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Does anyone know an alternative (smarter) word for "parts of the day" ? examples: afternoon, dusk, evening, morning, night, et cetera

My problem is I'm writing a form where I would like to ask what each person's favorite "part of the day" is, yet I feel the question may be confusing. For instance, someone could write "eating" or "going to the gym". I really feel there must be a word in English that will solve this confusion.

Any help would be appreciated.

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    Make it a multiple choice question and give your list as options. Alternatively, you could use “time of day” and provide your list as examples.
    – Jim
    Nov 5, 2018 at 22:34
  • I have never seen anyone use full form of etc, finally know how it is spelled now .. Nov 5, 2018 at 22:36

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It may be too technical, but in my work it's common to refer to dayparts (Business Dictionary). Even in a less technical situation, morning, afternoon etc are often referred to as dayparts.

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  • I agree. This is a very common term in the US broadcast, media and advertising industries. It’s the only one word term I know for “part of the day.” It’s a nifty little word. Nov 6, 2018 at 0:44
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Where I grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, we referred to this as "time of day."

What time of day do you like best? Night time.

What time of day do you usually eat breakfast? Morning.

What time of day do you feel most relaxed? In the Evening, after I get home from work.

There are probably some parts of the English speaking world where they habitually call it something else, but "time of day" should be intelligible to any native speaker of English.

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  • This is idiomatic in Br.E and is what I would use.🎃
    – Jelila
    Nov 6, 2018 at 2:48
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There is no specific single word, but I think calling it "period of the day" would be more specific and people would not confuse it with.

For instance, someone could write "eating" or "going to the gym"

I did search for it for a good half hour...

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