Word of the Day・English Vocab 4+

Edit 2: The issues I shared below have since been fixed. Thank you, WotD team!

Edit: I updated my review to three stars on the fact that the developers were very helpful and kind in restoring my saved words and disabling the “gamification” for me. Still, I’m unable to search & save words (which was my favorite feature) but I saw a comment below that it’s returning in a later update, which will be wonderful…

Original Review: I’m a writer and I originally downloaded this app for two reasons: to expand my vocabulary, and to “stash” words that I want to save for later. When I come across an interesting new word in a book, for example, I’d go to the app, search for it, and save it for future reference. I used to use the app almost every day, and looked forward to each day’s new word. The new update removed all of this. You can no longer search for words, and the daily word is hidden unless you visit the app. This is incredibly frustrating. The app has turned into some sort of subscription-based Duolingo-esque game, instead of a fun dictionary like it was before. Plus, on top of that, most of my saved words disappeared. Now, I do understand the developers need to make money, and I’d even be happy to purchase the app for a flat price — if the interface returned to the way it was before. I’m very disappointed, and I’m afraid I’ll have to search for a replacement….

UPD - Oct.28:

Hello and many thanks for updating your review! We are so glad to know you are enjoying the app :)

Regards,

Word of the Day team

UPD:

Hi there, just wanted to let you know that we've redesigned and released the word lookup feature. Just make sure you update the app to get it and look for the search icon in the Discover section. This will allow you to search and save words as before. Plus now there are even more words available inside the app because our dictionary content is powered by Oxford Languages. Hope these changes make the app more enjoyable and useful.

Regards,

Word of the Day team
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Greetings! Thank you so much for reaching out and for your honest feedback. There’s a way for you to get the version of the app that’s similar to the older version. The widget will go back to displaying words instead of illustrations. The app will be word-centered, and the gamification settings can be turned off. If you’d like to have the app’s settings adjusted, please reach out to us at info@wordwordapp.com. We can also help restore all the saved words. Just make sure you don’t delete the current version of the app and email us. We are happy to help.

EDIT: Since the major redesign, most of my complaints below have been addressed. I’m much happier with the app now- the last thing I’d like to see is a way to quickly return to a specific calendar day, rather than having to swipe between each word. But this is a relatively small issue, given the ability to save words to lists, etc.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: Lifetime subscription member here. While I like some of the features of the app redesign (the art for each word is fun and a good way to get a better sense of the word) I really dislike the fact that I have to wait several seconds upon opening the app in order to “reveal” what the new word is, and even then you have to wait for an animation to complete, then “flip” the card in order to even get a basic definition, let alone any etymology details. Pleas give us an option to turn the word “reveal” theatrics off. On top of that, it would be hugely useful to have a way to scroll through the daily words and not have to flip EACH of the word cards over to get a definition. This is not the way I want to have to interact with the app. Let me easily scroll through words and their definitions, with an option to look at the word art if I want to! Lastly, it doesn’t seem like there is an easy way to look into past days/months/etc. like there used to be. Scrolling through weeks and weeks worth of words having to swipe to love one word at a time is getting to get old fast- the old “calendar” view was helpful in this regard.

UPD - Oct. 28

Thank you so much for updating your review! We appreciate you :)

Regards,

Word of the Day team


UPD:

Greetings! Just wanted to reach out to say that we've updated the app a great deal since we last spoke. You are now able to turn off the gamification/animation settings inside the app and go back to a more traditional look and feel of Word of the Day. Just go to your Profile inside the app, find App Settings & Experience section and disable Gamification and/or Illustrations first settings. Hope this makes the app experience more enjoyable.

Regards,

Word of the Day team

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Hello!

We would like to start off by saying thank you for sharing your review with us. We really appreciate your thoughts and suggestions about the new Word of the Day version. Of course, we totally understand that this is a huge change, for our old-time users especially, and we want to let you know that we are in the process of collecting feedback from our users about the old and the new version of the app. We can adjust the app's settings to make the app feel more informative and less like a game. If you would like the gamification settings turned off, please reach out to us at info@wordwordapp.com.

Either way, we wanted to reach out to say that your review has been read and heard and that we are thinking of ways to make our old-time users happy. Currently we're making some adjustments to the Today tab, so make sure your app is up-to-date.

Last but not least, if there is anything else you would like to share with us about the app's look and feel as well as performance, please do not hesitate to reach out to our support team at info@wordwordapp.com anytime. Thank you!

Best regards,
Hanna
Word of the Day team

My senior year of high school (graduated in 1966), I had an English teacher the stressed the need of a good vocabulary. Each week she would give us 10 words that we were to familiarize ourselves and then record if saw the word used during the week. Sources could be newspapers, magazines, books, or any printed material.
I can remember many of the words today and where I found it being used. My career choice as a nurse encouraged me to learn medical terminology. When I married, I faced a person who could challenge my knowledge. My husband was an auditor for the US Air Force and was responsible for writing reports to the Pentagon, to the Congress and the Senate, generals, etc. His reports were word perfect, written logically.
I hate to play Scrabble or any word game with her. Even when writing a personal note to him, I am careful to be word perfect.
This app is a godsend to me!
Linda

Greetings!

We want to express our gratitude for your valuable review. We are thrilled that you are enjoying Word of the Day!

Your enthusiasm for expanding vocabulary has left us deeply impressed, and we would love to hear more from you.

We would like to invite you for a brief interview to discuss your app experience and ideas for improvement. Your direct feedback will have a significant impact on the future of Word of the Day, as it will be shared directly with our development team.

If you are interested, kindly send an email directly to tk@biggiko.com, and we'll arrange the interview process in a way that is most convenient for you. We look forward to hearing from you!

Wishing you a fantastic day ahead!

Word of the Day Team