[General] Dictionary for formal and informal words

[mrmvp]

Is there an online dictionary (other than Cambridge Online Dictionary since some words are not categoried whether they are formal or informal) that categoried words if they formal or informal and their levels C1 or C2 and so on?

Thanks.

 

[emsr2d2]

This is not a recommendation as such because I just found it by Googling but vocabulary.com seems to have word lists divided into C1/C2 etc with their definitions. Have a look here and see if it's what you're looking for. I don't think it mentions formal/informal though.

 

[jutfrank]

Try any reputable learner's dictionary, such as this: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/

 

[emsr2d2]

Try any reputable learner's dictionary, such as this: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/

Is that different from the "Cambridge Online Dictionary" that the OP said they were looking for an alternative to? (Genuine question - I know it sounds snarky!)

 

[jutfrank]

Is that different from the "Cambridge Online Dictionary" that the OP said they were looking for an alternative to? (Genuine question - I know it sounds snarky!)

Yes, it is. The version I linked is called the Learner's Dictionary. Among its differences from the regular version is that it lists headword frequency by level (A1/A2, etc.) It also gives information as to formal/informal register in many cases. I presumed the OP wasn't aware of it.

Other big publishers (Oxford/Merriam-Webster) do their own versions too.

Your question didn't sound snarky at all, by the way.

 

[jutfrank]

... and their levels C1 or C2 and so on?

I should perhaps explain a couple more things about word lists and learner's dictionaries.

1) You don't see words listed as C1 or C2. Many publishers have a separate version, usually called an advanced learner's dictionary for more advanced learners.

2) The level 'rating' of each word is based solely on frequency, as shown by corpus data. That is because the most frequent words that people use are considered to be priorities for learners who are starting out to learn the language. The usual estimation is that to get up to, say, C1, a learner should need to know the most common 5000 or so words in the language—thus Oxford's famous Oxford 5000.

Once a learner reaches C1 or beyond, the association between competence (i.e., level) and number of acquired words (i.e., active and passive vocabulary) begins to weaken very quickly. At such high levels, it's really about what you can do with the language, not about how many words you know.

 

[mrmvp]

Is that different from the "Cambridge Online Dictionary" that the OP said they were looking for an alternative to? (Genuine question - I know it sounds snarky!)

I was referring to this in my first post.

 

[emsr2d2]

I was refering to this in my first post.

Now I'm confused. Are you saying that the link jutfrank posted is to the dictionary that you already knew does not fit your requirements?

 

[jutfrank]

The link I posted was indeed to the Learner's Dictionary, which confusingly does look very similar to the regular version.

To be sure that you're in the right place, check for the words Search Learner's Dictionary in the search box.

Like I tried to explain, not every word you can find there is classed by level—only the most frequent ones (up to B2 I think). Also, not many words there are listed as formal/informal, for several reasons.

 

[mrmvp]

Now I'm confused. Are you saying that the link jutfrank posted is to the dictionary that you already knew does not fit your requirements?

Yes, with all respect to jutfrank. Because some words are not categorized whether they are formal or informal. Plus, few words are categorized according to CEFR such as A1, A2 etc. I am looking for a dictionary that categorizes words, phrasal verbs, idioms whether they are formal or informal.

Thank you jutfrank and emsr2d2 for helping me.

 

[jutfrank]

I am looking for a dictionary that categorizes words, phrasal verbs, idioms whether they are formal or informal.

Okay. Well, you won't find one. Not if you mean all words.