Questions tagged [nouns]
This tag is for questions about nouns. Nouns are words that refer to an entity, quality, state, action, or concept. Add this tag to single-word-requests if you are looking for a noun. Add the tag word-usage if you are asking about the usage of the noun.
4,011 questions
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What's a modern term for sucker or sap?
I'm looking for a noun for somone who allows others to take advantage of them, similar in meaning to "sucker" or "sap" but less dated. For example, what would you call the one ...
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'History of modern art' versus 'the history of modern art'
Consider a sentence.
I love tea.
Tea here is a general idea. I like every thing that can be labeled as tea.
Consider another one.
I love green tea.
Green tea is still a general idea here. I mean that ...
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Single noun for what is being emphasised?
Is there a single noun that means "what is being emphasised", analogous to say "subtrahend", "multiplicand", "addend" for what is being subtracted, multiplied, ...
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Possessive 's or just noun + noun? [migrated]
I'm not a native speaker, and I got confused by some grammar point. I see phrases like 'noun + noun' with the first noun being an attributive more and more often. Sometimes in such cases it seems more ...
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Word for somebody who is only friendly to people who are in their group of people [duplicate]
I do not mean a bigot or a racist. I mean, for example: a person who has a group of friends, and these people have other friends, but this person is very standoffish and even rude to these other ...
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The difference between an adjective and a noun [closed]
He is the richest.
Is the 'richest' functioning as a noun or not?
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114
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Tap water but not faucet water?
British English uses the word 'tap' while Americans say 'faucet', to mean the place in the kitchen where one gets water from. Yet in a restaurant an American doesn't say 'faucet water' but 'tap water'....
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I recently learned the movie is titled "Dead Poets Society" and I have no idea why it's not "poet society". What's the difference? [duplicate]
That's part of the language that I always find challenging. What is the actual difference between "poets society" and "poet society"? To me, both mean the same.
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Noun vs pronoun [duplicate]
Are all numeral numbers (Cardinal, ordinal, mulplicative & decimal) Noun, pronoun or both?
Though we know that one is a pronoun. But what about others?
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What is a good term to indicate a "shopping session"?
I'm looking for commonly used terms for what I could describe as a "shopping session".
What I'm interested in is a variety of situations, with the main focus on a visit to the supermarket: ...
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Should compound nouns (or modified nouns) be hyphenated when used as a modifier? [duplicate]
I think this is a bit different from previous questions. If I rephrase, "Topics related to charging infrastructure," as, "Charging infrastructure related topics," should I ...
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Noun form of Obsolescent
When a thing becomes obsolete, it is obsolescent.
The process of a thing becoming obsolete is an obsoletion.
What I'm looking for is a noun for a thing that that has become obsolete.
As a parallel, ...
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Do relative clauses modify nouns or noun phrases?
Using "A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language" by Quirk et al. or "The Longman Student's Grammar of Spoken and Written English" by Biber et al. as a grammatical framework:
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Could it be that the head of a noun phrase is not a noun, but a nominal?
The textbook "The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language", page 22:
The textbook "The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language", page 24:
(1) the photographs of their dog ...
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Usage of singular noun as a concept for generalization [duplicate]
I have recently come across two sentences that feature the usage of singular nouns to generalise the statement as they follow.
"The presence of the gene predisposes a person to heart disease&...
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Is "The Shining" a title with a gerund, or a regular -ing noun? [duplicate]
Does using "the" or "a" in front of a gerund alter it somehow? "A painting," for example, is not a gerund, and if a book were titled "The Painting" it would not ...
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Is Swirling a noun?
I have got a title composition from AI "Swirlings of simple Things".
Also in the Leo online dictionary is Swirling listed as a noun (https://dict.leo.org/englisch-deutsch/swirling).
But I ...
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Sink vs Basin distinction
In australian-english, a sink is a fixture for washing dishes (kitchen sink), clothes (laundry sink, or for big ones, laundry tub), or buckets (cleaner's sink) while a basin is for washing hands (hand ...
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Using "content" vs. "contents" when referring to multiple written works
I am aware of the previous discussions on "content" vs. "contents". According to the top answer there, it looks like they can be used interchangeably when referring to a written ...
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Using the terms gesture, gestural and gesturality
I am trying to understand the difference between, and I'm not sure how to describe it, something like: agree, agreeable and agreeability; approach, approachable and approachability etc...I'm ...
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Why is "second" an adverb in "came a close second"?
Consider the following example sentence excerpted from Oxford Learner's Dictionaries:
One of the smaller parties came a close second (= nearly won).
Much to my surprise, the example sentence is ...
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A descriptive noun (slang term?) for “cordial while also inept and disagreeable”
Context: a business manager who supports their team but refuses to enable them through innovations.
I am looking for a noun that describes a particular type of person (male, female, or trans) by ...
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Another word for shaking [duplicate]
I can't find a noun that go with this sentence:
He tried not to shake, but he was already shaking like a ???.
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Usage of “Effects” [duplicate]
I came across this sentence:
“This new patch commit can be cherry-picked directly to the main branch to fix the bug before it effects more users.”
I find the usage of “effects” here to be weird. Is ...
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Greatest extent possible vs Greatest possible extent [adjective position]
I know the following sentences basically mean the same thing:
We need to reduce pollution to the greatest extent possible.
We need to reduce pollution to the greatest possible extent.
so my ...
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Noun of noun agreement
I had a question regarding MLK's speech "I have a dream", and the following quote more especially:
I have a dream that my four little children will not be judged by the colour of their skin ...
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1
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Capitalization and Use of Acronyms? [duplicate]
When examining algorithms like the Decision Tree Classifier, should it be capitalized as "Decision Tree Classifier (DTC)" or written in lowercase as "decision tree classifier (DTC)"...
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Shortening multi-word proper nouns to one word, kept capitalized [duplicate]
I was reading the Wikipedia article for Joe Arridy and near the bottom it mentions an organization called "Friends of Joe Arridy", and then instead of restating the entire proper noun, it's ...
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Comma Rules - It sounds weird in my head without the Comma, but can't tell what's wrong about not having one either
I was marked wrong for this - Do we or do we not use commas to separate two nouns that come like this:
From the couch, Alice continued, "I will speak to..."
I thought From the couch would ...
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What is a religious object used in pilgrimage called? [duplicate]
Character in the story has an object that he is supposed to take to a holy place. The object is central to his pilgrimage. Is there a term in English for such an object. Just to clarify, it is not a ...
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Is the word "bridge" used to indicate measurement of something in this sentence?
I was reading a scientific article about historical archaeology and then suddenly I came across this part in the article;
"Understanding the development of mass marketing and mass consumption as ...
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What is an over the shoulder fanny pack called?
A fanny pack (a.k.a. a "bumbag") is a small pouch, usually sealed by a zipper, with an attached belt, meant to be worn around one's waist, an example of which appears below.
A fanny pack
...
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What adjective indicating number is understood when no adjective is used? [duplicate]
Take the following statement, when used within a conversation on Global Warming:
Polar bears are dying in the North.
There is no adjective to describe the number of polar bears. According to normal ...
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"Being in advantage", as used in the video gaming world of fighting games
In fighting games such as Street Fighter, it is common to say that you're "in advantage" to say that you're "in an advantageous state" as opposed to your opponent.
Is it ...
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Is there premodification in this noun phrase "too many victims"
I have to analyze the noun phrase "too many victims" but I somehow can't figure out whether "too many" is a determiner or premodification. Given the fact too is an adverb and many ...
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What s, if any, the type of noun modifier for the receiver of a verb
I'm looking to find what it is called when a noun is modified by a prefix/suffix to mean that it is someone who receives x. And also, if there are examples of it in languages that are simple.
The best ...
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How often "-to-be" is added to nouns? is it ok to modify nouns this way?
I would like to use some noun and express plans about it in the future. Think, getting something.
I see "my bride-to-be" as a good example. It's better than using "wannabe." Can I ...
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In what cases is best to use "to" or "for" after the words "stimulus" and "impetus"?
In what cases is best to use "to" or "for" after the words "stimulus" and "impetus"?
Is there any difference in the use of the prepositions with each of the ...
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Can you actually "want a need"? [closed]
I know it's a mouthful, but can you, actually? I ran across this line in my recent reading:
For example, in Little Caesar, Rico has power and every material need he could ever want but he has no ...
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A word or phrase for a task which can't be neatly defined by a process
I'm looking for a word or phrase for a task which can't be neatly defined by a process. By process I mean a series of steps to be followed exactly.
Writing a good stack exchange request would be an ...
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Doesn't kibbutz also mean to build consensus?
Merriam-Webster only defines kibbutz as a settlement. I'm familiar with a usage that means to meet with a smaller group as part of a consensus building process, similar to Japanese nemawashi Am I ...
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What is a more inclusive version of "pedestrian"?
A pedestrian [noun] is a "person going on foot" (Merriam Webster).
Is there a more inclusive term that also includes people in wheelchairs and other mobility devices, but excluding people in ...
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The word for smoke left on walls or when an oil burns and the residue coats things. There's a word I can not place; it's like residual, but a noun
Specifically when secondhand or thirdhand smoke creates a sticky or dingy layer on the walls and flat surfaces, usually it's due to the nicotine tar that's in the air. It leaves a layer on lampshades ...
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Indolence vs Laziness - Is there any difference in usage?
They appear to have practically identical definitions. Is there any reason to use "indolence" over its more common counterpart or is "indolence" obsolete?
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What is a single word that describes a person who has a small amount of authority and exercises it heavy handedly with great self importance? [duplicate]
For example, a supermarket cashier who strictly regulates customers’ compliance with their rules for proper check-out protocol, such as use of the order divider bar.
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What's the difference between a gerund acting as a noun, and an infinitive acting as a noun, as well? [duplicate]
I asked this question at the end of class, and the teacher told me:
"They do not have the same meaning. A gerund represents any instance of an action, while an infinitive represents the concept ...
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A word for a tendency to overreact
I'm analyzing a story in which there is a character who has unnecessarily extreme reactions to any situation that she's in — for example, she falls in love with a man (who she can't even speak to ...
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Is there a noun for the emotion of feeling numbed by a sudden, massive change in one's life? [duplicate]
I have a character whose daily work relies immensely on her agility and mobility, and whose favourite passtime is running around and climbing the local terrain.
I'll be writing a story arc very soon ...
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Is a noun singular or plural when listing two or more of them that are numbered? [duplicate]
I was asked by someone to review a selection of portrait photos and then respond by selecting which one(s) I wanted to have printed. Each photo is labelled "Pose," followed by a letter (i.e.,...
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What seems more accurate "You and your kid discover their true capability" or "You and your kid discover his/her true capability"? [duplicate]
I have been asked to look at some old admission response forms that our school mails back to applying students. This letter consists of their test scores and the programs that is offered to them.
Now, ...
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