Unabridged: The Thrill of (and Threat to) the Modern Dictionary

by Stefan Fatsis

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Dive into the dictionary like never before in this fascinating history of language, words and the way we use them in a hyper-connected world.

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Word Freak, a vibrant, lively, and illuminating journey through the exotic world of Merriam-Webster, dictionaries, and language, at a time of rapid-fire change in the way we create, consume, define, and use words

Words are the currency of culture—and never more than today. From selfie to doomscrolling to rizz, our hyper-connected digital world coins and spreads new words with lightning speed and locks them into mainstream consciousness with unprecedented influence. Journalist and bestselling author Stefan Fatsis embedded as a lexicographer-in-training at America’s most famous dictionary publisher, Merriam-Webster, to learn how words get into the dictionary, where they come from, who decides what they mean, and how we write and think about them. As he recounts in Unabridged, he discovered the history and fascinating subculture of the dictionary and of those who curate and revere “one of the most basic features of our collective humanity.”

Fatsis reveals the little-known story of how the brothers George and Charles Merriam acquired Noah Webster’s original American dictionary and reshaped the business of language forever. Merriam-Webster became America’s most successful and enduring compendium of words, withstanding intense competition and cultural controversies—only to be threatened by the power of Google and artificial intelligence today.

Delving into Merriam’s legendary archives and parsing its arcane rules, Fatsis learns the painstaking precision required for writing good definitions. He examines how the dictionary has handled the most explosive slurs and the revolutionary change in pronouns. He votes on the annual Word of the Year, travels to the legendary Oxford English Dictionary, and visits the world’s greatest private dictionary collection in a Greenwich Village apartment stuffed with more than 20,000 books. Fatsis demonstrates how words are weaponized in our polarized political culture—from liberal to woke to DEI—and, in a time of insurrections and pandemics, how they can be a literal matter of life and death. Along the way, he manages to write a few definitions that crack the code and are enshrined in the pixelated dictionary.

“I fell in love with the dictionary on my eleventh birthday,” Fatsis writes about the full-color college lexicon he received on that day. “The dictionary projects permanence, but the language is Jell-O, slippery and mutable and forever collapsing on itself.” Unabridged takes readers to the heart of an industry in flux, celebrating as it does the sheer thrill and wonder of words.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802165824
Publisher:	Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Publication date:	10/14/2025
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Stefan Fatsis is the author of the New York Times bestseller Word Freak, about the world of competitive Scrabble; A Few Seconds of Panic, about life in the National Football League; and Wild and Outside, about minor league baseball. In four decades as a journalist, Fatsis has written and talked for Slate, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, and many other outlets. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Unabridged:

An Amazon Editors' Choice Best History Book of October
A Literary Hub Most Anticipated Book of 2025

“To write his engaging new book, Unabridged, [Fatsis] spent years haunting Merriam-Webster’s headquarters in Springfield, Mass . . . An excellent primer on Merriam-Webster’s role in the culture wars, with thorough accounts of the dictionary’s approach to the N-word, the F-word, 'Covid-19' and 'woke.'”—Dan Piepenbring, New York Times Book Review

“A warm, personal paean to Merriam-Webster and its staffers . . . The real pleasure of Unabridged lies in its descriptions of the scrupulous deliberations of Merriam’s lexicographers as they weigh the sense of words, waiting patiently — sometimes for years — to see whether a neologism is a flash-in-the-pan or something that will endure . . . Fatsis conveys clearly just what a slow, ethical process this editing work is — not reactive, partisan or, perish the thought, programmatic.”—Dennis Duncan, Washington Post

“Abounds with curious particulars and zesty turns of phrase . . . For Mr. Fatsis, the dictionary is an item 'as ubiquitous as a spatula' and as likely to be gathering dust but, in his experience, both deeply serious in purpose and endlessly diverting.”—Henry Hitchings, Wall Street Journal

“Perfect for word nerds . . . [A] lively history of dictionaries that also looks at how they reflect and ratify changes in our language.”—Minnesota Star Tribune

“For this spirited examination of the state of language, Fatsis embedded at Merriam-Webster, seeing firsthand how the vernacular sausage is made. Just who gets to decide when “doomscrolling” and “rizz” make the cultural cut, or how to treat questions of pronoun usage and politically fraught verbiage? The questions are thornier—and older—than you may have guessed.”—New York Times

“Stefan's book is about the dictionary, obviously. But it's also about this fascinating history over how people have tried to define American English.” —Gene Demby, NPR CodeSwitch

“An exceptional, seminal and groundbreaking study, Unabridged: The Thrill of (and Threat to) the Modern Dictionary by Stefan Fatsis is fascinating, informative, original, and thoroughly 'reader friendly' . . . takes readers to the heart of an industry in flux, celebrating as it does the sheer thrill and wonder of words . . . truly exceptional and unreservedly recommended.”—Midwest Book Review

“A love letter to language . . . Lively, well-researched, and often entertaining, Unabridged is an essential resource for anyone interested in understanding how language evolves. Stefan Fatsis's erudite, fascinating fourth book is an entertaining deep dive into the history of dictionaries and how language continues to evolve in the 21st century.”—Shelf Awareness

“Capacious and revealing, this is a logophile’s dream.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Word lovers everywhere will appreciate this book”—Library Journal

“A romp in the land of lexicography . . . An entertaining, instructive look into how words make their way into the dictionary.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A funny, inquisitive romp through the past, present, and future of lexicography. Unabridged makes the work of dictionary-making . . . feel vital and exciting.”—Booklist

“If you love language, you'll find yourself thoroughly delighted by Unabridged. It's smart and funny—Fatsis, a wonderful writer, is a perfect guide into the weird, fascinating, and urgent world of words.”—Susan Orlean, national bestselling author of Joyride and The Library Book

“Word nerds, rejoice! With this deep dive into the dictionary, Stefan Fatsis takes readers on an extraordinary, eye-opening journey. The writing in these pages is beautiful, the research impeccable, and the joy of discovery contagious. I loved every word of this book."—Jonathan Eig, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for King: A Life

“An erudite, charming, positively rollicking account of American lexicography. Fatsis reveals, in loving detail, the process by which our language is categorized, codified, and of course defined, word by word by word. I'd say that the chapters on slurs and pronouns are particularly eye-opening and illuminating—because they are!—but the entire book is as revelatory as it is joyful.”—Benjamin Dreyer, author of the New York Times bestseller Dreyer's English

“Unabridged is unputdownable. Is that in Merriam-Webster? I'm not going to check.”—Ken Jennings, host of Jeopardy! and author of Brainiac

“The author of the essential paean to competitive Scrabble now brings us another close-up look at words and the people who are obsessed with them. Unabridged is a fascinating and eloquent dive into Merriam-Webster and the world of dictionaries that is–– by definition––another essential read.”—Meg Wolitzer, New York Times bestselling author of The Interestings and The Female Persuasion

“A vivid and uncannily accurate picture of what it's like to produce dictionaries—and a poignant tale of a rarefied and idealistic world that's rapidly vanishing. I read it in one gulp, which left me with an Unabridged-sized lump in my throat."—Jesse Sheidlower, former editor at large, Oxford English Dictionary and author of The F-Word

“Unabridged is a whip-smart, entertaining, and thoughtful chronicle of the prospects for dictionaries at a time when Google—or, even more so, AI—might seem to be poised to take over all their functions.”—Ben Yagoda, author of Gobsmacked! The British Invasion of American English

“A captivating look at the inner life of dictionaries. For anyone who's ever had a favorite word.”—Mignon Fogarty, host of the Grammar Girl podcast

“Stefan Fatsis has written the book I have wanted to read for years: the untold story of the American Language and how it has been curated and developed by the editors at Merriam-Webster. But into this fascinating narrative Fatsis himself becomes part of the story as a rookie lexicographer working his way into the system, giving this book an extra dimension, charm, and wit. You find yourself cheering for Fatsis to score a definition like a Little League parent pulling for their kid.”—Paul Dickson, author of The Dickson Baseball Dictionary and G.I. Jive: A Dictionary of Words at War

“Right from the opening pages of Unabridged, you know you’re in the hands of an author who’s having an absolute blast discovering the story that unfolds before you. Read on and Fatsis’s joy will quickly become your own.”—Drew Magary, author of The Hike and The Postmortal

“People have to decide what ‘gets into the dictionary.’ This witty book gives us a look into the Rooms Where It Happens.”—John McWhorter, author of Nine Nasty Words and Pronoun Trouble

Praise for Stefan Fatsis:

“An engrossing, inside look at the strange and rarefied world of competitive Scrabble. It’s a pleasure to experience vicariously a level of play that I’ll never achieve!”—Will Shortz, New York Times crossword editor, on Word Freak

“[Fatsis] writes with affectionate zeal about the game and the fraternity of brilliant, lonely, and otherwise dysfunctional oddballs it attracts.”—New York Times, on Word Freak

“Word Freak has an impassioned subtitle, and it lives up to every word.”—People

“Fatsis is a wonderful writer.”—New York Times Book Review, on Word Freak

“A can’t-put-it-down narrative that dances between memoir and reportage.” —Los Angeles Times, on Word Freak

“Funny, thoughtful, character-rich, unchallengeably winning writing.”—Atlantic Monthly, on Word Freak

“Fatsis brings drama and suspense to the game . . . His crisp reporting is enough to make the reader hyperventilate.”—Atlanta Journal-Constitution, on Word Freak

“Marvelously absorbing . . . A walk on the wild side of words and ventures into the zone where language and mathematics intersect . . . Fatsis clearly doesn’t regard Scrabble as just ‘a board game,’ and he tells us its history in loving detail.”—San Jose Mercury News, on Word Freak

“An insightful and . . . amusing look at the inner workings of pro football.”—New York Times, on A Few Seconds of Panic

“[Fatsis’s] sharp eye for detail and genuine empathy for his teammates make A Few Seconds of Panic exceptional.”—Bob Costas

“Fatsis deftly explores how business permeates every aspect of the NFL . . . [He] is able to penetrate the players’ psyches in a way that few sportswriters have.”—Los Angeles Times, on A Few Seconds of Panic

“What [Fatsis] has pulled off with his modern twist on Plimpton’s 1966 classic, Paper Lion, is remarkable . . . An unflinching look behind the curtain at America’s most popular professional sport and the men who play it.”—Minneapolis Star-Tribune, on A Few Seconds of Panic

“I’ve been spending some time with this book and it is *such* a delight, I can see it being a huge hit not only for me personally but for our voracious bibliophiles and readers-of-everything. It's got a long, gorgeous life on the permanent shelf ahead of it. What a joy! Thank you so much for sharing it and I hope its onramp to selling-in is fruitful and exciting, as it should be. And I love the cover!”—Camden Avery, The Booksmith, San Francisco, CA

“I really loved it. Laughed out loud so many times. Learned a lot. My new favorite word/concept is ammosexual! Talk about a bloodline into toxic masculinity (or ze-anger)--now I don't know what the hell to call anyone. I loved the reportage/journaling aspect. I felt like I was on a journey of discovery that—because of the humor and his politics—kept me engaged. My favorite chapter was "Slur.” Utterly fascinating and hopeful, meaning: the participation of people through response and censure of definitions was illuminating to me. My favorite line is on page 210: "While dictionaries are in the business of validating words, not social change, sometimes the act of validating words validates change, too." Fatsis proves this to be more than occasional through his running game of comparing Merriam to the OED, etc. Who accepts what words and when.”—Lucy Kogler, Talking Leaves, Buffalo, N.Y.

“A fascinating and informative look at the history of the dictionary. Fatsis artfully details the evolution of the modern dictionary from Webster's first to today's digital age. By turns serious and amusing, the reader gets an on-the-ground view of the state of the profession as the author embeds himself at the company that continues to be the gatekeeper of our language. Perfect for wordsmiths and the curious alike, Unabridged is sure to make you think of this most necessary part of our lives in a whole new light.”—Cody Morrison, Square Books, Oxford, MS

“Lexicographers will devour this encyclopedic and exhaustive tour through the study, research, and record-keeping involved in dictionary compilation. Fatsis gives us just enough of his own story to frame the immense amount of information included in this volume. I loved learning the origins of so many words and the reasons behind how American language has evolved. Readers who can engage in debating semantics and grammatical intricacies will get the most fun with this, while those of us meekly pausing to look up "gerund" find a lot to like about this book. I can see parts of this book in the New Yorker already!”—Kathleen Johnson, Prairie Lights Books, Iowa City, IA

“I liked the writing style...witty, jocular and conversational. I felt I was being drawn into a conversation rather than lectured. I also appreciated the number of definitions supplied either in the text or in footnotes. Instead of having to stop and look up definitions or, worse, simply continuing to read without knowing a given word's meaning, I felt I was learning as I went. It is a book about words to be sure but it is more broadly about the history of words. Words are not static with meanings fixed at some point in time. How words enter, leave, or change in usage is another important theme. In sum, the idea of a dictionary, indeed the need for dictionaries, as a compendium of a language's, and by extension, a culture's, basic elements, words, seems, at first glance, to be universal. But the devil is in the details. And it is those details that make the book thought provoking and provocative.”—Jon Grand, The Book Stall, Winnetka, IL

From the Publisher

2025-06-28
A romp in the land of lexicography.

Journalist Fatsis, author of the kindred bookWord Freak, talked his way into the headquarters of Merriam-Webster in Springfield, Massachusetts, after learning that “the company was overhauling its foundational book,Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged.” The last major revision had occurred decades earlier, in 1961, totaling some 465,000 words—and, given that speakers of the English language were coining words (“Doomscrolling one year,cheugy another,rizz the next”) far faster than the dictionary could keep up with, there was plenty to do. Yet, as Fatsis chronicles, Merriam-Webster was the last dictionary standing: Its competitors had folded their tents, and though alone in the field, even Merriam-Webster was forced to lay off employees as Google and Wikipedia became go-to sources for information, albeit at far lower quality. Fatsis writes engagingly of lexicographic heroes such as Madeline Kripke, who amassed perhaps the finest language library in the world but died of Covid-19 before that new word could be added. He gamely wades into linguistic controversies, one being the inclusion of the “n-word,” which occasioned a boycott in the late 1990s and a sage but unpersuasive reply from the publisher that “to remove the word from the dictionary would simply mislead people by creating the false impression that racial slurs are no longer part of our culture, and that, tragically, is not the case.” And Fatsis, who crafted 90 definitions for M-W (alt-right,burkini,microaggression), and who begins his book by wondering whether human editors are on the way out in favor of artificial intelligence, reckons that AI is “good at some things, bad at others, and, as of the publication of this book’s first edition in late 2025, not a threat to completely upend the last gladiators of commercial lexicography.”

An entertaining, instructive look into how words make their way into the dictionary.

Kirkus Reviews