"you can't judge a book by its cover" meaning in English

See you can't judge a book by its cover in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proverb

Audio: En-au-you can't judge a book by its cover.ogg
Head templates: {{en-proverb}} you can't judge a book by its cover
  1. (idiomatic, figurative) It is not possible to make reliable judgments about things or people by considering external appearances alone. Tags: figuratively, idiomatic Categories (topical): Appearance Synonyms: clothes don't make the man, the cowl does not make the monk, all that glitters is not gold, looks can be deceiving, appearances are deceptive, don't just scratch the surface, anything essential is invisible to the eyes, one sees clearly only with the heart, you can’t tell a book by its cover, don’t judge a book by its cover Translations (it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone): πώγων οὐ ποιεῖ φιλόσοφον (pṓgōn ou poieî philósophon) (Ancient Greek), لَا تَحْكُم عَلَى كِتَابِ مِِنْ غِلَافِهِ (lā taḥkum ʕalā kitābi miin ḡilāfihi) (Arabic), 人不可貌相 (bùyào yǐmàoqǔrén) (Chinese Mandarin), nesuď knihu podle obalu (Czech), man skal ikke skue hunden på hårene (Danish), ei ole koiraa karvoihin katsominen (Finnish), moni kakku päältä kaunis (Finnish), l’habit ne fait pas le moine (French), τα φαινόμενα απατούν (ta fainómena apatoún) (Greek), το ράσο δεν κάνει τον παπά (to ráso den kánei ton papá) (Greek), ne a borító alapján ítéld meg a könyvet (Hungarian), þú getur ekki rannsakað hund eftir hárinu (Icelandic), go minic bíonn croí geal i gcraiceann donn (Irish), l'abito non fa il monaco (Italian), non giudicare un libro dalla copertina (Italian), non giudicare dalle apparenze (Italian), 看板に偽りなし (kanban ni itsuwari nashi) (Japanese), barba non facit philosophum (Latin), nespręsk apie knygą iš viršelio (Lithuanian), man kan ikke dømme boken etter omslaget (Norwegian Bokmål), man skal aldri skue hunden på hårene (Norwegian Bokmål), nie oceniaj książki po okładce (Polish), não se pode julgar um livro pela capa (Portuguese), nu haina îl face pe om (Romanian), не суди́ о кни́ге по обло́жке (ne sudí o kníge po oblóžke) (Russian), 's tric a bhios cridhe gheal ann an seiche dhonn (Scottish Gaelic), ne sudi knjizi po koricama (Serbo-Croatian), nesúď knihu podľa obalu (Slovak), ne sodi knjige po platnicah (Slovene), el hábito no hace al monje (Spanish), man skall inte döma hunden efter håren (Swedish), man ska inte döma boken efter omslaget (Swedish), mapanlinlang ang panlabas na anyo (Tagalog), hayvanın alacası dışında, insanın alacası içinde (Turkish), не судіть про книгу за її обкладинкою (ne suditʹ pro knyhu za jiji obkladynkoju) (Ukrainian), ذات نہ پوچھو سادھو کی؛ پوچھ لیجئے علم (zāt nā pūcho sādhu kī; pūch lījie ilm) (Urdu), tốt gỗ hơn tốt nước sơn (Vietnamese), đừng đánh giá con người qua vẻ bề ngoài (Vietnamese)

Alternative forms

{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "word": "clothes maketh the man"
    },
    {
      "word": "fine feathers make fine birds"
    }
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      "expansion": "you can't judge a book by its cover",
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        "It is not possible to make reliable judgments about things or people by considering external appearances alone."
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          "judgment"
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        [
          "external",
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        [
          "appearance",
          "appearance"
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      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, figurative) It is not possible to make reliable judgments about things or people by considering external appearances alone."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "clothes don't make the man"
        },
        {
          "word": "the cowl does not make the monk"
        },
        {
          "word": "all that glitters is not gold"
        },
        {
          "word": "looks can be deceiving"
        },
        {
          "word": "appearances are deceptive"
        },
        {
          "word": "don't just scratch the surface"
        },
        {
          "word": "anything essential is invisible to the eyes"
        },
        {
          "word": "one sees clearly only with the heart"
        },
        {
          "word": "you can’t tell a book by its cover"
        },
        {
          "word": "don’t judge a book by its cover"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "roman": "lā taḥkum ʕalā kitābi miin ḡilāfihi",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "لَا تَحْكُم عَلَى كِتَابِ مِِنْ غِلَافِهِ"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "bùyào yǐmàoqǔrén",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "人不可貌相"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "nesuď knihu podle obalu"
        },
        {
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "man skal ikke skue hunden på hårene"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "ei ole koiraa karvoihin katsominen"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "moni kakku päältä kaunis"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "l’habit ne fait pas le moine"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "ta fainómena apatoún",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "τα φαινόμενα απατούν"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "to ráso den kánei ton papá",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "το ράσο δεν κάνει τον παπά"
        },
        {
          "code": "grc",
          "lang": "Ancient Greek",
          "roman": "pṓgōn ou poieî philósophon",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "πώγων οὐ ποιεῖ φιλόσοφον"
        },
        {
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "note": "אַל תִּסְתַּכֵּל בַּקַּנְקַן אֶלָּא בַמֶּה שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ (ál tistakél baqanqán, éla bamé sheyésh bó, literally “Don't look at the jug, but at what's inside it.”)",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone"
        },
        {
          "code": "hi",
          "lang": "Hindi",
          "note": "जाति ना पूछो साधु की; पूछ लीजिए ज्ञान (jāti nā pūcho sādhu kī; pūch lījie jñān, literally “Ask not a saint of his caste; rather, of his knowledge.”)",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "ne a borító alapján ítéld meg a könyvet"
        },
        {
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "þú getur ekki rannsakað hund eftir hárinu"
        },
        {
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "go minic bíonn croí geal i gcraiceann donn"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "l'abito non fa il monaco"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "non giudicare un libro dalla copertina"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "non giudicare dalle apparenze"
        },
        {
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "kanban ni itsuwari nashi",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "看板に偽りなし"
        },
        {
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "barba non facit philosophum"
        },
        {
          "code": "lt",
          "lang": "Lithuanian",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "nespręsk apie knygą iš viršelio"
        },
        {
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "man kan ikke dømme boken etter omslaget"
        },
        {
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "man skal aldri skue hunden på hårene"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "nie oceniaj książki po okładce"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "não se pode julgar um livro pela capa"
        },
        {
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "nu haina îl face pe om"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "ne sudí o kníge po oblóžke",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "не суди́ о кни́ге по обло́жке"
        },
        {
          "code": "gd",
          "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "'s tric a bhios cridhe gheal ann an seiche dhonn"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "ne sudi knjizi po koricama"
        },
        {
          "code": "sk",
          "lang": "Slovak",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "nesúď knihu podľa obalu"
        },
        {
          "code": "sl",
          "lang": "Slovene",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "ne sodi knjige po platnicah"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "el hábito no hace al monje"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "man skall inte döma hunden efter håren"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "man ska inte döma boken efter omslaget"
        },
        {
          "code": "tl",
          "lang": "Tagalog",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "mapanlinlang ang panlabas na anyo"
        },
        {
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "hayvanın alacası dışında, insanın alacası içinde"
        },
        {
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "ne suditʹ pro knyhu za jiji obkladynkoju",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "не судіть про книгу за її обкладинкою"
        },
        {
          "code": "ur",
          "lang": "Urdu",
          "roman": "zāt nā pūcho sādhu kī; pūch lījie ilm",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "ذات نہ پوچھو سادھو کی؛ پوچھ لیجئے علم"
        },
        {
          "code": "vi",
          "lang": "Vietnamese",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "tốt gỗ hơn tốt nước sơn"
        },
        {
          "code": "vi",
          "lang": "Vietnamese",
          "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
          "word": "đừng đánh giá con người qua vẻ bề ngoài"
        }
      ]
    }
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{
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      "word": "clothes maketh the man"
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    {
      "word": "fine feathers make fine birds"
    }
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        "Terms with Icelandic translations",
        "Terms with Irish translations",
        "Terms with Italian translations",
        "Terms with Japanese translations",
        "Terms with Latin translations",
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        "Terms with Portuguese translations",
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        "Terms with Tagalog translations",
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        "Terms with Ukrainian translations",
        "Terms with Urdu translations",
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        "en:Appearance"
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      "glosses": [
        "It is not possible to make reliable judgments about things or people by considering external appearances alone."
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      "links": [
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          "reliable",
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          "judgment"
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, figurative) It is not possible to make reliable judgments about things or people by considering external appearances alone."
      ],
      "tags": [
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        "idiomatic"
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    {
      "audio": "En-au-you can't judge a book by its cover.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/07/En-au-you_can%27t_judge_a_book_by_its_cover.ogg/En-au-you_can%27t_judge_a_book_by_its_cover.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/En-au-you_can%27t_judge_a_book_by_its_cover.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "clothes don't make the man"
    },
    {
      "word": "the cowl does not make the monk"
    },
    {
      "word": "all that glitters is not gold"
    },
    {
      "word": "looks can be deceiving"
    },
    {
      "word": "appearances are deceptive"
    },
    {
      "word": "don't just scratch the surface"
    },
    {
      "word": "anything essential is invisible to the eyes"
    },
    {
      "word": "one sees clearly only with the heart"
    },
    {
      "word": "you can’t tell a book by its cover"
    },
    {
      "word": "don’t judge a book by its cover"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "roman": "lā taḥkum ʕalā kitābi miin ḡilāfihi",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "لَا تَحْكُم عَلَى كِتَابِ مِِنْ غِلَافِهِ"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "bùyào yǐmàoqǔrén",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "人不可貌相"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "nesuď knihu podle obalu"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "man skal ikke skue hunden på hårene"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "ei ole koiraa karvoihin katsominen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "moni kakku päältä kaunis"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "l’habit ne fait pas le moine"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "ta fainómena apatoún",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "τα φαινόμενα απατούν"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "to ráso den kánei ton papá",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "το ράσο δεν κάνει τον παπά"
    },
    {
      "code": "grc",
      "lang": "Ancient Greek",
      "roman": "pṓgōn ou poieî philósophon",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "πώγων οὐ ποιεῖ φιλόσοφον"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "note": "אַל תִּסְתַּכֵּל בַּקַּנְקַן אֶלָּא בַמֶּה שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ (ál tistakél baqanqán, éla bamé sheyésh bó, literally “Don't look at the jug, but at what's inside it.”)",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone"
    },
    {
      "code": "hi",
      "lang": "Hindi",
      "note": "जाति ना पूछो साधु की; पूछ लीजिए ज्ञान (jāti nā pūcho sādhu kī; pūch lījie jñān, literally “Ask not a saint of his caste; rather, of his knowledge.”)",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "ne a borító alapján ítéld meg a könyvet"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "þú getur ekki rannsakað hund eftir hárinu"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "go minic bíonn croí geal i gcraiceann donn"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "l'abito non fa il monaco"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "non giudicare un libro dalla copertina"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "non giudicare dalle apparenze"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "kanban ni itsuwari nashi",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "看板に偽りなし"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "barba non facit philosophum"
    },
    {
      "code": "lt",
      "lang": "Lithuanian",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "nespręsk apie knygą iš viršelio"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "man kan ikke dømme boken etter omslaget"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "man skal aldri skue hunden på hårene"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "nie oceniaj książki po okładce"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "não se pode julgar um livro pela capa"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "nu haina îl face pe om"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "ne sudí o kníge po oblóžke",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "не суди́ о кни́ге по обло́жке"
    },
    {
      "code": "gd",
      "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "'s tric a bhios cridhe gheal ann an seiche dhonn"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "ne sudi knjizi po koricama"
    },
    {
      "code": "sk",
      "lang": "Slovak",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "nesúď knihu podľa obalu"
    },
    {
      "code": "sl",
      "lang": "Slovene",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "ne sodi knjige po platnicah"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "el hábito no hace al monje"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "man skall inte döma hunden efter håren"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "man ska inte döma boken efter omslaget"
    },
    {
      "code": "tl",
      "lang": "Tagalog",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "mapanlinlang ang panlabas na anyo"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "hayvanın alacası dışında, insanın alacası içinde"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "ne suditʹ pro knyhu za jiji obkladynkoju",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "не судіть про книгу за її обкладинкою"
    },
    {
      "code": "ur",
      "lang": "Urdu",
      "roman": "zāt nā pūcho sādhu kī; pūch lījie ilm",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "ذات نہ پوچھو سادھو کی؛ پوچھ لیجئے علم"
    },
    {
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "tốt gỗ hơn tốt nước sơn"
    },
    {
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "it is not possible to judge things by external appearances alone",
      "word": "đừng đánh giá con người qua vẻ bề ngoài"
    }
  ],
  "word": "you can't judge a book by its cover"
}

Download raw JSONL data for you can't judge a book by its cover meaning in English (10.2kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (8a39820 and 4401a4c). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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