Nearly half a million entries provide standard and variant pronunciations, etymologies, comprehensive definitions, updated usage illustrations, and synonym articles.

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Explanatory chart -- Explanatory notes -- Divisions in boldface entry words -- Spelling -- Plurals -- Capitalization -- Italicization -- The writing of compounds -- Merriam-Webster pronunciation symbols -- Guide to pronunciation -- Divisions in respelled pronunciations -- Punctuation -- Forms of address -- Abbreviations used in this dictionary -- Special symbols -- Addenda -- A dictionary of the English language -- Tables -- Full-page illustrations.