Questions tagged [meaning]
This tag is for questions related to definitions and nuances of meaning of a word or phrase.
14,191
questions
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23 views
What is the emphasis of the phrase “the cause of sexual attraction”? the reason or the result?
Sorry guys, I’m new to here, and I didn’t articulate my question well. Thanks for pointing out it. Here is the original text and question and my question.
Original text:
In 1974, psychologists Dutton ...
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0answers
39 views
Using the word “circumvent”
Can I use a sentence like "To circumvent this problem" or "To circumvent this obstacle"? But the google shows Circumvent means "find a way around (an obstacle)". If I use "problem/obstacle" will it be ...
2
votes
1answer
31 views
Meaning of this sentence about impeachment
This is what Woodrow Wilson said about the impeachment process:
"'Nothing short of the grossest offenses against the plain law of the land will suffice to give them speed and effectiveness. ...
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0answers
32 views
What is the difference between “hitch a ride” and “take/get a ride”?
Well, the title is pretty self-explanatory.
I was thinking that "taking a ride" is when you ask a friend/colleague for a ride versus "hitching a ride" means getting a ride from random people or just ...
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1answer
31 views
Difference between “report” and “report on”
1 : to give information about (something) in a newspaper or on
television or radio
[+ object]
Their job is to report the news accurately and fairly.
[no object]— often + on
He ...
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1answer
49 views
Can I “denote X by Y” in a mathematics paper?
It comes as no surprise that the word "denote" appears quite frequently in mathematics, mostly in the context where succinct notation is being introduced for
some object.
As far as I understand, it'...
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0answers
42 views
What does it mean: “my thoughts were awash with her thoughts?”
Here "My thoughts were awash with her thoughts." "Awash" is an adjective.But it sounds like verb.
P.S.:This sentence is from A admission prep book.Sorry for my mistakes.
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2answers
53 views
What does this phrase “hover around” mean?
"Until the late 1800s, diamonds were incredibly scarce with the total world production hovering around a few pounds per year"
What does the phrase "hover around" mean in that sentence?
4
votes
1answer
543 views
What did Jeremy Hunt mean by “slipped” to miss a vote?
Today in the UK House of Commons, Conservative MP and PM candidate Jeremy Hunt failed to take part in an important vote. He said:
I missed votes today because I thought I was slipped and it turns ...
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votes
1answer
58 views
What is the subject in a passive infinitive sentence saying “to be considered for a promotion”
Once the employees have completed the company's largest project
successfully, they will be offered an opportunity to be
considered for a promotion.
I found that sentence in my English book and ...
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votes
1answer
39 views
Tactical vs Strategic [duplicate]
What's the difference in meanings between tactical and strategic?
My teacher told me tactical is short term whereas strategy is related with long time ambitions. But I think otherwise that both are ...
0
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2answers
49 views
The usage of “out of the box.” [closed]
I faced this sentence in a book:
Ann Trason had expected to be in front, but an eight-minute mile right out of the box was just nuts.
Would you please help me with the meaning? Specially, I can't ...
2
votes
1answer
48 views
A barrel of any (AND, OR, NOT) gate for logical completeness [closed]
The book is called "Introduction to Computing Systems: From Bits and Gates to C and Beyond". Section 3.3.5 Logical Completeness.
It says "We say that the set of gates {AND, OR, NOT} is logically ...
0
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1answer
26 views
What's the meaning of “I may have lost a little bit of this year” in this sentence?
Does it mean that I lost a part of my idealism this year, or it says without a vision, my idealism would has been less? which one?
I am really glad I wrote a vision because I think I would be a lot ...
4
votes
1answer
163 views
What is “taytottlers”?
Joseph Conrad, "The Nigger Of The "Narcissus: A Tale Of The Forecastle":
Donkin gulped greedily, glaring over the rim. Belfast made us laugh when with grimacing mouth he shouted:—“Pass it this way. ...
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votes
4answers
51 views
What is the meaning of “In what is, to our knowledge, …” [closed]
I would like to know the meaning of "In what is, to our knowledge,". Thse words are in an academic paper. Google translate says "As far as we know," but I cannot understand the part of "In what is" ...
0
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1answer
64 views
How come 'much enough' isn't correct if 'big enough' is correct? [closed]
I'm asking for my friend who is learning English. Although I'm a native speaker, I can't really explain it besides "it's not right".
Can someone explain why saying "much enough" isn't correct, while "...
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1answer
50 views
To get someone on…?
I'm Japanese student learning English.
In this tweet(https://twitter.com/HoopDistrictDC/status/1149523950587662336), it says
"Rui been on the team for like two weeks and he already got us on!"
What ...
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1answer
32 views
Is there no meaning of suggestion in Why don't I (do something)?
Why don't we (do something) and Why don't you (do something) have a meaning about the suggestion.
So, I'm confused about Why don't I (do something).
For example, Why don't I believe you? means I can'...
0
votes
1answer
28 views
The difference between two words
I need to know the difference between "to hear" and "to listen". Could you explain it to me, please? I'm not a native English speaker.
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votes
1answer
44 views
A seemingly illogical sentence
The passage below is from Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.
The physician who prescribes the unusual treatment faces a substantial
risk of regret, blame, and perhaps litigation. In ...
0
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1answer
31 views
the closest thing to [closed]
This summer we are running week-long series focusing on a single subject. Here, in the first article on travel and tourism, we assess the sector’s overall state of health
It is the closest thing ...
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1answer
60 views
The meaning of this sentence?
What is the meaning of "Leaving aside the philosophical question of whether anyone should have to breathe someone else’s cigarette smoke, the report suggests that the smoke experienced by many people ...
0
votes
1answer
31 views
meaning of “to immigration” in this sentence?
Does it mean "climate change for immigration" or "climate change" and "immigration" are 2 different issues?
In areas that range from occupational safety to climate change to immigration, legislators ...
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1answer
37 views
What the difference between would you like me or for me [duplicate]
I am not native so i dont understand if this sentence means i should have send some documents for somebody or somebody wants to send me some documents?!
(would you like for me to send the lists of ...
2
votes
1answer
37 views
Difference between “in” and “for”
In “Toward a Cognitive Semantics”, Leonard Talmy writes:
I walked through the tunnel in 10 minutes.
I walked along the shore for 10 minutes.
In both sentences, the time period is the ...
2
votes
1answer
84 views
How does “Your grace” mean what it means?
I know the meaning of this expression, but I want to know how it got what it means.
When we say "My lord", it's really obvious what we're talking about: somebody is my lord. I couldn't come up with a ...
-1
votes
2answers
65 views
Word for a fictional description used as a substitute?
Is there a word for a fictional but "equivalent" description of a thing, formulated to serve as a conceptual substitute for the thing in order to make a specific point? For example, while comparing a ...
0
votes
1answer
37 views
Idiomatic usage of “wanting to sit” vs. “taking/having a seat”
In the following examples:
"When my dad turned 70, he often felt like wanting to sit"
Vs.
"When my dad turned 70, he felt like taking/having a seat."
Which expression sounds more natural and ...
0
votes
1answer
48 views
What does it mean for RFC 3339 to be “a profile of” ISO 8601?
RFC 3339 says:
This document defines a date and time format for use in Internet protocols that is a profile of the ISO 8601 standard for representation of dates and times using the Gregorian ...
1
vote
2answers
61 views
Meaning of gram-vendor in context
Reading Shame (1983) by Salman Rushdie, and here's such a sentence.
For five, six, seven days films played to an empty house in which peeling plaster and slowly rotating ceiling fans and the ...
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0answers
17 views
Will + have + V3 + before [duplicate]
I encountered this sentence and the word "before" disappointed me. Can you explain why there is the future tense and this word in the end. If the meaning of "before" is "after your back or in the past"...
1
vote
1answer
61 views
Can a cemetery be referred to as “historical”?
Assume a cemetery that is commonly known as the Anglican Cemetery. It is currently in use, but a number of graves date back 200 years. A book about some of the early graves is entitled “A guide to the ...
3
votes
2answers
374 views
Is this Cambridge Dictionary example of “felicitate” valid? [closed]
Cambridge dictionary defines "felicitate" as
To praise someone and say that you approve of or are pleased about a
special or unusual achievement.
Then the first usage example given is:
...
-2
votes
2answers
47 views
Hottest literature take?
English is not my mother tongue but I have the feeling I can understand most perfect and I do read books, but sometimes (and actually quite a lot on Twitter) I have the feeling I'm an English ...
3
votes
3answers
91 views
“Survivor” in a loose sense
I have the impression that the word "survivor" can be used in English in a rather loose sense, that is: to express the state of someone who has lived through a difficult, but not directly life-...
3
votes
1answer
56 views
Does the phrase “engage with” imply anything about power differences?
I was under the impression that there was no implied power difference in the usage of the phrase. But I came across an answer here that mentioned that engaging with someone is taken to mean ...
0
votes
2answers
57 views
What does “shrink someone down” mean? [closed]
"I was the First Lady of the United States of America—a job that’s not
officially a job, but that nonetheless has given me a platform like
nothing I could have imagined. It challenged me and ...
0
votes
2answers
59 views
What is the Polish version and meaning of ''Don't make a village?'' [closed]
Someone at my work had this on his t-shirt and said it's a real typical Polish saying and found it hard to explain the meaning in English.
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1answer
74 views
What does 's stand for in “America's got talent”? [closed]
What does 's stand for in "America's got talent"?
Does it stand for HAS? --> "America has got talent." Is this 's necessary? Is it incorrect to say "America got talent"? For example, ABC is a school ...
4
votes
1answer
63 views
Does “inanimate object” mean an object that is “not alive” or an object that is “not moving” or both?
I recently became confused by the term "inanimate object", because "inanimate" can have two meanings (from Merriam Webster)
1 : not animate:
a : not endowed with life or spirit
b : ...
0
votes
1answer
42 views
I found it surprising that … vs I was surprised that
I found it surprising that she sang well.
I was surprised that[because] she sang well.
When you translate them in Japanese, the two sentences become the same in meaning.
I feel there’s a ...
3
votes
4answers
162 views
What time are we talking about in “She’ll have bought a new mobile/cellphone yesterday”?
I encountered this sentence when I was learning another language. I have never used such a sentence in English nor seen one, but it seems it exists.
What idea does this sentence trying to convey? ...
0
votes
1answer
23 views
recorded, registered, processed
Which one is correct?
The building was not recorded on the cadastral plan.
The building was not registered on the cadastral plan.
The building was not processed on the cadastral plan.
Or how can I ...
0
votes
1answer
52 views
There was nothing to do than watching films [closed]
I was writing something and I made a sentence 'There was nothing to do than watching films.' Is the usage of 'than' in this sentence correct? I kind of remember 'than' can be used the same way as '...
0
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1answer
56 views
The meaning of the following Sentence — “Learning disabilities are immutable irrespective of time and nature of interventions”?
Can anyone please explain to me the meaning of the following sentence?
Learning disabilities are immutable irrespective of time and nature of interventions.
I am also not sure whether the ...
0
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1answer
62 views
Is “not remembering” the same as “no longer know”? [closed]
I thought "not remembering" means "knew before, but stopped knowing". But do I really stop knowing when not remembering? The information could still exist in my brain, but I can not access it ...
1
vote
2answers
71 views
What is the difference between “acoustic” and “audio”?
What is the difference between "acoustic" and "audio"?
Background:
When I think of the class of data in the binary computer file, I don't know the difference. One of my coworkers asserts that it is ...
0
votes
1answer
50 views
What does “snappy number” mean in Jazz?
First, I am not sure whether it would be ok to ask a question like this in this category. If it is inappropriate, I'll erase it.
I bumped into Aaron Copland's saying, "... all American music could
...
2
votes
2answers
76 views
How can “nerve” (n) both mean “courage” but also “nervousness”?
I was looking at the definitions of "nerve" given in Lexico nee ODO, and I got two definitions of it that are quite the opposite of each other:
nerve
noun
...
one's ...
