Questions tagged [meaning]
This tag is for questions related to definitions and nuances of meaning of a word or phrase.
16,727
questions
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Are "seldom" and "rarely" truly interchangeable?
As per answer to When do we use "rarely, hardly, seldom"?, the words "rarely" and "seldom" are synonyms and can be used interchangeably.
I wonder if this is really the ...
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1
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46
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What is the meaning of practiced upon here? [closed]
Sammy has been practised upon, and has broken confidence. It has all come out. You had better not be in the way, for strangers are going to call upon you. They have been very quiet as yet, because ...
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1
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139
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What does "wortier" mean?
I'm reading a fantasy novel, which features a profession called "wortier" (people who magically alter books, making them behave more like spreadsheets). I was curious whether the author had ...
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Is a/the scion always the successor of the current family head?
Nothing I found online regarding the word seem to indicate that a noble family can only have one scion, but in media I always see the word as being singular and most important, usually regarded as the ...
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What is a word equivalent to "bias" without the meaning where it is considered to be unfair?
What is a word equivalent to "bias" without the meaning where it is considered to be unfair?
From a google search the meaining of bias is:
an inclination or prejudice for or against one ...
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755
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Has the word "believer" always had the meaning of someone who believes in God or has it picked up that meaning somewhere along the line?
Has the word believer always had the meaning of believing in God or has it picked up that meaning somewhere along the line ?
When I say "I am a believer", without further context, does it ...
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47
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Possible meaning of "running past" on this phrase [closed]
I'm an English student and I have a question about this sentence. It comes from a song, here's an excerpt:
If you feel like giving up now
Turn it into a smile
You'll see new days are running past
...
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Is there a definition of "up to" where "up to 100% protection" is a meaningful statement? [closed]
OK, so I'm a math geek, and I realize that sometimes I interpret the world, uh, differently. For example, I see a package advertising that the contents were made with "real fruit", and I ...
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101
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Confusing paragraph in a psychology book
I am currently working on translating a book called Self-Compassion. Yet, I faced a paragraph (the bolded one) that I don't quite understand. Any help?
BEFORE EXAMINING SELF-COMPASSION IN MORE DETAIL,...
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Can "synthetic" be used as an adjective meaning "synthesizing," "that which synthesizes," as in: Write synthetic headlines
The idea here is that one should write headlines that effectively synthesize the ideas in the article. Can I express that idea through the phrase: write synthetic headlines?
I assume that I can use ...
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71
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What does "it's a whole lot of cake with not a lot of icing" mean? [closed]
"That/this/it's a whole lot of cake with not a lot of icing"
I don't have great context for this but I don't know if saying this sentence can be construed as offensive, etc.
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1
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57
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What is meant when light is like a benediction?
I've recently undertaken to expand and enrich my vocabulary, but the word "benediction" has me stumped. I believe I have a good sense of the denotative meaning, but the connotative meaning ...
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The body of scholarship on... Can it be a type of library or catalogue?
The fund also launched what soon became a respected publication in the
field, The Journal of Air Law […] This added to the body of
scholarship on aviation Harry and the directors sought to build
...
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58
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Can "hold on" be used to mean pausing the work being performed?
http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-hold-on-or-hold-off/ says:
“hold on” is to wait, or grip while “hold off” is to postpone, cancel or stop an action.
So does "hold on&...
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Meaning of "psychometrizing"?
This word is in "The Demonologist the extraordinary career of Ed and Lorraine Warren" couldn't find the meaning of it. When I Google it this word would come up "Psychometrics" ...
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What does the verb "scrolf" mean?
I was skimming through Laureen Beukes' novel Zoo City (having already read it once), and at some point my eyes fell on the following sentence on the 2nd page:
Leaving the Mongoose to scrolf at its ...
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A groups of reviews - „assessment“ vs „evaluation“
I'm looking for the nuanced difference in meaning of words: „assessment“, „evaluation“ and „review“ - in the specific context of „reviewing“ various products.
As far as I understand, the main ...
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48
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Is a "circle" or a "group" of people more suitable to describe a large number of people in a community?
According to Merriam-Webster:
community: a unified body of individuals
circle: a group of persons sharing a common interest or revolving about a common center
group: a number of individuals assembled ...
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4
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3
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229
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About the use of 'say please'
I'm not a native English speaker, so maybe there are something I don't pay attention to, today I said 'Can you do ....?' and he said 'Say please'. Does that mean what I said is impolite?
I'm confused, ...
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Heartache, too, inspires its own sad curiosity
I would like to know the definition of the following "curiosity."
The times cannot be numbered when Thomas Atkinson will ask, Why? Why? And again Why? (For heartache, too, inspires its own ...
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39
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Verb for "swapping" non-commuting operations and modifying them appropriately (commute?)
In mathematics, computer science, physics or any other field that has the concept of commutative operations (or operators), is there a verb to describe the action of taking a sequence AB of two non-...
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31
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Too big of a something meaning [duplicate]
The recruiter asked me this:
This might be a too big of a company you’re looking for!
I don’t get what does this mean?
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Is "a rant on <topic>" equivalent to "a rant about <topic>"?
Is it correct to rant on something? Or is ranting about the only correct usage of the word? E.g. "He's been ranting on his landlord all evening".
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democratic rule [closed]
some explanations of "rule" vs "govern" from quora.com:
Rule - or ruling - implies ownership.
if you’re governing it, you don’t own it; you’re just tasked with management and ...
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3
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The meaning of as + adj + as + noun + to be?
As serious as the problem was, no one paid enough attention to
it.
I want the above sentence to mean: although the problem was very serious, no one paid enough attention to it.
Does the structure “as ...
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'An engagement tablet' -- What is it?
In a story by Denton Welch I came across this fragment:
"... and playing with the scent bottles, matchboxes and engagement tablets of old cracked ivory-the cracks were black, like my nails when I ...
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1
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54
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Ouch! Are you Ok? I think so. What's the meaning of "so" in this sentence [closed]
A: Ouch!
B: Are you Ok?
A: I think so.
What's the meaning of "so"
in this last sentence
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69
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What is the difference between "I don't think~yet" and "I think~yet"?
I’m confused about how to use ‘yet’ in positive and negative sentences.
For example,
I don’t think exam is graded yet (meaning exam is not graded?)
I think exam is graded yet (also meaning exam is ...
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6
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1
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Does 'pre-empt' have 'presage, signal, or indicate' as one of its meanings in current British English usage?
A UK Ministry of Defence 'Intelligence Update' posted on Twitter on October 29, 2022, includes the following bullet point:
In the Russian national identity, [Prince Grigory] Potemkin is heavily ...
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“(sesame)” meaning in subtitles of “Sing”
What can “(sesame)” mean in subtitles of “Sing” (an animated movie)? It's the scene where sad Buster Moon is walking over his destroyed theater.
This moment (no words being said):
MW says:
1 : a ...
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1
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Which kind of love is "defeated love"?
In the end of J. M. Coetzee's short story "Nietverloren" a narrator complains about how South Africa changed, and there happens the following dialogue:
“You sound bitter.”
“The bitterness ...
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1
answer
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How does the punctuation used affect the meaning in this sentence? [closed]
Here is the sentence:
Life in Britain changed enormously under Elizabeth; but the
monarchy adapted, and emerged stronger.
Were it up to me, I would phrase it based on my comprehension as:
Life in ...
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About usage of "yet" [closed]
I need help with the difference.
"Are you a member of the club yet?"
"Are you a member of the club ?"
What's the difference?
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Meaning of "over" in a sentence [closed]
I am reading an academic article and there is a key sentence in the discussion that can change the whole idea.
"The metric used is mean average precision, which calculates the mean
of the ...
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2
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51
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What does "DMV" refer to? [closed]
Could you please tell me what does "DMV" refer to in the following text:
For your billionaire friend, resources would hold out a tad longer. He or she would have a full-time job spending $50,...
0
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1
answer
47
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Meaning of 'if not fact' in this sentence [closed]
Would you please tell me what 'if not fact' means in this sentence? and also writing 1-2 examples of that would be great. Thanks.
Fantasy or fiction (of which drama is one form) permits people to ...
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Meaning of 'in away' in this sentence?
What does the bold part (in away) mean in the following text?
The total volume of water in the saturated sample must therefore be thought of as consisting of water that can, and water that cannot, in ...
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What does the line "they'll be sorry they bought come sun up" from Deadwood mean? [closed]
So I've always been bad at understanding dialogue from TV shows. Here's a line from S1E1 of Deadwood; (it is not a spoiler). The setting is American Western expansion in 1876. There's two characters, ...
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meaning of this passage from The Left Hand of Darkness?
Next come the lords and mayors and representatives, one person, or five, or forty-five, or four hundred, from each Domain and Co-Domain of Karhide, a vast ornate procession that moves to the music of ...
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''She had been a virgin only twice removed before''
I am trying to translate the story I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison and I just can't grasp the meaning of this sentence:
that she had been a virgin only twice removed before AM ...
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Meaning of "All them creeps in that store to steal from, Arnie's got to pick out a lady bull to clip!"
Could you help me understand the last sentence of the following passage?
"Hey," I say, "what happened with you guys when I saw you running out of Namn's Christmas Eve?"
Arnie ...
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2
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What is "gallows flesh?"
In the Grimm's Fairy Tale "The Golden Bird" a fox gives a prince advice that he
Buy no gallows'-flesh, and do not sit on the edge of any well.
Of course, he does sit on a well, and his ...
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What is a Residency Affidavit in the USA? [closed]
What is a Residency Affidavit in the USA and how does it differ from a Proof of Residency?
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1
answer
86
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intention vs objective
I'm trying to write a logical/philosophical essay about the topics of interests and actions, and more precisely, of logical fallacies that arise from equating interests and actions.[1]
After 30 years, ...
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What does the word "attic" mean when referred to as a status?
In a report of a software issue (or bug) here, the status of the issue is described as:
Status: attic
...
Status: open --> attic
What does the word "attic" mean here?
I know attic ...
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1
answer
61
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The text of [a person's name]
when, with Griesbach [the Greek text of J. J. Griesbach] in my hand, I
read over every verse in Chinese, and suggest my doubts relative to
the force of particular characters, rejecting some, and ...
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Is this postulate about the past perfect and past perfect continuous valid?
If the second action of the two entails the ending of the first, then the past perfect simple emphasises completion, while the past perfect continuous emphasises duration.
I had waited for three ...
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2
answers
68
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What is a one-word (probably verb) synonym for "thinking back to" with a sort of paying homage connotation?
I'm looking for a certain synonym for "thinking back to" or "reminiscing from the past". It is used in a sentence like "This building was built with historical aspects in mind,...
0
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1
answer
23
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Question regarding the usage of 'As in'
'The multi-storey pagoda came to Japan from China in the sixth century. As in China, they were first introduced with Buddhism and were attached to important temples.'
I initially thought this meant ...
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1
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57
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What does it mean for something to be "so-called"? [closed]
What does it mean if someone says,
This is the so-called [noun]
or
This is the so-called "[noun]"
What is the purpose of the addition of so-called? Are these sentences neutral or has ...
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