HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY
To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.
Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.
THE USAGE PANEL
The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.
NEED HELP SOLVING A CROSSWORD PUZZLE?
Go to our Crossword Puzzle Solver and type in the letters that you know, and the Solver will produce a list of possible solutions.
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP
The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG
The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.
INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?
Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com
adj. 1. a. Strong and healthy; robust: "Her splendid, vigorous body lay still and relaxed under the loose folds of her clothing" (Willa Cather). b. Growing or spreading rapidly: a vigorous vine. 2. Characterized by or done with force and energy: "With a vigorous shake to get rid of the brine in his hair, he ran into the woods to hunt small game" (John Muir). See Synonyms at active. 3. Forceful; effective: a model of vigorous prose. vigor·ous·ly adv. vigor·ous·ness n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
