Disable Show Definitions Inline in Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge is the default web browser app in Windows 10. It's a Universal (UWP) app which has extension support, a fast rendering engine and a simplified user interface. Starting with Windows 10 build 17713, the browser allows the user to look up definitions for selected words in Reading View, Books, and PDFs thanks to the new dictionary function added to it. If you find the definition popup annoying, here is how to disable this feature.

Microsoft Edge comes with Reader mode, which might be familiar to Firefox and Vivaldi users. When enabled, it strips out unnecessary elements from the opened web page, reflows the text and turns it into a cleaner looking text document without ads, menus and scripts, so the user can focus on reading the text content. Edge also renders the text on the page with a new font and formatting in Reader mode.

With Reading View, Microsoft Edge provides a new, consistent, more powerful experience across all your documents, whether they’re EPUB or PDF books, documents, or web pages. The feature utilizes Fluent Design System elements like motion and Acrylic material to provide a fluid, delightful experience that keeps the focus on the page.

When you select a word in Reading View, in a EPUB or PDF document, you will see a definition popup next to your selection.

If you are not happy with this feature, you can disable it.

To disable inline definitions in Microsoft Edge in Windows 10, do the following.

1. Launch the Edge browser.
2. Click the three dots "..." menu button.
3. In the Settings pane, click on the Settings item.
4. In Settings on the General tab, disable the option Show definitions inline for.
5. Alternatively, you can disable the definition lookup feature for certain objects, such as Reading View, books, and PDF files.

The inline definitions feature is now disabled for the Reading View in Microsoft Edge

This Inline Definitions feature can be configured with a Registry tweak. Here is how it can be done.

Manage Inline Definitions with a Registry tweak

1. Open the Registry Editor app.
2. Go to the following Registry key.

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppContainer\Storage\microsoft.microsoftedge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdge\Main

   See how to go to a Registry key with one click.

3. On the right, modify or create the following string (REG_SZ) values:
   

   Name	Value
   Dictionary Enabled	yes - enable "Show definitions for" no - disable "Show definitions for"
   Book Dictionary Enabled	yes - enable Show definitions for books no - disable Show definitions for books
   ReadingView Dictionary Enabled	yes - enable Show definitions for Reading view no - disable Show definitions for Reading view
   Pdf Dictionary Enabled	yes - enable Show definitions for PDF files no - disable Show definitions for PDF files

4. To make the changes done by the Registry tweak take effect, you need to sign out and sign in to your user account.

To save your time, you can download the following ready-to-use Registry files (*.reg).

Download Registry Files

They will allow you to enable or disable the features mentioned above.

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• How to Enable Full Screen Mode in Edge
• Export Favorites to a File in Edge
• How To Disable PDF Reader in Microsoft Edge
• How To Annotate EPUB Books in Microsoft Edge

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