"We are sorry, but this feature is deprecated" (Smart Lookup on Word for Mac)

Anonymous
2024-12-13T22:08:50+00:00

I just right-clicked on a word to use the "Smart Lookup" feature, and I received this message, "We are sorry, but this feature is deprecated." I am a current subscriber and logged in.

I appreciate your help!

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | Other | MacOS

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Stefan Blom 353K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2024-12-16T22:31:07+00:00

As stated in this thread and elsewhere in the forums, Smart Lookup has been discontinued. The official notice is in the article at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/get-insights-into-what-you-re-working-on-with-smart-lookup-debf2083-5ac0-4739-8667-ae2467bec044.

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You can send feedback to Microsoft developers by using the feedback facility in your version of Word. See https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/how-do-i-give-feedback-on-microsoft-365-2b102d44-b43f-4dd2-9ff4-23cf144cfb11#platform=macOS.

Also/alternatively, post in the portal at https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/forum/fb6d67e3-301c-ec11-b6e7-0022481f8472.

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-01-06T18:20:16+00:00

    I hope Microsoft reintroduces this feature in Word soon. In the meantime, here is a workaround for Mac users; not sure if it's the same for Windows users: after highlighting the text you want to "Smart Lookup," right-click and select Services, then choose "Search with Google." This will automatically input your selected text into the Google search bar, providing more detailed results than "Search with Bing." Hope it helps. -Rudy Ramos

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-12-27T14:55:02+00:00

    I am trying to use the right-click -> Smart Lookup feature on Word for Mac (v16.92) but I get an error message every time - see attached screenshots. Has Microsoft really deprecated the feature, and if so, how can I define words while using MS Office?

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  3. Anonymous
    2025-01-05T13:09:04+00:00

    What a weird notification? Deprecated? who wrote this? Do they even know what that word means? How ironic that MS Word used a word incorrectly to explain the smart lookup malfunction.

    What does it mean when an item is deprecated?

    Similarly, when a class or method is deprecated, it means that the class or method is no longer considered important. It is so unimportant, in fact, that it should no longer be used at all, as it might well cease to exist in the future.

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  4. Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 437.7K Reputation points
    2024-12-16T22:33:46+00:00

    @Kareem R

    @KILUN YI

    @S S_515

    You're welcome to express your opinion here but it has no effect. If you want Microsoft to know of your concern use the Feedback listing in the Help menu of the program.

    FWIW, I imagine the feature was removed for a valid reason & will be replaced by a new, more robust version in a future update. In the meanwhile there are many excellent dictionary apps available including the free Dictionary provided by Apple as a part of the OS.

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