User:-sche/Wiktionary defines

Inspired by a comment on RFD that "smart users don't really trust Wiktionary definitions", I searched Google for "Wiktionary defines". Amid a lot of chaff (hits of our own site and mirrors of us), I found the following instances of people citing us; I stopped counting after 26. I tagged the instances as 'neutral' if the person quoted our definition without complaint just to establish "how a dictionary defines x". I tagged them as negative if the person criticized our definition, and I would have tagged them as positive if the person had regarded our definition as being good or clear, or if the person appreciated that we defined something other dictionaries did not.

Wiktionary defines ... (22 neutral, 3 negative, 1 spurious)

Summary: 22 neutral, 1 negative about the site in general, 2 negative about specific definitions (tapittaa, badass), 1 citing our definition of an entry we've never actually even had(!), 0 positive.

1. Facebook, neutral : "Wiktionary defines DEACON: on: A lay leader of a congregation who assists the pastor. Today we saw just what a deacon does [...]" (Person is just establishing "the dictionary says a 'deacon' is 'x'".)
2. Stackexchange, neutral : "Wiktionary defines "politics" also as "Political maneuvers or diplomacy between people, groups, or organizations, especially involving power, [...]" (User is asking if 'polite' and 'politics' are related, and cites the definitions to establish that being polite could be advantageous in politics.)
3. Wordnik, neutral? : "sionnach commented on the word pishogue. I know this word as a superstition, though Wiktionary defines it as witchcraft or a magic spell."
4. Muskegon Magazine, neutral : "Wiktionary defines the phrase like this “Proverb – An otherwise unpleasant situation can be pleasant when a pleasant aspect is deliberately introduced.”
5. Tumblr, neutral : "Well first off, Wiktionary defines argento in Spanish as “(poetic) silver" which makes sense, as it comes from the Classical Latin root."
6. Mental floss, negative about the site in general, apparently neutral about this particular definition : "It was more than a year ago that I declared "meh" an official word, with only the lowly Wiktionary to back me up. [...] it's a sweet victory, to say the least, to have our word finally recognized by something other than a user-editable online dictionary: it's been tapped for inclusion in the Collins English Dictionary. Here's how the Wiktionary defines it: [...]"
7. Rapgenius, neutral : "Wiktionary defines “freak flag” as unconventional or unrestrained behavior; extreme, nonconformist views; [...]"
8. Blog, neutral : "Wiktionary defines complacent as – apathetic with regard to an apparent need or problem. In a professional environment, it's easy to become complacent [...]"
9. Shelf3d, cites an entry we don't actually include (Van DerFit).
10. Troutman Sanders, neutral : "But in case the phrase is completely new to you, Wiktionary defines Revenge Porn as 'sexually explicit media of a person, such as a former [...]'"
11. Blog, neutral : "Wiktionary defines crowdsourcing as delegating a task to a large diffuse group, usually without substantial monetary compensation."
12. Political website, neutral : "Here is how Wiktionary defines the word “Terrorist” as 'a person, group or organization that uses violent action or the threat of violent action to [...]'"
13. Sabayon Wiki, neutral : "How many of you know what a terminal is? None? Few? That's okay. Wiktionary defines terminal as a device for entering data into a computer or a communications system and/or displaying data received, especially a device equipped with a keyboard and some sort of textual display. So think about it, you're actually programming your computer using your own fingers and keyboard."
14. Blog, neutral : "Wiktionary defines a Bloody Mary as: “A cocktail made from vodka, tomato juice, and usually other spices or flavorings”"
15. English Forums, neutral : "That's a tough one; I can't think of any English idiom for what you describe, but "having an AXE TO GRIND" seems a bit similar. wiktionary defines it as: [...]"
16. Animal trapping website, neutral : "“Holy Moley!” is an expression Wiktionary defines as, “an expression of surprise”."
17. Blog, neutral : "Wiktionary defines it as “untruth, falsehood.”"
18. WordReference forums, negative : "The current English wiktionary defines tapittaa as "stare, ogle". Is this a mistake, or are there two homonymic tapittaa verbs?" (We were missing a second verb sense.)
19. Political website, neutral : "Wiktionary defines “several” as “more than two or three but not very many;” thus, certainly more than the two years Romney thinks [...]"
20. Blog, neutral : "Wiktionary defines it as such: “a “feel good” platitude, usually by a politician, about a worthy concept that few people would disagree…”."
21. Misc website, neutral : "Wiktionary defines “Hollywood ending” as [...]"
22. Blog, neutral : "Wiktionary defines the noun 'artist' (Singular: artist; Plural: artists) as [...]"
23. Omniglot blog, neutral : "Wiktionary defines it as “A gentle, meandering walk with no particular haste or purpose.” (noun)"
24. Cracked, negative (like all of Cracked's reviews of everything) : "The incredibly credible and accurate Wiktionary defines a badass as "A mean or belligerent person." That's because the author of Wiktionary is a pussy [...]"
25. Vocational website, neutral : "Wiktionary defines intrapreneurship as 'the practice of applying entrepreneurial skills and approaches within an established company'"
26. Tutoring website, neutral : "An "Assign" in this case is another way of saying an "assignee", which wiktionary defines as 'one to whom a thing is assigned'"

Merriam-Webster defines ... (18 neutral, 5 news, 1 negative, 2 spurious)

Summary: 18 sites were neutral, and 5 more were news reports on MW's inclusion of a new word, 1 often-duplicated/cross-posted site was negative about MW in general, 0 sites were negative about specific definitions, 2 cited MW's definition of entries it's never actually even had(!), 0 were positive.

1. Bloomberg, reporting that Merriam-Webster had included Google, but with a tame/limited definition to avoid legal issues: "To Google: Merriam-Webster Defines 'Google' as a Verb"
2. Trip advisory site, neutral : "Merriam-Webster defines all inclusive as ..."
3. Imgur, negative : "MRW [=my reaction when] a student begins a presentation with 'Merriam-Webster defines...'" (followed by a gif of a child rolling its eyes in boredom) (this post was duplicated / propagated across many sites; i have not included the duplicates in this list)
4. Twitter, neutral(?) : "Merriam-Webster defines #unteach as (1) to cause to unlearn something (2) to teach to the contrary of. I've got my work cut out for me."
5. National Journal, neutral / reporting on MW's introduction of a word to their dictionary : "'Super PAC,' as Merriam-Webster defines it, is 'a type of political action committee that is legally permitted to raise and spend larger amounts [...]'"
6. Motlow State Community College, neutral : "Merriam-Webster defines “plagiarism” in two ways: 1) to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own: [...]"
7. Blog, cites an entry Merriam-Webster doesn't actually include. Quoth: "Merriam-Webster defines 'Glogsterbate'. I tried to get a dictionary definition of birthday. The dictionary suggested birthdaies. I googled birthdaies. Google suggested poopsterbate and glogster." (In other words, the site seems to be inventing a fake MW entry. Compare the one site out of the ones that used "Wiktionary defines..." that referred to a Wiktionary entry that had never existed.)
8. Blog, neutral : "Merriam Webster Defines the term Viral as: [...]"
9. University of Missouri, neutral : "Merriam-Webster defines the term “nutraceutical” as “a specially treated food, vitamin, mineral, herb, etc., that you eat or drink in order to improve your health”"
10. Weather forecasting website blog, neutral / reporting on 'Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year' : "If you haven't looked it up online, here's how Merriam-Webster defines science: 'knowledge about or study of the natural world based on facts'."
11. Blog, neutral : "Merriam-Webster defines "trite" as "hackneyed or boring from much use: not fresh or original"."
12. Wikipedia(!), neutral : "Merriam-Webster defines competition in business as 'the effort of two or more parties acting independently to secure the business of a third party [...]'"
13. Misc website, neutral : "One way Merriam-Webster defines “abandon” is “to leave and never return to (something),” but many of today's e-commerce firms don't [...]"
14. Ron Paul forums, cites an entry / definition Merriam-Webster doesn't actually include. Quoth: "Merriam Webster defines "filibuster" as Rand Paul."
15. Politico, neutral / reporting on MW's introduction of a word to their dictionary : "Merriam-Webster defines the noun as a 'type of political action committee [...]'"
16. Temple Sinai site, neutral : "Merriam Webster defines it as 'the quality or state of being free, the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action.' The definition continues [...]"
17. Allen Elementary School, neutral : "Did you know pelicans are generous? Merriam-Webster defines generosity as the quality or fact of being liberal in giving."
18. Daily Californian, neutral : "According to Urban Dictionary, it means to “make out with someone” or to “have sex with someone.” But Merriam-Webster defines it as a “casual sexual encounter.” We at the Clog wanted to know what it means to “hook up” with someone, [...]"
19. Right Wing News, neutral : "I Practice Speciesism: Merriam-Webster defines “speciesism” as 'prejudice or discrimination based on species;'"
20. Blog, neutral : "Merriam-Webster Defines “Spyware”"
21. Slate, neutral / reporting on MW's introduction of a word to their dictionary : "or, as Merriam-Webster defines it: 'any of an order (Siluriformes) of chiefly [...]'"
22. University of Akron, neutral : "Merriam-Webster defines the term “white flight” as: 'the departure of whites from places (as urban neighborhoods or schools) [...]'" (Amusingly, the very next hit in Google is a mirror / repost of the earlier imgur post about 'my reaction when someone begins an academic paper with "MW defines..."'.)
23. Post Star, neutral : "Obamacare shown not to be socialism. [...] the health-care exchanges that launched Tuesday bear no resemblance to what Merriam-Webster defines as 'a way of organizing a society [...]'"
24. Blog, neutral : "Merriam Webster defines "new age" as 'an eclectic group of cultural attitudes arising in late 20th century [...]'"
25. Real estate website, neutral : "Merriam-Webster defines gentrification as: the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people [...]"
26. Malay Insider, neutral : "Merriam-Webster defines 'selfie' as 'an image of oneself taken by oneself using a digital camera especially for posting on social networks'."