How was Samuel Johnson's dictionary different from previous dictionaries of the English language?

A. It included the meanings of many more words.

B. It used literary excerpts to illustrate word usage.

C. It took Johnson several years to compile it.

D. It was not as precise as other dictionaries.

The correct answer is B. It used literary excerpts to illustrate word usage.

Johnson used excerpts from well known books to show how different words are used which was a completely new idea, revolutionary one, since the previous dictionaries showed what the word mean and were sometimes difficult to understand.