Questions tagged [is-it-a-word]
Questions about the perceived legitimacy of would-be words.
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"unintuitive" vs "nonintuitive" vs"counter-intuitive" [closed]
Today I found out that despite using and hearing it frequently, "unintuitive" is not a word.
I searched english.stackexchange and found countless answers where the word is used.
It also ...
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Is it correct to say that similar groups show high levels of "stereotypicity/stereotypicality"?
I am writing a scientific paper describing a group of cells that are consistently patterned together through different developmental stages. Phrased another way, the components of the groups are the ...
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Is assistancy a word? If not, what's a better alternative?
Today, I wanted to discuss a role I had as a research assistant at a university. I had discussed it using language like "During my research assistancy, I did xyz" or "I had this ...
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Is there such a word as "akind" [closed]
If two things are like each other, they are alike.
But if two things are of the same kind, could I say that they are akind?
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Is "surefast" a word?
I was under the impression that "surefast", basically meaning "sure" or "certain", was a word.
A sentence example would be "Learning is a surefast way to success&...
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Is there a term for "meltable"? [duplicate]
Full disclosure, I'm kind of dumb so bear with me. I've only googled a dozen or so thesauruses but I came up with nothing for things that are "meltable".
I mean, is meltable even a word? Has ...
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Is “not’ve” a valid [𝒔𝒊𝒄] contraction in either of spoken English or written English – or both or neither?
My English teacher has recently explained to me that not’ve is an accepted way to write the two spoken words not have, and he gave me this example of using it:
Why that machine is not working? Oh, ...
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What is the adjective for flowers (or other objects) arranged into a vase? Vased?
I want to use the word 'vased' as an adjective before a pronoun of a subject to mean the subject has been arranged into a vase. It is a flower in this case, but it could be any other object.
The word ...
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Is "giffy" (meaning airborne salt spray) a real word?
My mother (from Charleston, South Carolina) uses the word "giffy" (spelling unknown; hard g sound) for airborne salt spray that gets all over cars, windows, and (in extreme cases) power ...
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Does the word 'Vinculation' exist?
My main language is portuguese and I'm stuyding English.
I've searched inside Cambrigde Dictionary and didn't find it. But searching for the word itself, I find texts/articles using this word.
- Word ...
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Identifying Compound words in Modern English
Compound words like SNOWMAN etc, are obvious compound words in Modern English, as both words that make up the compound word exist as words in Modern English.
However, words like SHEPHERD aren't words ...
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Is combustant a word?
I am trying to pin down the definition of the word combustant, but I can't seem to find anything. Almost all dictionaries are giving me the definition for combustion. If I search with a strict filter, ...
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Can we use "depot" as an adjective? [closed]
Can we use depot in this form: depotted books or depot books?
(I’m not sure about the past participle of this word.)
Or should it be used only as a “place” where books are supposed to be
stored, a ...
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Why can’t I turn “fast-paced” into a quality noun by adding the “‑ness” suffix?
I needed to write a word that expressed the quality of being fast-paced.
"Fast-pacedness" sounded off and I looked the dictionaries up.
Collins is my favourite one. Webster I use when I need ...
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Is there a noun for the word "exact" that is like the word "similarity"?
I am not sure how to word this correctly, but I am looking for a noun for the word "exact" that is basically like the word "similarity". Would the word "exactitude" be ...
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Chanterelle and Chantrelle, which is the correct name of the mushroom?
I always spell it as chanterelle until I bought a box of CHANTRELLE in Whole Foods Market. I looked up my dictionary, and yes, the word should be chanterelle. However, I also noticed that, the word ...
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Is "hardwork" a valid word?
I came across this word in an English test, where "hardwork" was marked as the 'correct' answer for a question. I know of the adjective hardworking, but I thought "hardwork" was ...
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Abetrours :: meaning & etymology
We've found this word Abetrours here and here, but cannot seem to find a definition of it. Can anyone refer us to one, and ideally its etymology as well? Feel free to suggest another StackExchange ...
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Is 'irreasonable' as the opposite of reasonable acceptable or not? [closed]
Generally, the negative form of 'reasonable' is 'unreasonable' with the negative prefix 'un', but I do have come across 'irreasonable' used as the opposite of 'reasonable'. So my question is whether ...
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Is there a common abbreviation for "with or without"? e.g. _w/wo_ or _w/w/o_
Is there a common abbreviation for "with or without"? e.g. w/wo or w/w/o
Obviously, something this complex is best written in full form, but I'm looking for something to use in space ...
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Is 'swaddles' a word?
I swear I've heard the term swaddles used before, but when I look it up, I only get definitions for swaddle. I believe it was used as a noun, but the definition of swaddle is throwing me off.
Here's ...
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Is the word "psithurism" really used in English?
I have seen people using this word to refer to the sound wind makes as it moves through trees. However,
1. No reputable dictionary seems to have acknowledged this term as a valid english word.
2. ...
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Is it correct to say ‘Skyping’ in a sentence
Is it correct to say to my boss ‘ I will be Skyping with you from there’
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Is "unironically" a valid word?
Every spell checker I have, both ones that automatically spell check and those run after finishing a document or draft, seems to consider the word unironically to be incorrect. I have heard the word ...
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Which spelling would be more correct: "Evictor" or "Evicter"?
Both "Evictor" and "Evicter" show up at Lexico.com. The "Evicter" page is much more substantial, though.
At Dictionary.com, "Evictor" is the only accepted spelling.
Google Trends shows that "Evictor"...
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What does Jane Austen mean by the word 'alloy' in Sense and Sensibility? [closed]
As dear Austen had written on page 6, volume 1, chapter 1, I quote -
"But in sorrow she must be equally carried away by her fancy, and as far beyond consolation as in pleasure she was beyond alloy. "
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Word for being aware only of oneself [duplicate]
I'm looking for a word that describes an entity having only knowledge of its own existence, but no one else's.
The closest I have now is autognostic, auto being "self" and gnostic being "having ...
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Glowy-Is it a new word? [closed]
And the glow of a campfire was not, well, as glowy without the darkness of night.
its context
I didn't get "glowy" in the dictionary. I'm guessing it's a made up word. Do you think it is acceptable？
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Is "strategization" a word, or is there something more correct/appropriate?
Is strategization a word? As in:
We noticed flaws in their accounting department so the project will
include a QuickBooks strategization.
[EDIT] As @tchrist points out, this isn't the best ...
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is "intriguity" an actual word? [closed]
Intriguity as in "the state of being intrigued; curiosity"?
I saw it being used by writers multiple times, but now that I wanted to use it myself, I tried searching it up in the dictionaries and ...
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Plural of "today"? [closed]
Does the word "today" have a plural form?
I believe it is todays but the gf doesn't believe that is a word?
Thanks
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What does zitch dog mean?
In "How I met your mother" they played a road game called "zitch did" (or possibly "zitchdog"). Is there such a word as "zitch" (or possibly "zitchdog")?
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Is recepted a word?
I have been saying this for years, I think. I also thought I had heard it used before. However, today I used it in a sentence, and my spell checker under lined it.
The sentence(fragment) I wrote was:
...
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ORIENTEE, a word or not in Scrabble?
I am confused why I cannot use 'ORIENTEE' as a word in Scrabble.
It should mean 'someone who is attending orientation, as in a new employee (and the word is formed analogously: 'someone being ...
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Usage of the word "interimly" [closed]
I have a quick question: I used the word interimly talking to someone today. It went something like - 'I give you (someone) pat on the back for interimely filling someone's else shoes'. I am strongly ...
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Is '"snapshotting" a correct word? [closed]
For example, as part of the information message of some computer script:
Snapshotting the file...
Can we write snapshotting instead of taking the snapshot? Is it still correct?
I've found an ...
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Working Culture vs Work Culture
I've seen both usages in articles published by reputable media like NYT and the Entrepreneurs. I've seen both being used to refer to what seems to me to be the same thing. It's so puzzling to me.
An ...
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Is "minus your points" a valid phrase?
Suppose that a teacher says
I will minus your points if you cheat.
To mean "I will deduct your points."
Here, minus is apparently used as a verb.
Checking out the dictionaries,
it can be seen that ...
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Is 'interpretating' a word? [closed]
Is 'Interpretating' a misrepresentation?
I wrote interpretating in my exam. 😭
I found some examples that using interpretating.
Can I use interpretating?
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How to name collection of web links? [closed]
I have a blog and from time to time I made posts that contains only web links with some short description. Those links was not so easy to gather and they are have a value by themselves. I call this ...
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What is the correct term for a fear of breasts?
I have known this is a phobia for quite a while and remember reading the word long ago, but when I googled it today I got 2 different spellings: mastophobia and mastrophobia. Which one is right? Is ...
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Is "bumption" a word?
"Bumptious" means conceited or pompous. Does the word “bumption” exist to describe such a trait?
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what is the verb for water going past a rock?
I'm looking for a verb to describe the "Y" thing the water makes when it hits a rock, for example in the river. Here is a professional piece of art I made (view from the top):
Is it simply called "...
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Word to describe people who blindly believe accusations [closed]
I can’t for the life of me remember what this word is or if it even exists.
I’m thinking of a word that would describe medieval era peasants who are religious and make and believe accusations of witch ...
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Is there a word/phrase that describes someone flinching after they sip alcohol?
Even flinching isn't the best way to describe it.
Example: a person will take a sip of a strong alcoholic beverage (take for instance, straight whiskey) and then will proceed to make that iconic ...
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can cattleguard be spelled as one word
i'm unable to find cattleguard listed as a single word anywhere, but I think it ought to be an acceptable spelling
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Is there such a word as repercussionless
Is there such a word as repercussionless. Or what word would mean something like that??
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Is "commerical" a valid and different word from "commercial"? [closed]
Googling, I see many places using the spelling commerical, but I don't see that spelling in any dictionaries at all. Is it a mistake for commercial, or are these two different words?
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The use of "majorly" to describe abundance of something
I hear the term 'majorly' being used often these days and wanted to check the correctness of it. For example,
This article is majorly flawed.
And likewise,
The customer was majorly upset.
If ...
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Is hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophilia a word?
I'd like to know if hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophilia, my proposed opposite of hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is a real word or condition. I know -philia is the opposite of -phobia and -...
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