Word Guidelines

The choice of words is necessarily restricted and obviously opinionated (and largely US-centric).

Warning

If words in the dictionary offend you, be warned that you may encounter some offensive words. It is not the author's job to reinvent the English language or the way people use it.

Dictionary

A substantial effor was made to create a well-rounded dictionary containing words in common usage, as well as some specialized words that a reasonable person may know. I (stacksmith) am the only person curating the dictionary. Occasionally I will allow words that may be a bit obscure just because I find them interesting, or very occasionally, remove words for reasons.

The dictionary currently contains around 3̶5̶,̶0̶0̶0̶ 41,500 words and is continuously updated. Words not included in the online Merriam-Webster dictionary are likely to be dropped, although some exceptions are made. Note: online scrabble dictionaries contain tons of non-words.

General rules

• ASCII letters only - no accents or modifiers;
• Words are 4-characters long or longer;
• No plural -S nouns (otherwise plurals are OK);
• No third-person -S verb forms;
• No names or anything that would be capitalized;
• No names of places, or names of people of places (or names of people specific to such places);
• No hyphenated words;

Exceptions and Gray Areas

Uncapitalized variants with non-place meaning are allowed; to wit: the drink 'manhattan', 'joey' kangaroo, etc.

Names of currencies are accepted for now.

Curses/bad words are generally acceptable, as long as they fit other criteria. SPIC on the other hand refers to Spanish-speakers, while DAGO includes Italians as well -- both are accepted. POLACK is place-specific and is not included.

Neologisms are generally acceptable when in common usage.

Plurals

Plural nouns are disallowed if formed by appending -S or -ES to the singular form. However, if such words have a distinct usage, especially not as a plural, they are allowed. Some examples are: GLASSES (eyeglasses - singular GLASS has a different meaning), SCISSORS (a single instrument, although a singular form exists also meaning a single item!)

Jargon

Some jargon is allowed. Nothing too esoteric, but words known by laymen interested in specific fields. Consider it a learning opportunity.

• Chemical compounds in relatively common use;
• Generic names of drugs in common use (naproxen: yes; mifepristone: no)
• Science/math terminology a college student would know;
• Some (but not all) human and animal anatomy;
• Branches of sciences, philosophy and politics;
• Names of not-entirely-obscure plants and animals;

Foreign words

Foreign words in reasonably common use in American English are allowed. Any original accents are removed. For instance: touche. Words used exclusively in non-US countries (England, Scotland, etc) are not valid.