The macOS Catalina dictionary app cannot be in use

Hello, thank your for this solution. I had high hopes for it, but I do not have a "Dictionaries" folder in any of my back ups (all the way back to 2017). I do know that immediately prior April 23, 2020, when I upgraded to Catalina, I was simply able to right click on a word and the dictionary popped up as always. After an hour-and-a-half long journey I am giving up. Where does one find a "Dictionaries" Folder. Also, when I do a spotlight search for Time Machine what comes up doesn't even show "Time Machine" as a result. As an essential employee I am still working and really don't have time to mess with this. It should "just work."

Hello, What is the combo update? I have 10.15.4 installed. It is what I upgraded to on April 23, 2020 which is, apparently the day I lost the ability to look up a word using my Mac's dictionary. Thank you.

Having the same issue too since switching to Catalina. Also it's strange that I can look up a word using spotlight and it gives the definition as if the dictionaries exist SOMEWHERE but in the full app or using look up in a browser, I only get the wikipedia option. Any solutions on this, especially if you don't have any usable back ups??

Were you upgrading from El Capitan to Catalina? I just did and lost all of my emails and accounts and my dictionary. God knows what other surprises are lurking in here. This is a disaster. I use Dictionary many times each day.

This worked for me! Thank you so much! I upgraded from El Capitan to Catalina last night. I lost all my emails. Years of stuff. Today when I lost the Dictionary, it was my last straw. Fortunately I checked here. Thanks so much for taking the time to post it.

Is the suggestion of installing that 10.15.4 Combo Update still recommended if you are running 10.15.5? I just installed it from scratch, and I don't want to mess my newly installed system, after spending so much time setting it up.

And why doesn't Apple provide a solution for this problem, instead of relying on people fishing around a forum for a solution? I find it very annoying that I have to waste time finding an answer to something that it seems they should be aware of.

Of course, not. That reply was long before 10.15.5 was released. Apple doesn't provide a solution because this is not a problem on the OS, rather from a possible glitch in an installation or an existing malfunction of the system being upgraded. The fault is not Apple's.

It was clear to me that the reply predated the 10.15.5 that's why I asked. I just looking for an answer not judging your previous answer. But I have to disagree on the part that Apple has nothing to do with the issue or trying to find a solution, since it is obvious that it seems to be a recurring problem for people. I mean, they design the software and the hardware, and (at least on my case) it was a clean installation, should I blame the issue on evil spirits? Did everybody here have the same glitch at the same moment of the installation process? Or do their systems all happen to have the same malfunction that cause the Dictionary to disappear? I am trying to be logical.

And sure, I am venting a little, because it is frustrating that support is delegated too often to let people look for an answer on their own.

Besides, I just went thru another issue, when after trying to add a contact by clicking on the arrow that pops next to a phone number in Safari (actually it was on an email in Mail), it decided to merge the information to my card, and left me cleaning up the mess. So yes, I am getting the feeling that somebody is getting sloppy, and I can't afford to spend my time fixing computer glitches.

I understand that is not your fault, and actually really appreciate the quick response to my question on your part.

Thank you!

Great! Thank you! I was wondering how long would it take for the next update to come around, I even tried to look for it before, but didn't find it. So, that was fast enough for me! I am trying to get this machine up to speed as fast as possible. Tinkering with the engine can be fun, unless you need to get somewhere...

Thanks a lot!

I agree, seems logical that the new updater will solve the problem... 🤞🏼And I am not that eager on assign blame here, but I am on finding a solution, and since, as I said, the installation problem to which you refer happens on an Apple computer, with Apple software, the cause of problem IMHO is more than likely not out of that realm. Could be a power fluctuation or some other momentary issue? I guess it could, but what a coincidence that it happens at the dictionary stage... maybe some bad words 🤭 Also, the fact that a software update solves the problem may give us a clue. After all, that's what updates are for, because sh*t happens, And I am glad that the update came fast enough, and while I am spending time while setting up this new machine. So, no, on the second part I don't agree 😉 And it doesn't benefit me, other than the mental exercise, to speculate too much on the matter, especially after complaining about not having time to spend on fixing these things!

Anyway, thanks for your help!

Many, many people have had problems with Catalina and losing all of their Mail data, or having my experience, which is that I found the data in a file, but it's a big mess. There are articles, blog posts, discussions, etc. all over the place complaining about it. Some people had a different problem with their Mail and that one was fixed in 10.15.3. (Empty emails, corrupted emails, etc.) I found the Dictionary fix an easy one. I forget now which discussion group had the answer, but you didn't need to do an OS update. But Mail is not fixable. I just got a new laptop, because I happened to need one, and it already had Catalina installed. I imported from my original Time Machine, that had El Capitan on it, and, yep, the same problem. No, don't blame yourself. Apple is well aware of this problem and either can't fix it or has chosen not to after knowing about it since October 2019.

So, after installing the macOS Catalina 10.15.5 Combo Update on top of my original 10.15.5 clean install, still no local dictionary, or any other option other than Wikipedia... Those evil spirits really don't seem to like spreading the word...

I was responding to a different person. You said that you couldn't find the System Library files and the method that I saw in the article says that you need those files to relaunch. (The article didn't say to delete the app, just the dictionaries in the app.)

Thank you so much @dmribeiro! This was the solution. Just a quick tip though if you're not familiar with terminal commands: after the second command to remove that parent directory, the system may ask you to override the default function to protect this folder. You just have to put in your system password in order to give permission.

Thanks again for saving me hours on the phone with apple support! These evil spirits (lol) won't win as long as we help each other and post progress

Cheers!