WordReference.com Dictionaries

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How you can contribute

English natives:

  1. Find where translator misunderstood the English meaning.
  2. Find where the translator relied too heavily on the sample
    sentence, ignoring other translations of that meaning.
  3. Find missing important meaning of word.
  4. Find where most important meaning is not first.

French/Italian native speakers:

  1. Suggest better translations for a line.
  2. Suggest additional translations for each English meaning.
  3. Find exceptions to the current translations.
  4. Find other errors.

Thank you very much for taking the time to suggest an improvement to the WordReference dictionaries.

Note: this form is to suggest changes to the"WordReference dictionaries" on the site, not the Oxford, Espasa or other dictionaries.  If you have a suggested change for one of those dictionaries, please write to us through the Contact Us form, and your suggestion will be sent to the publisher.

Please see the bottom of this page for an explanation of the dictionary format.

This form is for suggesting changes to entries with sample sentences. In the future we hope to allow you to suggest changes to other parts of the dictionary from this page.

The word or term, exactly how it appears in the dictionary:

Your native language:

Forum username (optional):

Translations from English
Are you making a suggestion about the English side or the translation?
English side  - Missing meanings, strange sample sentences, or any comment on an English word
Improving translations of the English term:
Italian Translation  
French Translation  
Portuguese Translation  
Spanish Translation  
Polish Translation  
Romanian Translation  
Czech Translation  
Greek Translation 
Turkish Translation  
Chinese Translation  
Japanese Translation  
Korean Translation  
Arabic Translation  
Translations to English 
French>English  
Italian>English 

Comments/suggestions (Explain which line/meaning you are talking about if possible.
Suggestion does not need to be in English; you can write in Spanish, French, Italian, etc.):

Sample sentence(s):

Common suggestions on English side:

  • This meaning of the English word is missing: (___________).
  • The sample sentence for the (_______) meaning is confusing.  This would be better: "________."

Common suggestions on French/Italian/etc. side:

  • _______ as a translation is missing for the meaning (______).
  • _______ is a much better translation than ______ for the meaning (_______).
  • _______ is commonly used.  Maybe it should be added as an additional synonym for ________.
  • _______ and _______ are not exact synonyms.  They should be separated, and given different meanings/categories to distinguish them.

The dictionary's format:

The English Base:

The dictionary has two main parts.  There is the "English base".  All words in English are part of the English base.  This base will be standardized and shared among the French, Italian and other dictionaries.

The Translation:

There is also the Italian or French translation of that "English base".  This includes all words in French or Italian.

Each word will have multiple meanings, and each English meaning will have one or more translations.
Exact synonyms are generally grouped together on one line.  Non-exact synonyms are separated on different lines (under a single English meaning).

For example, look at the entry for "leg" in Italian.
In English, leg for humans and for animals is really just one meaning. In Italian it has two separate translations, so it got two separate lines, one for corpo umano (human body), another for animali (animals).  Again, there is one main line for each English meaning, and a line for each different translation.  OK?  (You might notice that the word leg has 7 English meanings in the dictionary.  A few of those 7 English meanings show multiple translations in Italian.)

So, when making suggestions, try to understand which side of the dictionary you are suggesting be changed.
Is there an important English meaning that is missing?  Then it is for the English side (English base).
Is there an important translation to Italian (or French, etc.) missing?  Then find the line on the English side that it goes with and suggest it as a change to the Italian side.

Now those were the basics.  Here are some details about each part of each side:

English side/English base:

term/word in bold Contains the English term that is the entry.  At times it will show two alternatives, such as the multiple spellings (color and colour).
(meaning/category) in parentheses Differentiates the meanings of the term in English. For "leg", four meanings would be (on body), (table), (clothing), (flight, travel).  These are often synonyms or categories.
usage note in italics Shows how it might be used differently with common descriptors such as: US, UK, informal, offensive, slang
+ part of speech (POS) in blue, and a sample sentence or two

Also, unseen, is a ranking system. The "Principal translations:" are ordered/ranked sothat the most common English meaning, and translation come first. (The ranks are not visible on the page.)  The "Additional translations:" are arranged in a sorted order.  The most important translation for each word should always show on the first line.

French, Italian or other translation:

meaning/category/usage together in italics Like the English side, but has two purposes:
(1) differentiate the various translations, and
(2) better explain the English "meaning/category"
translated term(s) normal type Translations into the destination language. 
A limited number of synonyms can appear on a single line.
sample sentence in grey Usually a translation of the English sample sentence, but often a sentence that sounds more natural in French/Italian.
+ part of speech in destination language (yes, it can be different than the English part of speech), and a sample sentence

There are sample sentences underneath the translations.  Usually one in English and one or more in the translated language.
Also, in some cases, there is a "translator's note" that explains the translation.  This appears in red type.