Our first duty as dictionary publishers is to describe accurately what words in fact do exist in the language, however much we may regret their use. It is important for such words to have clear labeling that indicates to the reader that these words are offensive, but it would be dishonest for us to pretend these words do not exist, and simply take them out of our books.

Such words will not go away simply because they're undefined in a dictionary; in fact, if people cannot get accurate information about them from a dictionary, including not only how offensive they are but also what they mean, they are more likely to have an excuse for treating these words as acceptable. Think of people whose first language is not English: they may hear such words being used, and if they cannot look them up in a dictionary and thus find out how offensive they are, they may assume that such words are acceptable.

Random House Webster's College Dictionary has long led the field in guiding people in the avoidance of offensive terms, beginning with the inclusion in the 1991 edition (and all subsequent editions) of an essay on Avoiding Insensitive and Offensive Language. We have since created new usage notes and more strongly worded labels for over 300 offensive terms, and replaced traditional definitions with usage-style definitions that avoid equating the term with the person.