Adjectives are words, or phrases naming an attribute, added to or grammatically related to a noun to modify or describe it.
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1answer
88 views
Is “introductive” a word? Or should I use “introductory”?
I was very surprised when open office's spell check underlined the word introductive. I checked a few dictionaries and only a few (including The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University ...
0
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4answers
243 views
what's the difference between “apparent”, “evident” and “obvious”?
I believe they are all the same, but is there any case in which not all of them are correct?
Here are the examples, from an English textbook:
1. It is (quite) __ that he took the wrong path.
...
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3answers
77 views
Adjectival order of “National African weightlifting federations”
Which order is correct?
National African weightlifting federations.
African national weightlifting federations.
African weightlifting national federations.
38
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11answers
3k views
When to use “nude” and when “naked”
The question is quite clear.
Is there any difference (semantically or connotationally, if that's a word) between nude and naked? Nude seems more formal to me, but I'm not quite sure.
Interesting:
...
0
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5answers
87 views
Word for person prying on my personal stuffs [closed]
which adjective can I use to describe my neighbor, who is always trying to keep eye on my personal matters like what am I bringing from market or what am I cooking etc?
Regards,
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2answers
98 views
Is “unmissable” a valid word?
I noticed an advert on TV advertising "unmissable" shows coming up. MS Word marks it as a spelling mistake, but the Mac OS is OK with it.
I don't particularly like it.
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3answers
186 views
“Low self-esteem” in one word [closed]
I need an acronym for "low self-esteem", one word is a must, and preferrably archaic.
-1
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2answers
46 views
“Multiple” vs. “additional”
When you are adding or inserting additional people to a list, what is the correct word to use, multiple or additional? Example:
Multiple escorts can be added using the Add New Escort tab.
...
4
votes
3answers
199 views
“I don't know” is to “agnostic” as “I don't care” is to what adjective?
Atheists reject that God exists and agnostics do not know if God exists. What is the word for people who do not care if God exists? Does some word moonlight for that or is there a specific term (apart ...
3
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1answer
80 views
How to use “extraordinaire” in English?
I’d like to include the following phrase in my children’s book:
with trumpets and fanfares extraordinaire
I don’t know whether it should instead be
with trumpets and fanfares ...
0
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1answer
196 views
The opposite of Archive
A colleague and I are writing some software and we're looking for some advice on the usage of the word "Archive". Currently, we're using archive as a marker to state that the entry in our database has ...
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1answer
65 views
“Bongo is screaming”: is “screaming” an adjective? [closed]
If I say, "Bongo is screaming", would screaming be an adjective?
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2answers
85 views
Using the adjective “expressive” to mean an object allows for expression?
My intention is to say that systems of a particular type allow users to express ideas on them. I wanted to give the concept a more concise/general name, as a title for such systems.
I called them ...
0
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1answer
196 views
What's it called when you switch the order of two words around?
What's it called when you switch the order of two words around, completely changing their meaning?
For example, simply childish becomes childishly simple.
Or wonderfully sarcastic becomes ...
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votes
2answers
132 views
What is the difference between “eclectic” and “diverse”?
It seems like eclectic and diverse have the same meaning, but there must be some difference. What is it?
Did a search on Google but didn't find any info.
2
votes
2answers
160 views
What category name covers things that are designed to stand on the floor?
How to name a category of tall objects that are designed to stand on the floor as opposed to standing on a table? The tabletop objects are shorter than the freestanding objects and I cannot use ...
13
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10answers
947 views
What's the opposite of “omniscient”? [closed]
What's the opposite of omniscient, which means having infinite knowledge, or simply ...
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2answers
85 views
What is the difference between “unrelenting” and “relentless”?
Which one do I use for a song that I'm listening in a loop?
I asked this on Quora but didn't get a satisfactory clear answer that would justify the difference.
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2answers
119 views
What is the difference between “skilled” and “skillful”?
What is the difference between skilled and skillful? When can I use one, when can I used the other?
He is skilled/skillful.
He is a skilled/skillful musician.
(Anything else?)
From the ...
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2answers
171 views
“each day” → “daily”; “every other day” →?
Is there an adjective that means "every other day"? I found "bidaily" but it seems to mean "twice a day", not "every second day" (not even both as "biweekly" does).
I'd need this word to very ...
2
votes
3answers
316 views
Object complement adjective, or direct object, or?
Jill painted the kitchen rosey red.
In this sentence, would red be considered an object complement adjective? If so, what do I do with rosey, since I cannot have an adjective modifying another ...
1
vote
4answers
217 views
Is “else” in “someone else” necessary?
Since I'm already referring to a person in third-person by using "someone", isn't the "else" in "someone else" redundant? If it not, why is that? The only significance I see in the addition of ...
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vote
2answers
69 views
“number of books” or “book count”?
The number of books is nine.
The book count is nine.
Which is more natural?
What's the SUBTLE difference between them?
5
votes
6answers
299 views
Adjective that means “disableable”? [duplicate]
I can't seem to find an adjective that describes something that can be disabled. I made up the word "disableable", but it surely sounds funny, and it's not even a real word.
It's for use in a ...
3
votes
2answers
352 views
“integer multiple” vs. “integral multiple”
Nine is an integer multiple of three.
Nine is an integral multiple of three.
Which is more common?
If both are accepted, what's the subtle difference between them?
8
votes
2answers
207 views
Term for things like “naughty step” where the step is not what is naughty
Can anyone remind me of the grammatical term for the apparent misapplication of an attributive adjective, as in the phrase "the naughty step" (where it is not the step itself that is naughty but the ...
0
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1answer
83 views
Antonym for “prestigious”
I am looking for a way to describe a business that has sacrificed traditional prestige for effectivity. I understand the most direct antonym is unprestigious, but I'm not sure this word conveys what ...
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1answer
47 views
What is the difference between “Distribution Worker” and “Distributing Worker”?
I cannot differentiate when I should use a noun like "distribution" as an adjective to another noun, or when should I use an "-ing" participle as an adjective. Could you please clarify the differences ...
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1answer
95 views
About the word “casual” [closed]
According to what I knew and I have found on the web, in general the word casual is the opposite of everyday. But in the special case when it refers to clothing, it has a similar meaning to "everyday ...
2
votes
1answer
131 views
Interpreting “not bad”
In conversations people often use "not bad". How to interpret this?
Are they feeling good or just not bad or somewhere in the middle?
Does it depend on the context?
E.g.:
X: How are you doing ...
1
vote
1answer
127 views
How do I write 'first and second order' properly?
I am writing about first-order and second-order quantities. Should I put one hyphen, as in
"first and second-order",
or two, as in
"first- and second-order".
Or should I do something ...
1
vote
2answers
160 views
What's the meaning of “brutal” here?
What's the meaning of brutal in this comment?
I just had some mild food poisoning on Tuesday into Wednesday, sh-t was brutal but it was pretty much cleared up after I slept.
According to most ...
1
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2answers
1k views
What is the difference between “phonetic” and “phonemic”? [closed]
I've read several descriptions but I still don't understand. From what I can gather, the main (or only) difference is phonemics is not concerned with "nondistinctive elements" but I don't know what ...
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2answers
90 views
“Astronomy images” vs. “astronomical images”
Are there any differences between the two?
A Google search says that astronomy images is much more used, but I think that astronomical images sounds better.
2
votes
4answers
104 views
“Distribution worker” vs. “distributed worker” [closed]
I cannot differentiate the meanings of the two words. Could you please clarify?
In general, when should I use a noun (distribution) or an adjective (distributed) for verbs similar to distribute, ...
0
votes
1answer
62 views
Subscribed/unsubscribed
I am using a notification system where I have trouble naming a category of user.
A user can subscribe to the newsletter of the week.
If the user set his settings, and decides to receive the ...
1
vote
4answers
140 views
Difference between “delight” and “delightful” [closed]
I am wondering if there is really a difference between delight and delightful.
I would like to make a title for a French cooking app and was thinking of this:
MyApp - Homemade delightful French ...
4
votes
4answers
137 views
Activity/adjective for keep re-mentioning a favor
Let's say a person helps you study for an exam (as a favor). What is the activity/verb that describes that person when he keeps re-mentioning it, as to make you feel that you owe him something.
Is ...
2
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3answers
319 views
Four-word phrase stress
I'm interested to learn why the following four-word phrases have stress on different words.
"Little Red Riding Hood" (stress is on little and riding)
"Infamous National Rifle Association" ...
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0answers
91 views
“Operative” vs. “operational” [closed]
Which is the most appropriate word to describe the state of a system which is ready to work: operative or operational?
0
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2answers
210 views
What do you call the adjectives between transitive verbs and objects?
I carefully pried open her mouth. (The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s
Bag)
When intransitive verbs are followed by adjectives, they seem to call these adjectives as subjective complements or ...
2
votes
1answer
70 views
Etymology of “modal dialogs” in computerese
When programming you may deal with so-called modal dialogs — these are windows where you are supposed to provide information before you are allowed to proceed any further. A modal dialog blocks or ...
1
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4answers
137 views
Somebody who is kind, yet hard, but fair
A person who speaks kindly. Sometimes she might be hard, but fair.
What is an adjective to describe such person?
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2answers
219 views
Polite Compliments
Is a "polite compliment" necessarily a redundant statement when used in a group of people as opposed to a one-to-one situation?
2
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2answers
425 views
How to obtain a list of compound words as nouns?
Example: polar bear
I can only detect polar as an adjective and bear as a noun. But polar bear is actually a "noun". How do I obtain a free list of such?
Another example: hot dog.
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3answers
416 views
What do you call a person who does not take risks (or who does not like taking risks)?
I want one word which best suits a person who does not take risks (or one who does not like taking risks).
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vote
2answers
96 views
“Offence threat” vs. “offensive threat”
I was watching an NBA game. After Omer Asik missed an easy shot, the commentator said that Omer was not much of an offensive threat. I used to say offence threat often. Which usage is more established ...
8
votes
4answers
227 views
What is an adjective for a very large negative number?
A number that is very large (but not infinite) such as 1,000,000,000,000,000 could be called huge, enormous, large, big, gigantic, etc.
A number that is very small such as 0.000000001 could be called ...
3
votes
6answers
133 views
“Synchronous events” and “synchronized swimmers” — what is the difference?
In JavaScript, why does synchronous and asynchronous appear to be the opposite to their definition?
Synchronous (in JavaScript this refers to running in sequence):
occurring at the same time; ...
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2answers
184 views
Deciding between “eponymous” and “titular”
William Gibson has a short story collection titled Burning Chrome. One of the stories in this collection is also titled Burning Chrome. I was recommending the book to someone and I wanted to say that ...
