CNET Editors' review
Once upon a time, desktops were the tops of actual desks, and nearly all of them had a paper dictionary on or near them. The best dictionaries were so huge they needed their own stands. You can still see them in libraries. But nearly everyone who has a computer uses a Web-based dictionary, such as the cleverly named Dictionary.com, or some kind of software-based reference. TheSage's English Dictionary and Thesaurus is the latter sort. It's a free utility that maintains a huge dictionary and thesaurus locally, not online, so it's completely portable, though it can access the Internet for definitions, updates, and other needs. In fact, it will look up words in most major word processors, browsers, and e-mail clients, including Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer, and Outlook, and Mozilla's Firefox and Thunderbird. It has powerful searching, cross-referencing, and indexing features, too.
TheSage downloads at 8.52MB; about average for today and fairly tidy, considering that, with more than 200,000 definitions, 50,000 usages, and 70,000 phonetic transcriptions in the dictionary and nearly 1,400,000 word associations in the thesaurus, it would definitely be in library-stand territory, if it were printed on paper. But there's really no way for a paper dictionary to do a fraction of the things TheSage does. For instance, there's an encyclopedia of historical, geographical, political, and biomedical information.
Not long ago, a reference library as extensive as TheSage's English Dictionary and Thesaurus would have cost hundreds of dollars and taken up feet of shelf space. Today it's all free and a click away.
Publisher's Description
From SequencePublishing:
TheSage's English Dictionary and Thesaurus is a one-click complete dictionary and multifaceted thesaurus of the English language. TheSage can look up words directly from almost any program (IE, Word, Firefox, Outlook, Thunderbird,... ) and is 100% portable. It runs locally, and does not use your Internet connection. The Dictionary comprises: +210,000 multiple detailed definitions, +50,000 examples of usage, +70,000 phonetic transcriptions, encyclopedic information (geographical, historical, political,...), academic knowledge (medicine, biology,... ), and more. The Thesaurus encompasses synonyms, antonyms, hypernyms, hyponyms, meronyms, holonyms,... including nearly 1,400,000 relationships between definitions. The essential functionality includes the following: Tabbed interface allowing multiple definitions and searches to be readily available, quick cross-referencing (any and all displayed words are clickable, triggering a lookup), standard and advanced wildcard search functionality, anagram search, online search, definition and example concordancer (so-called reverse search), text-to-speech, phonetic wildcard search, history, word lists manager, customization of the appearance of TheSage, and more.
What's new in this version: Version 4.5.0.1784 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.
More Popular Language Software downloads
- WordWeb
12,582 downloads
- Dictionary English - Hindi
7,529 downloads
- iFinger Collins English Dictionary
5,144 downloads
- Madura English-Sinhala Dictionary
3,265 downloads
- Shoshi English To Bangla Dictionary
2,797 downloads
-
All versions:
4.3 starsout of 83 votes
-
Current version:
5.0 starsout of 2 votes
-
My rating:
Write review
Results 1-2 of 2
-
"good dictionary thesaurus etc WOW what a great find"
Version: TheSage English Dictionary and Thesaurus 4.5.0.1784
Pros
Great program easy to use good for crosswords etc and all for free can be used to help with any magazine crosswords ad the like very helpful program to have on your computer it is a program anyone doing magazine puzzles can benefit from
Cons
dictionary is not quite as extensive as you sometimes need other than that I can't find any cons
Summary
Great free program: Rarely do you get anything this good and helpful for nothing
-
"The SAGE Dictionary"
Version: TheSage English Dictionary and Thesaurus 4.5.0.1784
Pros
A great dictionary and Thesaurus with easy access from desktop of browser. has color coding for breakdown of word root.
Cons
A bit complex for some(not real big con) has way more information than most people need, though it is fairly easy to hide. I found that it took more time to set up options,great detail , that i wanted. it is a great addition but just reading through it all took longer than i expected to spend on a dictionary.
this is more of a compliment than detraction , but a con, to me.Summary
i think this app has a wide application, easy or complex as you want to make it. like an oxford unabridged in a pocket form. while not quite as comprehensive as the big oxford, it is a bit more than the standard collegiate. it seems to have words many dont. i only need /use it for very basic tasks but do go to it when the others fail to recognize.
Results 1-2 of 2
Add Your Review
Submit your reply
E-mail this review
Report offensive content
See more CNET content tagged:
Previous Versions:
