Dictionary Usage Labels: Formal, Informal, Archaic & More

Dictionary usage labels are the short italic tags before a definition, such as formal, informal, slang, offensive, archaic or US, that tell you where, when and with whom a word is appropriate. They fall into five groups: register (how formal), attitude (whether it is insulting or disapproving), time (whether it is old-fashioned), region (where it is used) and subject field (which specialism uses it). Labels usually apply to a particular sense of a word, not the whole word, so always check the label next to the meaning you want.

The main labels at a glance

Different dictionaries use slightly different label sets and names, so treat this table as a general guide rather than a single standard.

Register labels: how formal is the word?

Register labels help you match your word to the situation. Most English words carry no label at all, which means they are neutral and safe almost anywhere. Labels appear when a word leans noticeably formal or informal.

Formal words sound natural in contracts, academic essays, official announcements and speeches, and stiff in a text message. "The ceremony will commence at noon" is fine on an invitation; "The movie commences at eight, want to come?" sounds comic.

Informal words are the reverse. Kid, guy, stuff, gonna and kind of are perfectly normal in speech but out of place in a formal report. Informal is not the same as wrong; it is about fit.

Slang is informal language that is usually associated with a particular group, age or period, and it changes fast. Dictionaries often lag behind it, and a word labeled slang in one edition may be relabeled informal later as it spreads.

Literary words appear mainly in poetry, older novels or deliberately elevated prose. Using steed for a horse in everyday speech would sound either poetic or ironic.

Nonstandard marks forms that many people use but that are not accepted in standard written English. Irregardless is a well-known example: it appears in dictionaries because people use it, and it carries a label because most editors and teachers treat it as an error.

Attitude labels: offensive, derogatory and friends

These labels are the most important ones to heed, because using a word with one of them can hurt people and damage your credibility.

• Offensive means the word is likely to cause offense regardless of your intention. Some dictionaries add qualifiers such as often offensive or sometimes offensive when usage is mixed.
• Derogatory or disparaging means the word is used to express contempt or a low opinion.
• Disapproving is milder: the word shows the speaker's negative attitude. Calling someone stubborn rather than determined is an ordinary example of disapproving vocabulary, even if not every dictionary labels it.
• Vulgar marks taboo words, usually about sex or bodily functions.

Labels in this group change over time. Some senses that were once neutral descriptions of groups of people are now labeled dated or offensive, and dictionaries revise labels as usage shifts. A useful rule for learners: you need to understand these words when you read or hear them, but you should almost never use them yourself, even jokingly, and especially not in a second language where the emotional weight is harder to judge.

Time labels: dated, archaic, obsolete and historical

The time labels cause the most confusion because they sound similar. They form a rough scale from "a bit old-fashioned" to "gone".

The key difference between archaic and historical is what has become old. With archaic, the word is old-fashioned but the thing may be perfectly current: thou simply means you. With historical, the word is still the normal word, but the thing it names belongs to the past: there is no other word for a serf, there just are not any serfs today.

Obsolete senses are common in the history of ordinary words. Nice once meant foolish or ignorant, and silly once had senses connected to happiness and innocence. Large historical dictionaries record those old senses and mark them obsolete; learner's dictionaries usually leave them out entirely. For more on how meanings drift over time, see our guide to etymology for learners.

Regional labels

English varies by country, and labels such as British, chiefly British, US, North American, Australian or Scottish tell you where a word is mainly used. Some useful pairs:

A regional label does not mean the word is wrong elsewhere. Most English speakers understand lorry and sidewalk, but using the local word sounds more natural. Regional and register labels can combine: a dictionary might mark a word British, informal, meaning it is both.

Subject labels

Labels like Law, Medicine, Finance, Computing or Music show that a sense belongs to a specialist field. They are especially helpful for words with a general meaning and a technical one:

• Benign in general use means kind and gentle; in medicine it means not cancerous.
• Consideration in general use means careful thought; in contract law it is something of value exchanged between parties.
• Key in music refers to a set of notes; in general use it opens a lock.

When you read a specialist text, check whether the dictionary gives a field-specific sense before assuming the everyday one.

How to use labels when choosing a word

Labels are most useful when you are writing or speaking and choosing between near-synonyms. A quick procedure:

• Look up the word you want to use, and find the sense that matches your meaning.
• Check the label on that sense. No label means neutral.
• Compare with your situation. Formal email? Avoid informal and slang. Chat with friends? Avoid formal unless you want a humorous effect.
• Read the example sentences. They often show register more clearly than the label.
• When in doubt, check a second dictionary. Labels differ, and two opinions are better than one.

Worked example. You want a verb meaning "to begin" for three situations:

Practice: sort the labels

Put each word into the most likely label group, then check your answers below. Some could fit more than one.

kid, commence, betwixt, lorry, wireless, tort, pass away, irregardless, steed, serf, sidewalk, gonna

Suggested answers:

• Informal: kid, gonna
• Formal: commence
• Literary: steed
• Archaic: betwixt
• Dated: wireless (in the radio sense)
• Historical: serf
• Nonstandard: irregardless
• Euphemistic: pass away
• Regional: lorry (British), sidewalk (US)
• Subject (law): tort

A sorting game like this is a quick way to train your sense of register. It works well with a partner or class, and similar formats are collected in our vocabulary games section.

Why labels matter for learners

Native speakers absorb register from years of exposure. Learners, and anyone reading beyond their usual genres, often do not have that background, so labels act as a shortcut. They explain why a sentence can be grammatically perfect and still sound odd, and they protect you from the embarrassment of using a dated, offensive or overly formal word in the wrong setting.

Labels also help with reading. When you see an archaic word in a modern novel, you know the author chose it on purpose, perhaps for humor or to create a historical atmosphere. When a news article uses an informal word in a headline, it is signaling tone.

If you are building your vocabulary deliberately, note the label next to each new word in your list. It takes a second and prevents most misuse. Our adult vocabulary-building guide explains how to record words so you learn how to use them, not just what they mean, and WordFren's example sentences for each word serve the same purpose. For a look at words that are uncommon rather than old-fashioned, see our collection of rare English words.