How to Disable Dictionary in Google Docs?

Introduction

If you manage student Chromebooks, you have probably seen the reason schools want to disable the Dictionary in Google Docs. Picture a student who is halfway through a vocabulary test. They come across a word they do not know, right-click it, and select Define  , and a side panel opens with the meaning and its synonyms. There is no need to open a new tab or visit another website. The answer appears right inside the editor where the test is taking place.  

When you look for a way to block Dictionary in Google Docs for Students through the Google Admin Console, you run into the same limitation: there is no native setting that removes it. It is one of those gaps schools often discover at the worst possible time, just before a testing window, when controlling these tools matters most.

This post explains why the gap exists, why the usual fixes do not remove the tool, and how to close it with xFanatical Safe Doc's EnableDictionary policy. 

What Google Docs Dictionary Does and Why Schools Restrict It 

Students can open it in three ways: open Tools and select Dictionary, right-click a word and choose Define, or use Ctrl+Shift+Y. A side panel then shows the word’s meaning and synonyms right inside the document. No new tab or website is needed.

For everyday reading and writing, the dictionary is useful. During a test, though, it can change what the test is measuring. A vocabulary or spelling test is meant to show whether a student knows the words. When the meaning and synonyms are just one right-click away, the test may end up measuring what the tool can provide instead of what the student knows.

In deployments we've supported, this issue has come up during real assessments. One Safe Doc customer received the same question from many teachers: how to turn off the Dictionary during tests.
In another case, a K-12 systems administrator told us that teachers wanted the Dictionary blocked across the district’s Chromebooks.

Teachers also shared what they were seeing in their classrooms. One asked, “Is there any way to disable this feature as students are cheating on vocabulary tests?” Another said they had “caught a kid today taking a test and using the dictionary feature.”
The problem arises during testing times. Vocabulary, spelling, and language tests happen every term, and spring testing can add even more. That is when the Dictionary stops being a helpful tool and starts giving students answers. 

Without a way to turn it off, the impact is clear. A vocabulary or spelling test may no longer show what a student actually knows, so the grade may not reflect their knowledge. Teachers spend more time watching students’ screens, and IT teams keep getting the same question during every testing period: “How do I turn this off?” 

There are two reasons for this. The Define tool is built into Google Docs and is turned on by default. And the Admin Console does not have a native setting to remove this exact feature from the Google Docs. That is the gap the rest of this blog addresses.  Dictionary side panel opens in Google Docs, opened from Tools, then Dictionary. 

Understanding the Google Docs Dictionary Control Gap

Start with the Google Admin Console, since that is where most schools check first. But there is no setting to turn off the Define tool in Google Docs. There is also no native switch for this feature, so schools need to look beyond the standard Chrome policies.

Next are the web filters a school already uses. A web filter works at the website and network level, blocking entire sites. But the Define tool is inside Google Docs, so a network filter does not reach it. 

One filter gets a little closer: “uBlock Origin Cosmetic Filtering”, a free browser extension. 

After installing the extension, on a Google Docs page, you can open the extension and choose to create a custom filter. Then point to the part you want to hide, such as the Tools menu, preview the change, and click Create. The menu disappears from the page. 

But it only disappears from view. Google Docs still loads the feature underneath; the filter only tells the browser not to show that part of the page. Removing the filter is just as easy. Open uBlock Origin, choose “remove a custom filter,” delete the rule, and the menu comes back. 
The filter also runs on only one device and has to be set up manually. A student can remove it in seconds and use the tool again. The filter also depends on Google's page code, so a Google update can break it until someone changes the rule. In other words, it hides the tool. It does not remove the tool. 

So what would a real fix look like? Five things:

1. Remove the Define tool itself, take the complete feature away from google workspace, not just hide it on the page.
2. Work in everyday Google Docs, not only inside a special exam tool.
3. Apply across the fleet, per organizational unit (OU), from the Admin Console, “not a per-device rule a student can switch off”.
4. Aim straight at the feature, and fill the gap the Admin Console leaves.
5. Scope to the group that needs it, and say which devices it reaches.

That is the gap Safe Doc's “EnableDictionary” policy is built to close.

How Safe Doc Removes the Google Docs Dictionary 

The Blind Spot: Why Hiding the Tool Is Not the Same as Removing It 

The Define tool is not a website you can block. It is built into Google Docs. Whenever a student opens a document, the Dictionary is already there in the Tools menu, the right-click menu, and the Ctrl+Shift+Y shortcut.

That is the gap. A cosmetic filter can temporarily hide the Dictionary panel in Google Docs, and the Google Admin Console can apply broad rules across a school. But neither one removes the Dictionary that is already built into the document. The meaning still loads. The options still work. The tool is hidden from view, while the feature remains available underneath. To actually remove it, you need a control that reaches inside Google Docs before the student uses it.

How Safe Doc Actually Works: Removing the Tool at the Code Level 

Safe Doc is a Chrome extension that is set up through the Google Admin Console. When the EnableDictionary policy is set to false, Safe Doc removes the Define tool from Google Docs as the editor loads. 

Safe Doc works inside the application itself. As the page loads, Safe Doc removes Dictionary from the Tools menu, removes the Define option from the right-click menu, and disables the Ctrl+Shift+Y shortcut. The tool is removed from the session, instead of being hidden.  There is nothing for a student to unhide or to delete.

The policy is also managed centrally. It is sent from the Admin Console to students' browsers by the organizational unit (OU). Students cannot see, change, or turn off the policy. When Google updates the editor, the extension is maintained so the tool stays removed. 

Disabling the Google Docs Dictionary With Safe Doc 

Every other method works around the Dictionary; it hides it or filters near it, but the tool stays inside the document. “Safe Doc removes it”. It is a Chrome extension managed through the Google Admin Console and can be applied to a specific group of students through their organizational unit (OU). Set the EnableDictionary policy, and it controls whether that group has access to the Dictionary.

The reason Safe Doc can do this is that the Dictionary lives. It is built into the Google Docs editor, not a website. A web filter only controls which websites a browser can access, so it cannot reach the Dictionary. Safe Doc works inside the editor and removes the Dictionary where it actually lives.

Here is Neeraj Nanvani, Development Director of Safe Doc at xFanatical Inc., on what the policy does:  "The policy is configured for the Safe Doc Chrome extension through Google Admin Console. Safe Doc uses the configured policy value to control the Dictionary feature in supported Google Workspace editors. Set the policy to false, and the Dictionary is gone for that group in every Google editor that has it.”

Disable Dictionary in Google Docs

In Google Docs, the dictionary opens in three ways: open Tools and select Dictionary, right-click a word and choose Define, or use Ctrl+Shift+Y. Set EnableDictionary to false, and all three stop working. The screenshots below show the same document before and after. 

Alt Text: Google Docs Tools menu side by side, without Safe Doc the Dictionary option is there; with Safe Doc it is gone. 

Alt Text: Right-click menu in Google Docs side by side, without Safe Doc the Define option is there; with Safe Doc it is gone. 

Turn off Dictionary in Google Slides

Google Slides has the same Dictionary. Students can open it from Tools, then Dictionary, or use Ctrl+Shift+Y. The EnableDictionary policy reaches it too. Set it to false, and the Dictionary is gone here.

Alt Text: Google Slides Tools menu side by side, without Safe Doc the Dictionary option is there; with Safe Doc it is gone. 

Alt Text: Right-click menu in Google Slides side by side, without Safe Doc the Define option is there; with Safe Doc it is gone. 

Restrict Dictionary in Google Drawings

Google Drawings has the same Dictionary. Students can open it from Tools, then Dictionary, or use Ctrl+Shift+Y. The EnableDictionary policy applies here too. Set it to false, and both options are gone.

Alt Text: Google Drawings Tools menu side by side, without Safe Doc the Dictionary option is there; with Safe Doc it is gone. 

Step-by-Step: How to Configure Safe Doc Policy

Step 1: Apply fora free 30-day trial license key.The trial license and the sample policy configuration file will be emailed to you.

Step 2:Sign in to the Google Admin Console and deploy xFanatical Safe Doc to the selected student organizational unit (OU).  Here is the full walkthrough: the Safe Doc deployment guide and the Safe Doc configuration reference.

Step 3:  Go to Devices > Chrome > Apps & Extensions > Users & browsers, navigate to your Safe Doc policy configuration for the relevant organizational unit (OU).

Step 4: Click the xFanatical Safe Doc app.

Step 5: In the right-hand panel, under Policy for extensions, add and edit your policy configuration JSON to include “EnableDictionary”.

"EnableDictionary": {
  "Value": false
}

Step 6: Click Save to apply the changes.

Step 7: Verify that the policy is active. Note: Wait a few minutes for the policy to be propagated to the students' devices. This can also take up to 24 hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is the Google Docs Dictionary the same as the personal dictionary?
  No. The Dictionary (the Define tool) shows a word's meaning and synonyms. The personal dictionary just stores custom spellings so spell check stops flagging them. Two different features, this post is about the first one.

• Can I turn off the dictionary for just some students, not the whole school?
  Yes. Safe Doc's EnableDictionary policy applies per organizational unit (OU). You can switch it off for one grade, class, or assessment group, and leave it on for everyone else.
  
• Does Google Admin Console have a built-in setting to turn off the dictionary?
  No. There is no native Admin Console switch that removes the Define tool. That gap is the reason schools need a tool like Safe Doc to control the feature directly.
  
• Which apps and devices does this work on?
  Safe Doc removes the Dictionary in Google Docs, Google Slides and Google Drawings. It runs on Chrome, managed ChromeOS and the Chrome browser on Windows and Mac. It does not reach Safari, Firefox, Edge, or phones and tablets.
  
• Does turning it off stop students from looking up a word any other way?
  No. It removes the dictionary built into the editor. A student can still open another website or use a phone. It closes the in-editor answer key, not every path to a meaning.

Conclusion 

If your students keep using the built-in Dictionary during tests and there is no Admin Console setting to remove it, this is the gap Safe Doc closes. Set EnableDictionary to false, and it turns off the Dictionary in Google Docs, Slides and Drawings for the students you choose. One setting, applied by the organizational unit (OU), and it works alongside the filter your school already uses.

“Start a free trial if you have not deployed Safe Doc yet, or contact us for help setting it up across your fleet.”

Related Safe Doc Guides

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