How do you look up a word without leaving the page?
Private Writing Assistant
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Halfway through an email, you stop at “affect”. Or should it be “effect”? You open a new tab, search, read two dictionary entries, and come back to a sentence whose ending you no longer remember.
In short
Look the word up where you're writing instead of in another tab. In Private Writing Assistant, turn on the double-click lookup once in its menu, then double-click a word in a text field to see synonyms and a short definition right there, for the sense the word has in your sentence. They come from Chrome Built-in AI on your computer, so the word you looked up isn't sent anywhere.
Why the extra tab costs more than it seems
Looking up a word the usual way takes four steps: open a tab, search, read, come back. That's only a few seconds, but it moves your attention away from the sentence you were writing. When you return, you have to reread the paragraph to remember what you were trying to say.
Writers interrupt themselves like this many times a day: to check that a word means what they think, to find a less repetitive one, or to make sure a word in a second language isn't a false friend. A lookup that happens where you write keeps the sentence in your head.
Define on double-click
The lookup is off until you want it: click the extension's icon in Chrome's toolbar and switch on “Double-click on a word for synonyms and definitions”. From then on, double-click a word in a text field, such as an email draft, a comment box or a document, and a card opens next to it with:
- Up to five synonyms that fit your sentence. Click one to put it in place of the word.
- A short definition of the word in the sense you used it, so a river “bank” isn't explained as a place to keep money.
The definition is in the word's own language. When that differs from the language of your Chrome, you get it in both, which helps when you write in a second language. Close the card and carry on typing. In languages written without spaces, such as Chinese, Japanese or Thai, what a double-click selects depends on how Chrome splits the words, so check the word shown on the card.
When it's most useful
- Checking a word you're unsure of. Does “comprise” mean “include” or “make up”? Find out before you send the email.
- Avoiding repetition. You've used “important” three times in a paragraph. The synonyms give you a few alternatives to choose from.
- Writing in a second language. A word that looks familiar may mean something else. Our post on writing in a second language explains why that happens so often.
- Matching the context. Many words have several senses. Because the card explains the one in your sentence, you can check that the reader will take it the way you meant.
A synonym isn't always a substitute
Synonyms share a meaning, not every meaning, and rarely the same tone. “Cheap” and “inexpensive” both mean low in price, but only one of them sounds like a compliment. “Error” and “mistake” are close, but “error” sounds more technical.
So treat the list as options, not answers. Read your sentence with the new word in it, and check that it still says what you meant. If the whole sentence needs another approach, the card's last row opens the Rewrite styles for it.
Your lookups stay on your computer
The words you look up say a lot about what you're writing. In Private Writing Assistant, the definition and synonyms come from Chrome Built-in AI on your own computer, so the word and the sentence around it aren't sent to us or to a dictionary service. It works offline too, once the model has downloaded. How it works explains what stays on your device.
Double-click the next word you're unsure of and get its meaning right there: Private Writing Assistant is free to add to Chrome.