Questions tagged [meaning]
This tag is for questions related to definitions and nuances of meaning of a word or phrase.
16,306
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Are "on leaving school" and "after leaving school" the same? [migrated]
I am working on IELTS Test Preparation. The original text writes:
After leaving school, Moore hoped to become a sculptor, but instead he complied with his father’s wish that he train as a ...
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The meaning of "Your self worth down"? [migrated]
Would you please tell me what does "your self worth down" mean?
Here's part of the context
you know what we have created a void inside our mind, the dog big space, which we constantly try ...
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Is there any difference between the idioms "pull the rug from under" and "leave in the lurch"?
Is there any distinction between "pull from under the rug" and "leave in the lurches"? What separates them? I've scoured some online dictionaries, but I fail to see the difference.
...
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“upskill your mind”
First question:
Does the phrase “upskill your mind” make natural and perfect sense in English? What I am going to convey by this phrase (as sn article title) is “improve and enhance your own mental ...
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Meaning of “raz” in English [closed]
What comes to your mind as a native speaker of English when you hear the word “raz”?
I am going to name my brand as “razmental”, but I’m not sure if it evokes the connotations of the informal sense of ...
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"Didn't any" and "didn't either" [closed]
A discount will be given to teams that did not participate in either of the last two EBL Team Championships held in Budapest 2016 and Ostend 2018.
Who qualifies for a discount?
Teams that didn't ...
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What does "Fair Lady" mean? [closed]
Sometimes we call a woman "my fair lady" or "my fair queen". In this context, does fair mean
bright and beautiful?
Or
just and honest?
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Word request for a in-game page
So I'm playing a video game,the gameplay is similar to that of street fighter where I just control one fighter and try to defeat the opponents. When the fight is over, whether I won or not, a ...
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Meaning and origin of the word "muist"
Recently, I've noticed that the NY-Times Wordle game accepts the word "muist" as a five-letter word attempt. But what does it mean and where does it come from?
I've searched online and I ...
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What is the meaning of "unto itself"? [duplicate]
I've been scrolling through Quora.com to find posts that would make it easier for me to understand the sum and substance of the stock phrase "unto itself" but there aren't a great deal of ...
user453475
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What does the idiomatic phrase "err on the side of" mean?
I've looked through several online dictionaries to ferret out the meaning of "err on the side of" ("err on the side of", what I mean is I'm more concerned with the underlying ...
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1
answer
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What does "data trail for transactions" mean? [closed]
Today when reading a working paper of Auer 2021 about CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency), I found a sentence:
Conversely, central banks in jurisdictions with a large informal
(“shadow”) economy may ...
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What does it mean? - "This was not lost on is who I want to be." [closed]
I came across this sentence while reading a book 'Keep Going' by Austin Kleon.
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Is there any difference between "congenial" and "genial"?
As the question implies, I'm interested in only the linguistic distinction between the two words I've listed. I've looked up these two words on some online dictionaries. After some searching, I've ...
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When does "actively mislead" entail an intent to deceive?
Background
Sometimes I see the term "actively mislead", but I am not confident when it is implied that something was done intentionally to deceive. A previous question here asked Does "...
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What's the Meaning of Opposing?
What's the meaning of 'opposing' in the following sentence:
"We have long been accustomed to opposing x to y."
Edit: I deliberately eschewed the context and original reference, because its ...
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Please explain the meaning of the following phrase [closed]
What's the meaning of the phrase that says "The competitive set for leisure time" ?
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What is the definition of the phrase "unto itself"?
I've looked through several online dictionaries to discover the meaning of the phrase "unto itself" ("unto itself" in the sense of the phrase having no qualifying objects, people, ...
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Is there any difference between "nexus" and "locus"?
As the question implies, I'm interested in only the semantical aspects of the two words I've listed. I've looked up these two words on some online dictionaries. After some searching, I've noticed that ...
user453475
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4
answers
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What is the difference between "hallmark" and "trappings"?
Is there a distinction between "hallmarks" and "trappings"? What separates them? I've scoured many dictionaries, but I don't see the difference.
For example, Cambridge Advanced ...
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What does this "be failing" mean? [migrated]
This is from TOEFL speaking TPO3:
In my first year in high school, I was addicted to video games. I played them all the time, and I wasn't studying enough. I was failing chemistry. That was my hardest ...
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What makes this expression funny? 'Brown, of course, is your lesbian sister who never leaves her room.' [closed]
I was watching Conan's Dartmouth commencement speech and he said "Brown, of course, is your lesbian sister who never leaves her room. And Penn, Columbia, and Cornell — well, frankly, who gives a ...
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What does "ever having happened" mean?
I was listening to a Doctor Who podcast episode, and got confused by this line:
She (The Doctor)’s supposed to be here. She’s supposed to fix things like this. Or stop them from ever happening. Or ...
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What exactly are "beasts that perish"?
Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly ...
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1
answer
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Can verb "to fire" replace "to burn" in general, or in a specific context?
The following is an excerpt from the Wikipedia article Mercury in fish:
"Coal contains mercury as a natural contaminant. When it is fired for electricity generation, the mercury is released as ...
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What does the phrase "Shop the edit" mean?
I have seen this phrase used in several fashion ads and on clothing sites (mostly women's). I am assuming it is AME, but I do not know. Here are some sites that I see the phrase being used:
Neiman ...
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Could we employ this word in a formal context?
Is "consultable reference" OK for describing an original documentation that should be read whenever required to achieve a purpose?
If no what would be more adequate?
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1
answer
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What's the meaning of 'couldn't make your car'? [duplicate]
It was a situation that the police were trying to stop a driver who ran two stop signs. The driver finally got out of the car and said "I couldn't make your car".
From a publication article ...
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1
answer
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Meaning of “rubber” in “You might put ME into a Jail, with genteel society and a rubber, and I should never care to come out.”
In David Copperfield, Mrs Markleham: “You might put ME into a Jail, with genteel society and a rubber, and I should never care to come out.”
What is the meaning of rubber here?
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What is the exact meaning of "with" in this sentence [closed]
Today at Cambridge Dictionary site I created an account, then an email sent to me. The following is the email content:
"You have successfully created an account with Cambridge Dictionary. Please ...
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0
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Use of the word "midwife"
A midwife is a person who helps a woman give birth and I believe a woman can use "my midwife" to refer to an individual who assisted/will assist her during childbirth; my question is, can a ...
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What is the meaning of this sentence? "no concern"
I think we have no concern to provide the report of your performance.
Does it mean that they are willing to write a report or not?
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1
answer
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What is the "-sie" suffix meaning?
While playing Thief: The Dark Project, I noticed the use of the suffix "-sie" in some words, for example: woodsie, goodsie, treesie, etc. I struggled to find an explanation for this and ...
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Number of times vs total number of times
What is the difference between saying "number of times that user accessed the site" vs "total number of times that user accessed the site"?
I feel that they mean the same thing but ...
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Is there a difference between "care about" one vs "care for" one?
One person says:"You don't care about me!"
Another replies: "I care deeply for you."
Instead of replying "I care deeply about you," the replier says "I care deeply ...
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Why are typewriter keys referred to as “stops”, especially when compared to organ stops?
I have been listing to an audio book of The Hound of the Baskervilles. In it there is a line which says “…with her fingers over the typewriter stops…”. I am assuming this is referring to the keys of ...
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What is the connotation of “The Hitchhiker's Guide to XYZ”?
I am a software engineer, I have read some book/articles with the title "The Hitchhiker's Guide to XYZ", e.g. "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Python" or "The Hitchhiker's Guide to ...
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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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What does this sentence mean? ‘Two of the bell and mark him, boy, whip-cat tippled already.’
An amused man passing me and pointing to a drunkard struggling to get back on his feet. ‘Two of the bell and mark him, boy,
whip-cat tippled already.’
From How to Stop Time by Matt Haig.
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What does the phrase "who had no congenial home to make her known in" mean?
'Suppose that a man,' so his thoughts ran, 'who had been of age some twenty years or so; who was a diffident man, from the circumstances of his youth; who was rather a grave man, from the tenor of his ...
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Difference between "provocative" and "thought-provoking"
In some dictionaries, provocative has two meanings:
(1) Causing annoyance, anger, or another strong reaction, especially deliberately.
(2) Arousing sexual desire or interest
Some other dictionaries ...
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Word for a dumb person that knows a lot about one thing [duplicate]
I’ve completely forgotten the word for it, but the meaning of it is something along the lines of, somebody that is unintelligent but has a lot of knowledge about really specific, completely useless ...
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What is it called when I suddenly ache to do something I usually don't do? [closed]
Recently I've found myself thinking or longing for stuff that I usually don't even think about.
Example: I don't drink or even like drinking. But sometimes I just get the thought of "1 beer can't ...
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How should I understand the nuances between "astringent" and "acerbic"
I keep on getting these two words mixed up in my head. How should I understand the nuances that distinguish "astringent" and "acerbic"? Is there ever a reason to use one over the ...
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Could you please explain what “In an overly quantified world of policies and processes, some are swinging back in the other direction.“ means?
I’ve come across the following paragraph reading a book called The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday.
I can’t understand the meaning of “In an overly quantified world of policies and processes, some are ...
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Makes more sense
Is it grammatically correct to say like this ?
"This answer makes more sense here "
Can i say "Makes more sense " to mean correct answer ?
"Here" means question
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What does it mean for someone to say "I've read something with interest" [closed]
Is there any positive or negative connotation attached to this phrase?
Suppose I sent someone something by email, and the reply begins:
"I've read your email with interest."
Is that good ...
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"I wonder what to start work on" - does it sound fine? [closed]
For example, I'm looking for a task to work on, is it fine to say it?
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When did "sink" start referring to the tap as well?
A current TikTok trend involves someone asking another person to "turn off the sink". In a play with the term "turn off", the second person then goes to the sink and says something ...
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Should I use "portion" or "proportion"?
I have some balls, and some percentage q \in (0, 100%) of them are green (for example, q = 30% or 1/3). Should I say
"A portion q of the balls are green" or
"A proportion q of the balls ...
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