Questions tagged [disambiguation]
The disambiguation tag has no usage guidance.
26
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How to identify as being Native American while not being of aboriginal descent?
I write for government entities in the supply chain and manufacturing fields. These days it is a big deal to identify what nationality you are. The government wants to discontinue buying from ...
5
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2
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585
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What is the difference between a "tympanum" and a "pediment"?
"Tympanum" and "pediment" have definitions that seem to be very close, but I have yet to see them both used to refer to the same object in an actual text.
Pediment is defined as:
...
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"Export settings" disambiguation and meaning
"Export settings" disambiguation and meaning.
The aforementioned quotation is ambiguous. As I see it, it could mean either of the following:
Export (verb) settings ---> Action of ...
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9
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Is the meaning of "Either latitude or longitude needs to be provided!" exclusive or inclusive?
The error message for a computer dialogue box reads as follows:
Either latitude or longitude need to be provided!
(mistakenly using the incorrect need in the plural for singular needs)
Does this ...
1
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2
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56
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Is something "sudden" also unexpected?
As I understand the word "sudden" (or "suddenly") it indicates a rapid change, usually without prior notification that the event was about to occur.
I find it hard to find sources ...
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2
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Does 'genocide' cover mass murder of a people by sex or gender? Is there a better word?
Genocide defined:
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical (sic), racial or religious group,
...
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1
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68
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What is the precise meaning of the word ‘beget’ in this text [closed]
I know the meaning of the verb ‘beget’: reproduce, cause, bring about,father, give rise to, …
It is just that in this context I cannot get what is meant by it. Does it mean giving rise to ‘...
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1
answer
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What word means "change in wealth over time?"
Over at https://money.stackexchange.com/q/146575/75566 we haven't come up with an English word that unambiguously means "change in wealth over time." My perhaps naïve first shot at this was &...
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4
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How do I use a conjunction to join two clauses directly after a list of terms?
I am trying to offer a choice between two options, the first of which has several sub-options. I'm unsure how to express this in a grammatically correct and clear manner.
What I have currently is ...
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1
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I think "odd" is a very odd word
I was just looking at a (programming) question on Stack Overflow that was asking for a function that always returned "odd" numbers (I'm sure s/he was referring to odd vs. even numbers). But ...
2
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3
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"I did not go out because it was raining"—how could one disambiguate this sentence? [closed]
"I did not go out because it was raining" is ambiguous, with at least two interpretations.
It could simply mean I did not go out because it was raining (and, therefore, a bad time to head ...
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Paradoxical participle [duplicate]
“I met a friend walking down the street.”
Does it mean I was walking, or that my friend was walking, or both are possible?
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57
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What is the most natural way to disambiguate "with"?
In Spanish, if you say "I'm with X", it implies that you are not part of X. But in English, although both interpretations are possible, the converse is the usual.
If you say "I'm an officer with the ...
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2
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108
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Could "cookbook" mean "usual"?
I am reading the following article:
Nelson, T., Maxfield, S., & Kolb, D. (2009). Women entrepreneurs and
venture capital: Managing the shadow negotiation. International
Journal of Gender ...
2
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3
answers
309
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If you say "winter 1998", is that too ambiguous?
Ocarina of Time was released in the winter of 1998.
(The actual release date was around/just before Christmas time.)
However, it's very much cold and "wintery" in January, February and sometimes/...
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How to understand "and" here [duplicate]
I come across following statement:
Enabling this behaviour may reduce performance and increase stream state requirements in streaming mode.
I am confused with "reduce performance" is in parallel ...
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Avoiding ambiguity with 'owed' - technical terms
I want to make a spreadsheet including money I am owed and money I owe. How do I avoid ambiguity with the word 'owed'?
e.g.
money owed - money that is owed to me
money owed ? - money I owe to ...
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1
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68
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Multimedia disambiguation
This sentence is from Wikipedia:
A website is a collection of related web pages, including multimedia content, typically identified with a common name, and published on at least one web server.
Is ...
1
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2
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"New contributor indicator" misunderstanding
I have just seen a link to a Meta question: Come Take a Look at our New Contributor Indicator!
For a second I understood the "new contributor indicator" part as "there is a contributor indicator, and ...
2
votes
1
answer
201
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"I met him(,) sitting on the chair(,) and talked to him." Who was sitting on the chair?
I met him sitting on the chair and talked to him. - (He was sitting on the chair)
I met him, sitting on the chair, and talked to him. - (I was sitting on the chair)
Is that correct?
I feel safer ...
2
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1
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What does the phrase "lowest rated in history" mean? [closed]
Does it mean the RATINGS or QUALITY being the lowest ever?
Edit: Some context here - two days after the show aired, Trump tweeted -
Lowest rated Oscars in HISTORY. Problem is, we don’t have Stars ...
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Genomics Research vs. Genomic Research
Is it possible to draw a distinction between the two phrases?
There are a comparable number of Google hits for both.
I am also wondering about the correct use of similar phrases, e.g. memetics ...
3
votes
1
answer
93
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Disambiguation of "identify"
I recently heard on the news that:
Paris police have identified the perpetrators.
I realize this is actually ambiguous (unless I am misunderstanding something).
Have the police...
1) ...just ...
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11
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How can you lift an elephant with one hand? [duplicate]
Here is a question I've encountered:
How can you lift an elephant with one hand?
The answer provided is:
It is not a problem, since you will never find an elephant with one hand.
Now, if I ...
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4
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How to specify the letter O, not a zero
Imagine a technical specification that reads:
In the text box, enter "O1" (O the letter, not the number zero)
Is there a convention which achieves this explanation more succinctly, or is more ...
4
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2
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Does an adjective or longer modifier apply to both nouns when they are joined with 'and' [or 'or']?
Can you grab the blue shirts and socks?
Is the above sentence stipulating that both the shirts and the socks are blue? Or only the shirts?
At this stage, I am leaning towards the earlier (only the ...