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How to Change the Font Size in Dictionaries on the Kindle

I was working with a client on their website today when they happened to mention that they were having trouble reading on their Kindle (this blog comes up a lot in my day job). It seems my client was having trouble with reading and looking up definitions on their Kindle. Like me, they have old eyes, and use a larger font size to read, but the definition’s font size was too small for them.

I could appreciate that (I have abandoned print books because the text was too small), and what’s even better was that I know a solution.

This might not be common knowledge, but the dictionary on your Kindle is actually an ebook. You may only see a single definition at a time, but thanks to Kindle ebooks having their origin in Mobipocket ebooks, there’s still a dictionary ebook in your Kindle somewhere,.

If the definition that pops up when you read is too small, you can open the dictionary ebook and see the definition there. Here’s how.

And while I am at it, I should probably tell you how the same trick works in the Kindle apps.

Kindle Fire & Kindle apps for Android/iOS

Accessing the Kindle dictionary via a definition in the Kindle app for iOS or on the Kindle Fire is relatively easy.

While reading a book, simply press and hold on a word until the definition pops up, and then click the "full definition" link to open the dictionary ebook itself. Once you’re here you can change the font size just like in any other ebook; simply press and hold in the middle of the screen to bring up the menus, and then look for and open the Aa menu.

Kindle

The dictionary look up function works a little differently on Kindle ereaders than on the Kindle apps; there’s an extra step in opening the dictionary. (Also, older Kindle models that lack touchscreens each have their own quirky way to access the dictionary.)

Here’s how you openĀ  the dictionary on a current Kindle ereader. Press and hold on a word until the definition pops up, and then select the 3-dot menu beside the search icon (magnifying glass). Choose the option Open Dictionary. This opens the dictionary as a regular ebook where you can adjust the font size to whatever works for you.

It’s that simple!

Do you know a cool trick for the Kindle that you’d like to share?

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