朗文词典注释所用2000核心词汇

 

 

The Longman Defining Vocabulary

Words used in the definitions in this dictionary

All the definitions in this dictionary have been written using the words in this list. If a definition includes a word that is not in the list, that word is shown in small capital letters.

The Defining Vocabulary has been carefully chosen after a thorough study of all the well-known frequency lists of English words. Furthermore, only the most common and ‘entral’ meanings of the words in the list have actually been used in definitions. We have also used a special computer program that checks every entry to ensure that words from outside the Defining Vocabulary do not appear in definitions.

 

Word class restrictions

For some words in the list, a word class label such as n or adj is shown. This means that this particular word is used in definitions only in the word class shown. So anger, for example, is used only as a noun and not as a verb. But if no word class is shown for a word, it can be used in any of its usual word classes: answer, for example, is used in definitions both as a noun and as a verb.

 

Compound words

Definitions occasionally include compound words formed from words in the Defining Vocabulary, but this is only done if the meaning is completely clear. For example, the word businessman (formed from business and man) is used in some definitions.

 

Prefixes and suffixes

The main list is followed by a list of common prefixes and suffixes. These can be added to words in the main list to form derived words, provided the meaning is completely clear. For example, the word nervousness (formed by adding -ness to nervous) is used in some definitions.

 

Phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs formed by combining words in the Defining Vocabulary (for example, put up with) are not used in definitions in the dictionary, except in a very small number of cases where the phrasal verb is extremely common and there is no common equivalent. So, for example, give up (as in give up smoking) and take off (as in the plane took off) are occasionally used.

 

Proper names

The Defining Vocabulary does not include the names of actual places, nationalities, religions, and so on, which are occasionally mentioned in definitions.(from www.yywords.com)

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