How to add the dictionary to the right click options in Word documents?

Question

How to add the dictionary to the right click options in Word documents?

Hart H 0

I used to be able to highlight a word in a Word document, then right-click for a menu that would include looking up the definition of the word in a dictionary. Now that option has been removed. How do I add it back?

0 comments

2 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

John Korchok 233K Volunteer Moderator

Re-adding items to right-click menus is a complex task requiring editing of OOXML.

As an alternative, try clicking on Home>Add-ins and adding a dictionary. Then the workflow will be more like selecting a Word, click on Home>Add-ins>Dictionary, after which a task pane should open showing the definition of the selected word.

0 comments

Answer 2

The right‑click “Define”/dictionary option in Word is provided by a dictionary task pane add‑in. When that add‑in is not installed or enabled, the context‑menu entry disappears and cannot be restored by a simple setting; the functionality must come from an installed dictionary add‑in or service.

To restore dictionary lookup from the right‑click menu:

Install or re‑enable a dictionary add‑in that supports the Define command. These are implemented as task pane add‑ins that send the selected word to a dictionary web service and display the result.
After the add‑in is installed and enabled, select a word in the document and right‑click; the Define (or similar) command appears again and opens the dictionary task pane with the definition.

If no dictionary add‑in is available or installed, the context‑menu dictionary option cannot be added back from within Word alone.

References:

Share via

How to add the dictionary to the right click options in Word documents?

2 answers

Your answer