Editors and writers are faced on a daily, if not more frequent, basis with the failings of definitions. There are so many gradations to meaning–connotation, context, subtleties of usage–that it’s more difficult than I often think it should be to answer the question “Is this the right word?”

In a recent On Language column, Erin McKean offers an opposite, but equally complicated, perspective–that of the definer. McKean takes the dictionary dicussion beyond the standard descriptive and prescriptive debate and really gets to the heart of the matter: it’s simply impossible to truly define a word in a few sentences.

Though I feel uncomfortable with how McKean then goes on to use the article to promote her site, Wordnik (it feels a bit like using the Gray Lady for an infomercial), I do agree that her site is often a more useful resource for me than the traditional dictionaries. With definitions from multiple, trusted sources, it’s far more helpful than the purely user-generated round of online dictionaries (see Urban Dictionary, which, though useful, is a victim of a slightly wonkier version of the comment thread “me too!” effect). The usage examples are particularly helpful, often more so than the definitions themselves.

It’s interesting, too, to see how she has found a model for user-generated dictionary content that works and is helpful, as opposed to sites like the now defunct Wordie, which always seemed to me to be kind of a pointless intersection of social networking and dictionaries. (Wordie’s content has since been incorporated into Wordnik. Also, for the record, “bomb donkey” was a friend’s term, not mine.)

More resources: TED Blog: Erin McKean launches Wordnik — the revolutionary online dictionary.