An analogy compares two subjects to focus on the similarities
3
votes
4answers
249 views
Word for a public place where people frequently come in contact with one another
Is there a word for a place where people frequently come in contact with one another? This is like an intersection but in the context of general habitable places. For example,
[...]as I was ...
2
votes
3answers
98 views
Specific word for discrimination based on religion [duplicate]
How would one refer to discrimination purely based on religion? Is there a single word?
For example discrimination based on sex is often referred to as sexism, discrimination based on race is often ...
32
votes
8answers
5k views
“Race” is to “racism” as “religion” is to what?
I've heard "racist" being used in a few cases to describe bigotry towards people of a certain religion. It's a bit annoying because it implies that all people of a religion are the same race, which is ...
44
votes
10answers
7k views
7
votes
4answers
752 views
The difference between an analogy and a metaphor?
Many a time I've asked what the difference is between an analogy and a metaphor. I've asked it to my teacher, on internet sites, to my parents, so on and so forth. I got a different answer every time, ...
39
votes
9answers
6k views
You quench your thirst. What do you do with your hunger?
What is the equivalent of "quench" when speaking of hunger? Is it appropriate to say you quenched your hunger?
38
votes
10answers
5k views
“Eat” is to “feed” as “drink” is to what?
I can say "I feed someone". Am I forced to say "I give someone a drink", or is there a single word for this (as in "I [verb] someone")? Unfortunately my thesaurus can't really help me.
3
votes
4answers
183 views
“Majority” is to “plurality” as “minority” is to what?
This analogy may not be quite accurate but I think I can get my point across with it.
I was reviewing some obesity statistics:
Obese: 35.9%
Overweight but not obese: 33.3%
Neither overweight nor ...
3
votes
3answers
195 views
“New” is to “novelty” as “archaic” is to…?
Is there a noun form of the word "archaic"? The closest word I can think of is "old-fashionedness" but it seems rather clumsy.
3
votes
2answers
166 views
'Arsonist' is to 'fire' as what is to 'water'?
According to Merriam-Webster, an arsonist is a person that engages in "the willful or malicious burning of property (as a building) especially with criminal or fraudulent intent".
Flooding can also ...
3
votes
7answers
2k views
Female equivalent of “fellow”
If sistren is the female equivalent of brethren, what is the female equivalent of fellow? Words usually paired are: guy/gal; man/woman; boy/girl; lad/lass; brethren/sistren; fraternity/sorority; but ...
3
votes
1answer
104 views
Equivalent of “anthropomorphism” for babies
Anthropomorphism is about attributing human emotions to other animals.
I have a one-month old baby at home, and was wondering if there was a corresponding word for attributing adult human emotions to ...
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 ...
0
votes
4answers
368 views
“Taste” is to “flavor” as “touch” and “sight” are to what?
For the senses, we have:
flavor for taste
aroma/odor/scent for smell
sound for hearing
____? for touch/feel
____? for sight/see
So one tastes a flavor, smells an aroma, hears a sound, feels a(n) ...
0
votes
5answers
227 views
Idiom/saying/word request for “inappropriately complex analogy”
I'm looking for an adjective, saying or idiom for an analogy which makes the things even harder to grasp, that was supposed to make things easier to understand.
Examples:
A guy makes an analogy to ...
6
votes
12answers
804 views
“Sound” is to “mute” as “visuals” is to what verb?
Looking for a verb that would be the visual equivalent of mute as it would be used on an audio player. That is to say, the content is continuing to be played, but not being displayed on the device.
29
votes
9answers
5k views
“Trainer” is to “trainee” as “mentor” is to what?
What do you call someone who is being mentored? Is it mentoree or mentee? Does the term student or pupil imply a context outside the business environment?
48
votes
11answers
3k views
Phrase for overusing just-learned skills?
Is there a saying or word for indicating the overuse of something you just newly learned? Say you were happy with a hammer and a nail and then somebody taught you the virtues of a screw and ...
16
votes
2answers
3k views
3
votes
3answers
266 views
Why is the feminine equivalent of an earl a countess rather than an earless?
A comment by Tim Lymington notes that the wife of an earl is a countess. Why is this so? Shouldn't it have been earless? Was this perhaps a conscious decision due to its homography with ear-less?
Did ...
4
votes
1answer
165 views
Why king and queen rather than king and kingess?
Dukes have duchesses, counts countesses, princes princesses, mayors mayoresses, and even emperors empresses. Yet kings have queens rather than say, kingesses. Why is this so? If this was due to some ...
0
votes
1answer
131 views
Other analogies similar to “flu and ”influenza" [closed]
Medically speaking, flu is a derivative of influenza; but in common usage flu includes colds and other flu-like symptoms. Influenza is a condition caused by specific viruses. While colds are also ...
5
votes
1answer
370 views
Water : Aquatic :: Sand : xxx?
Just as aquatic is to water and aerial is to air, what is an equivalent word for sand (or earth, I suppose)?
For context, I’m trying to describe the locomotion of worms within desert sand (as opposed ...
6
votes
5answers
687 views
“Woman” is to “coquette” as “man” is to what?
Wiktionary reads:
coquette: a woman who flirts or plays with men’s affections.
Is there an English word which fits the following definition?
???: a man who flirts or plays with women’s ...
3
votes
2answers
296 views
“Nose” is to “nasal” as “throat” is to what?
We use nasal as an adjective for something related to nose.
What is the word to refer to something related to throat?
8
votes
5answers
268 views
8
votes
5answers
252 views
“Visuals” are to “to show” as “sounds” are to what verb?
When taking about visuals, we can use the verb show as follows:
I want to show you something.
Can you show me?
What would be the corresponding verb to use when talking about sounds?
...
-2
votes
6answers
197 views
A word that describes goofing off at work that can be used as an adjective in front of the word activity? [closed]
For example:
The unreliable employee often engaged in __ activities like smoke breaks, smalltalk with his fellows, and playing Solitaire during work hours.
On Friday afternoons, the employees ...
1
vote
2answers
84 views
How to better express the idea of “written communication”?
As compared to "verbal communication" or "visual communication", I was wondering if there was a synonym for "written communication" that is semantically similar to the first two. What throws me off ...
2
votes
2answers
221 views
'Yet' is to 'already' as what is to 'eventually'? Could 'never' do?
I don't know if my title serves well in expressing what I am actually trying to ask, so maybe an example will do better:
I have done it already. <-> I have not done it yet.
I waited ...
-1
votes
3answers
234 views
If the sun rises at morning, what to say about the moon? [closed]
If the sun is said to rise at morning, should I say "the moon rises at night"?
Or is there another expression?
13
votes
4answers
1k views
“Nose” is to “nasal” as “ear” is to what?
If the adjective relating to the nose is nasal then what is the adjective relating to the ear?
I don't think it's "aural". I think it begins with ot-.
7
votes
3answers
158 views
'Hark' and 'behold' call attention to what we can hear or see. Is there an equivalent for smell?
'Hark' calls attention to something that we hear - for example:
"Hark, the herald angels sing" (hymn of the same title, by Charles Wesley)
'Behold' calls attention to something that we see - for ...
10
votes
8answers
701 views
“Implied” is to “explicit” as “implication” is to what?
I am looking for an antonym of implication that is related in the same way that implied and explicit are related, where explicit means "expressed". This antonym should also fit the following analogy:
...
1
vote
1answer
78 views
Megafauna is to animals as what is to insects?
I'm aware of several species of "giant" insects, such as the Meganeura (giant dragonfly) and the Arthropleura (giant centipede) — but I was wondering if anyone knew of a loose term similar to ...
8
votes
4answers
291 views
Hire an employee, ? a consultant
I am trying to fill in this sentence: “My company is looking to ___ a consultant”. Is the correct term “hire” or is there a different word that is more fitting when talking about a consultant?
5
votes
5answers
221 views
The objects in an analogy
Consider this sentence:
This situation is analogous to the classic problem of cracking a
hashed and salted password: We see the X as a password and Y as a salt.
What are the other ways to ...
9
votes
5answers
883 views
“Upper-case” is to “capital” as “lowercase” is to what?
Is there a corresponding word to go with capital to mean lower-case?
34
votes
7answers
2k views
“Left” and “right” are to “side” as “front” and “rear” are to what?
Is there an equivalent word to "side" when speaking of the front or rear of something (e.g. a car)?
So, a mechanic might say:
You damaged your wing-mirror? Ok, which side?
... or...
You ...
5
votes
2answers
603 views
Normans vs. Saxons: cow = beef, sheep = mutton, chicken =?
The story goes that after the Norman invasion of England, the words in English for prepared foods took on their French equivalents. The Saxon serfs bred the cows, sheep, and swine, which when served ...
10
votes
5answers
1k views
Medical term for deafness
Anosmia = Loss of the sense of smell
Anopia = Blindness
Anaesthesia/Anaphia = Loss of the sense of touch
Ageusia = Loss of taste
? = Deafness
I can't find an equivalent medical term for ...
3
votes
2answers
217 views
A word for female bonding
A bromance is "a close but non-sexual relationship between two men". Is there an equivalent for women? IMO, sisterhood doesn't really fit.
7
votes
2answers
860 views
“omni”-prefixed word for “all-hearing”
Is there an adjective that begins with the prefix omni that means all-hearing? I thought that an aural counterpart to omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient must exist, but after a few minutes of ...
2
votes
3answers
349 views
Student:Classmate::Teacher:____________?
A student is a classmate, schoolmate, etc. to another student. But what is a teacher to another teacher?
Couldn't it be colleague? Surely not, because a colleague could be any employee working with ...
3
votes
2answers
60 views
“View data” is to “observance” as “control data” is to what?
To view data is practising observance, to control data is practising...?
I'm not looking for the antonym of observance, I just don't know the "looking:observance::doing:?" word.
1
vote
1answer
210 views
Single word for “the one being stolen from”?
By forming a noun from a verb, the person that steals is called a stealer. What do you call a person that is being stolen from?
Is there a corresponding noun that denotes the object of this action, ...
3
votes
5answers
654 views
What's the adjective form of “sauce” as “salty” is to “salt”?
Saucy has a totally different meaning. When I describe food having too much sauce, I would like to use an adjective, however salty is not really applicable here.
0
votes
4answers
194 views
“Question and Answers” equivalent when it's not a question
There is a common phrase, "Questions and Answers", also known as Q&A.
If you have a viewpoint. opinion, idea, statement, or a thought etc., what phrase would represent it and the response the ...
14
votes
4answers
609 views
“Anachronism” is to “time” as what is to “space”?
Is there a noun for something that is "out of place" in space, like an anachronism is "out of place" in time? E.g., an old-timey barber shop in a chic neighborhood.
3
votes
4answers
181 views
“Sender” is to “receiver” as “distributor” is to what?
I'm looking for a word that means the party being distributed to by a distributor.
I'm in the film industry. There are wholesalers and distributors. Even though both roles could be called ...
