this for years and rely on it. Thanks🙏🏻
Great app
Used this for years and still useful to this day. My go to whenever I’m doing crosswords
Perfect except for one thing
Great app! but why cant i paste???
For Chambers lovers…
As a lover of the Chambers physical dictionary, which I particularly rely on for crosswords, I held off from buying this for a long time, confused by the strange mixture of reviews, and the price. But I am so glad I bought this. Seems to have everything the physical Chambers has, and in many ways is easier to use; the multiple meanings are laid out more clearly than in the book!
And the price is cheaper than the physical book was, so I’m delighted that I finally took the chance!
The only thing I have so far found missing compared with the book are some of the odd sections at the end, like “Some first names”.
And the price is cheaper than the physical book was, so I’m delighted that I finally took the chance!
The only thing I have so far found missing compared with the book are some of the odd sections at the end, like “Some first names”.
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Where is random word feature?
Love chambers dictionary and its crisp definitions. But where is the random work feature for the app? Or even word of the day feature?
A fine dictionary with sub-par UX
I’ve used this app and its Thesaurus companion for many years. They’re worth the price.
But the truth is, the interface is dated. Useful features go un-signposted. Settings are buried in opaque menus and behind unclear icons.
In short, it’s old-fashioned and idiosyncratic. Seems like a one-person project where nobody has challenged a single one of the many arbitrary design decisions.
It’s a testament to the quality of the dictionary that I still consider this an essential purchase.
But the truth is, the interface is dated. Useful features go un-signposted. Settings are buried in opaque menus and behind unclear icons.
In short, it’s old-fashioned and idiosyncratic. Seems like a one-person project where nobody has challenged a single one of the many arbitrary design decisions.
It’s a testament to the quality of the dictionary that I still consider this an essential purchase.
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MY FAITHFUL CHAMBERS
As a prolific writer of lengthy “letters to the editor”, I am often dipping into both Chambers Dictionary & Thesaurus to add more literary variety - “colour” - to my pieces.
Occasionally I will refer to the Oxford Dictionary, but Chambers has been my favourite word reference source for many years now.
I also like the access both the apps give (I bought the apps separately a few years ago) to the handy free WordWeb app - which also offers an international audio pronunciation facility.
However, when looking up a word in the dictionary, it would be nice to see the identifying heading “Dictionary” (or its abbreviation) at the top of each page - likewise with the pages of the thesaurus.
When flipping back and forth, via either app, it is not always immediately obvious as to whether one is reading from the dictionary or the thesaurus - especially when researching at speed.
Identifying headings would also look good.
UPDATE: Still enjoying the Chambers dictionary and thesaurus apps, but I notice that one definition in the dictionary needs to be modified slightly.
“Armageddon” is defined a little vaguely as:
“The great symbolical battlefield of the Apocalypse, scene of the final struggle between the powers of good and evil (Bible).”
To be totally, and biblically, accurate, “Armageddon” is in fact: the symbolic global battlefield where the real, and catastrophic, final war between, specifically, human governments and God will take place (“The war of the great day of God the Almighty” - Revelation 16:14).
This discriminate end of worldly governments and the wicked is prophesied in the Bible many times (eg Daniel 2: 44).
I hope this is corrected in an otherwise excellent dictionary.
Occasionally I will refer to the Oxford Dictionary, but Chambers has been my favourite word reference source for many years now.
I also like the access both the apps give (I bought the apps separately a few years ago) to the handy free WordWeb app - which also offers an international audio pronunciation facility.
However, when looking up a word in the dictionary, it would be nice to see the identifying heading “Dictionary” (or its abbreviation) at the top of each page - likewise with the pages of the thesaurus.
When flipping back and forth, via either app, it is not always immediately obvious as to whether one is reading from the dictionary or the thesaurus - especially when researching at speed.
Identifying headings would also look good.
UPDATE: Still enjoying the Chambers dictionary and thesaurus apps, but I notice that one definition in the dictionary needs to be modified slightly.
“Armageddon” is defined a little vaguely as:
“The great symbolical battlefield of the Apocalypse, scene of the final struggle between the powers of good and evil (Bible).”
To be totally, and biblically, accurate, “Armageddon” is in fact: the symbolic global battlefield where the real, and catastrophic, final war between, specifically, human governments and God will take place (“The war of the great day of God the Almighty” - Revelation 16:14).
This discriminate end of worldly governments and the wicked is prophesied in the Bible many times (eg Daniel 2: 44).
I hope this is corrected in an otherwise excellent dictionary.
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This
It’s pretty confusing that such an elegant masterpiece has not been well-known in decades. As an ESL learner, it took me a while to find a concisely defined dictionary using relatively simple vocabulary. The vast majority of famous contemporary dictionaries tend to become wordy in terms of definitions. But the Chambers has rid me of that kind of annoyance. Three years ago, I purchased the same app on the google play store. And now I'm more than happy to invest in it again.
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Censored content
The dictionary seems to be censoring rude words like “b*st*rd” and there is no obvious way to disable this. Can you please fix this?
