Jose Carillo's English Forum
English Grammar and Usage Problems => Use and Misuse => Topic started by: Sky on May 25, 2010, 08:17:18 PM
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Why are there no such words like "cleverer and cleverest" in the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary?
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I don't know what edition or imprint you have of Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, but mine, the digital Merriam-Webster's 11th Collegiate Dictionary, has separate entries for "cleverer" and "cleverest" to recognize their existence in the English lexicon. These two words, however, are simply intensifiers of the adjective "clever," and the dictionary assumes they are already understood as such by the reader. As a matter of style by the dictionary, therefore, these intensifiers no longer get separate entries with definitions nor are mentioned in the definition of the source word itself.
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Sir Joe, here's the website: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cleverer
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"These two words, however, are simply intensifiers of the adjective "clever," and the dictionary assumes they are already understood as such by the reader. As a matter of style by the dictionary, therefore, these intensifiers no longer get separate entries with definitions nor are mentioned in the definition of the source word itself."
I got it, sir! Thanks!