as in books
a reference work that contains information about many different subjects or a lot of information about a particular subject
The school library's encyclopedia occupied much of the bookshelf. an encyclopedia of literature
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Recent Examples of encyclopedias
Beginning in 1959, editors put in arduous work toward compiling the first encyclopedias written in Braille, the innovative code developed by Louis Braille in 19th century France.
—
Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 20 Dec. 2025
Instead, the eight search results ranged from a general entry about online encyclopedias to seven entries primarily about Wikipedia.
—NPR, 29 Oct. 2025
Outdated sets of children’s encyclopedias that speak in the Voice of Empire.
—Teddy Wayne
september 9, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2025
Over the years, the team at Locust Grove, 561 Blankenbaker Lane, has seen all types of books come through its doors ahead of the sale — children's books, novels, encyclopedias, self-help books and more.
—Lillian Metzmeier, The Courier-Journal, 18 Aug. 2025
Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 20 Dec. 2025
Instead, the eight search results ranged from a general entry about online encyclopedias to seven entries primarily about Wikipedia.
—NPR, 29 Oct. 2025
Outdated sets of children’s encyclopedias that speak in the Voice of Empire.
—Teddy Wayne
september 9, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2025
Over the years, the team at Locust Grove, 561 Blankenbaker Lane, has seen all types of books come through its doors ahead of the sale — children's books, novels, encyclopedias, self-help books and more.
—Lillian Metzmeier, The Courier-Journal, 18 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encyclopedias
Noun
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Might seem like an outlier in the current array of articles and books about open marriages and polyamory, and at first glance the line of distinction between the two worlds, much like the division between blue and white tickets, seems almost old-fashioned.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Apr. 2026
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But friends and colleagues remembered him as someone who had a deep love not only for journalism, but for sports, history, travel, books and, of course, his family.—
Michael Collins,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The club supplies 1,000 dictionaries each year for third graders at 10 Darien schools, as well as supports leadership training for high school students, NAMI DuPage, Humanitarian Service Project food for senior citizens in Darien, recycling events and environmental grants.—
Melinda Moore,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
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The word was considered so vulgar that it was left out of early dictionaries and was rarely printed, though Adams says people were certainly using it.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Some even had rich catalogs outside the mainstream.—
Ryan Brennan
April 8,
Kansas City Star,
8 Apr. 2026
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Some had entire catalogs of albums.—
Ryan Brennan
April 8,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Encyclopedias.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encyclopedias. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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