Dictionary is missing from Microsoft Word

Question

Is Dictionary no longer a feature of Word? The Research Pane used to show both Dictionary and Thesaurus results. Now, the Thesaurus is the only option under the Research Pane.

If I go to the “research options” dialog box from the Research pane, all Dictionary entries are missing.  I can still select a Dictionary icon from the Customize Quick Access Toolbar dialog box to go at the top of my screen above the ribbon, but the icon doesn’t actually do anything.

I found the following "solution" from an online tutorial:

Why is my “Add to Dictionary” option grayed out?

This seems like a bug in the software. Try going to File > Options > Proofing > Custom Dictionaries. Then select  the “Dictionary language”. Then remove the checkbox next to the dictionary item, then check it again. These steps seem to toggle something in the software that makes the “Add to Dictionary” option available again.

But I could not access the options listed above because the "Dictionary Language" checkbox is simply not available. I did uncheck everything I could, but doing so did not make a difference. Exploring options under "add services" or "update/remove" did not help either.

Has Microsoft removed the Dictionary altogether? Or is there something I can do to restore Dictionaries on my account? 

Thank you!

More Background:

I have the most updated version of Microsoft Word, Office 365 for Business, operating on a PC with Windows 10.

Here is what it looks like:

Answer 1

Because I can see the Encarta Dictionary in the Research Options dialog, I can click on it and click the Properties button. That tells me that the path for that service is

https://rr.office.microsoft.com/Research/query.asmx

Good luck!

Answer 2

Thank you SOOOOO much!

That path worked. And now I have a Dictionary again! I really appreciate it. :)

Answer 3

Thanks for the response. I tried it again, but "Add Services" still does not have any options listed for me.

It looks like this:

If there is an address for a dictionary service that will provide information to Word that I can manually type in there, please let me know!

I did add the Miriam Webster Dictionary Add-In, so thank you for that suggestion. It of course did not work as you mentioned. So maybe someday this will be a work-around when its back online. Although...

This Add-In shows up as its own left-hand window pane; it does not show up on the dropdown for "All Reference Books" in the Research Pane. So if anyone is still reading and has other solutions... that is really my goal: To get a dictionary listed in that dropdown menu again (so that I can easily toggle between thesaurus and dictionary for a single entry.) Thank you!

Answer 4

Unfortunately, the term "Dictionary" is used for two completely separate features in Office programs.

• The "Add to Dictionary" item on right-click menus refers to the spell-checking dictionaries accessed through File > Options > Proofing. The spelling dictionaries don't contain definitions.
• The dictionary you want, with definitions, should be available:

Try the Add Services button to see whether you can add it.

There are also other dictionaries available through the Insert > Get Add-ins button. At the moment, though, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary add-in has a problem causing it to be unable to connect to the online service.