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My Outlook flags the word "solutioning" as a spelling mistake.

According to Urban Dictionary :

solutioning > A word many business people misuse to describe the process of creating a solution. These people need a grammar lesson and should be fired immediately.

Is the word correct?

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When the only place you can find a word is the Urban Dictionary, then it's probably either a very rare word, or not a real word at all. But what's in a word? There can be a lot of gray area on what constitutes a "correct English word." – J.R. May 9 '12 at 18:41
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I don’t know about correct or incorrect, but it certainly rubs me the wrong way. – tchrist May 9 '12 at 18:55
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It is not a word. – Kris May 9 '12 at 19:00
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I can't comment on its correctness, however, I have seen it used within the software industry to describe the act of solving a business problem with software application(s). In several development environments a "solution" is an actual item, not simply a concept. It is often the highest level object containing all the other pieces of code or resources to be delivered in a program. In this sense, I can see how the noun/verb creativity could evolve. "The vendor is solutioning that for us next year" ... "That was solutioned with XYZ, ABC, and 123" Lazy? Yes. Correct? Maybe not. Useful? Yes – Shawn May 16 at 17:46
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3 Answers

up vote 12 down vote

I presume you mean "solution" in the sense of finding a way to overcome a problem. In that case, "solution" is the noun form of "solve". There's no need to take a noun derived from a verb and then derive yet another verb from that noun. You say "We are working on solving the problem", NOT "We are working on solutioning the problem."

If by "solution" you mean a solid mixed into a liquid, then the verb is "dissolve". Again, no need to invent a new word.

If there's some reason why you need to distinguish some method or process of finding solutions, or some specific approach to finding solutions, from simply solving problems, I suppose it's plausible to invent a new word.

But please please please don't tell me that you want to say "we solutioned the problem" rather than "we solved the problem" because it "sounds more professional" or something like that. I hate it when people utilize paradigms inculcating contra-diminutive words for the ostensible objective of maximizing pretentiousness.

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+1 (Just for the pleasure of reading your last sentence!) – JLG May 9 '12 at 21:13
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Using solution as a verb meaning solve is an example of what I have heard called MBA-speak. Just today my boss wrote in an e-mail "we will have a meeting about this to solution it in the future". – John Y May 9 '12 at 21:16
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Don't you mean leveraging pretentiousness? – cornbread ninja 麵包忍者 May 9 '12 at 21:21
Actually, "there's no need to take a noun derived from a verb and then derive yet another verb from that noun" is flat out wrong. That stuff happens, and for solid linguistic reasons. (For starters, have a look at the LanguageLog post on "flied" vs. "flew".) Secondly, and most importantly, "please please please don't" and "I hate it" are not valid reasons for something not to be considered a word. I am tempted to downvote your answer for that. – RegDwighт♦ May 9 '12 at 22:03
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@RedDwight I meant that there's no need to derive a verb from a noun that was derived from a verb TO MEAN THE SAME THING AS THE ORIGINAL VERB. Yes, it's valid and good if the meaning is different. Like, beg, verb, to ask for charity; beggar, noun, one who lives off of charity; beggar, verb, to reduce someone to poverty. "Beggar" (the verb) has a very different meaning from "beg", so a new word is appropriate. – Jay May 10 '12 at 14:24
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up vote 5 down vote

There is a verb solution meaning ‘To treat with, fasten or secure by, a solution’. There is no reason why it should not have an -ing form.

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May I ask you to use the verb solution and its -ing form in a sentence? I'm not seeing it. "To treat with a solution" — as perhaps with a cleaning solution? – JLG May 10 '12 at 5:23
@JLG: ‘If you have a puncture while cycling it’s preferable to fit a new inner tube, but solutioning a patch on to the damaged tube will effect a temporary repair.’ – Barrie England May 10 '12 at 6:07
up vote 0 down vote

"They were curious if we could offer IP phones as a service in the interim until the solutioning of their new IP system is in place and configured."

Used in context where solutioning refers to the actions of Solution Directors and finding a solution to a problem.

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Is “Solution Directors” some sort of business? Why is it capitalized like that? I do hope your realize that we no longer capitalize Important Words in English just to give them Proper Emphasis. – tchrist Mar 29 at 17:24

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