Questions tagged [tone]
Questions on the general character or attitude of a phrase, sentence or other form of written language.
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Does "renege" have any racial overtones, or is it otherwise offensive?
I used the word "renege" in a meeting the other day (something like, "the vendor decided to renege on their offer of shipping replacement SAN disks"), and got a few wide eyes.
My supervisor sat me ...
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Difference in tone between Regards, Best regards, Kind regards and Sincerely in emails [duplicate]
I often end my emails just with "Regards, FirstName".
But I also often see "Best regards", "Kind regards" and "Sincerely".
What is the difference in tone and meaning? Is one more formal than the ...
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More formal way of saying "sloppy"?
I am writing a formal document. It is a petition to appeal an administrative law decision. The decision is jam-packed full of sloppy mistakes of every kind imaginable. (The guy who wrote it couldn'...
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What’s the difference between “concerning” and “regarding”?
Is there a notable distinction between “concerning” and “regarding”, be it in tone alone?
I—a non-native—wondered about this when starting a sentence about the weather:
Regarding the weather, …
...
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What is the difference between "inflection" and "intonation"?
And which is utilized when turning this...
The monkey is fat.
...into a question:
The monkey is fat?
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The ambitious/arrogant tone of "I"
I don't understand why but I feel arrogant or ambitious when I use a simple sentence in active voice using "I" especially while I was writing my college essay or curriculum vitae e.g.
"I managed a ...
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Does "nonstandard English" come across as judgmental in the following context?
I am looking for an alternative to the word nonstandard (if necessary). I used the word in my answer to a question at Academia SE.
Let me first lay out the context. The question I was offering an ...
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Are these phrases too posh-sounding for conversational English?
I'm German, and I try to speak British English as best I can, it's the language I've learned at school, and I'm always trying to be consistent. However, much of my English vocabulary and phrasing I ...
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Word for making an implication with tone
Sometimes when people use the name of the person they're talking to in a statement it's used to dismiss the discussion at hand. For example, "Because the sky is blue, Alice" or "If you have two two's, ...
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Need softer, less potentially offensive word for "malapropism" [closed]
Background: My spouse is German, and tends to misuse some words in English, and also tends to get some idioms a bit garbled. For example, to my spouse, "school" is synonymous with "grade school," and ...
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When is it appropriate to say that a garment looks "flattering"
Recently, I've begun hearing the word "flattering" in apparently sincere compliments. In one scenario, a friend complimented someone on their new shirt by saying that it "looked very flattering." ...
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Nonvulgar synonym for "smartass"
I just read a question here at ELU where a certain user, I'll call him A, disagreed with the premise in the question. He wrote a comment to disagree with the premise, and wrote that actually, such-...
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Connotations: "sanguine" vs "sanguinary"
I broadened this question after encountering sanguinary.
1. sanguine: optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation:
2. sanguinary {archaic}: involving or ...
user50720
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Connotation of "to expatiate"
Only the online Cambridge dictionary marks the verb “to expatiate” as ‘formal disapproving’. Nowhere else could I find the reference to a ‘disapproving’ connotation, although all the online ...
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What is the difference between "we" and "one"?
After a bit of back-and-forth looking over nosisms and the use of "one", I wonder at what purpose is truly served in choosing one over another. For example:
What one finds, in the end, is peace. ...
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"Look, lady", "Listen, lady" – lady as a pejorative
This question is inspired by the wonderfully-named subreddit r/IDontWorkHereLady.
When a proficient English speaker addresses someone as "lady" (as opposed to "ma'am"), it seems to ...
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"We have stood" and using correct tense with the tone of an article
English Stack community, we're seeking help with an internal debate concerning tense use while considering the desired tone of an article.
In the following sentence, is the use of "we have stood" ...
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Sardonic or sarcastic tone?
Is this sentence sarcastic or sardonic?
"But that, as far as I can tell, is not my point." (from Dave Barry's "Lost in the Kitchen")
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Is the use of "long since" archaic?
As a non English speaker, I'm writing a profile in which I want to say something along the lines of: I've long since developed an interest for.... In context I feel it flows better than the (more ...
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Is *holy*, used sarcastically, potentially offensive? [closed]
Do I need to replace holy with sacred in the following formal writing, because a Christian reader might take offense?
The poor survey design and irresponsible use of the results left the parents ...
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Is there a word that describes a somewhat subtle, critical remark that an author uses in their writing?
Here are some examples of what I mean:
From Kate Chopin's The Awakening: "'You are burnt beyond recognition,' he added, looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which ...
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Punctuating mid-sentence question/uncertainty? [closed]
How do you indicate a question (as in an uncertain statement) mid-sentence? My first thought was:
"That's Fred and his—cousin?—by the punch bowl."
But if you take out the parenthetical, ...
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What is a tone word to describe how someone may feel like they do not belong? [closed]
I have world literature homework, and i have to discuss a shift in tone. A character is feeling like she doesn't belong to any cultural group... help?
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Is "groundbreaking" a positive word, a negative word, or a neutral word? [closed]
I recently encountered the following sentence:
The women's movement of the 1970's spawned the groundbreaking and influential works of socialists and historians.
I was asked to analyze whether this ...
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Does the word "former" as in "former employee" shed negative light on the subject?
Does writing,
Former technologist at Foobar, Inc. and Hello, World Ltd.
have a deprecating tone to it? Say, as opposed to,
Previously a technologist at Foobar, Inc. and Hello, World Ltd.
That ...
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What are typical "emotional absolutes" and why we should avoid them in academic writing?
I am working on a revision of an academic research paper. We performed some empirical studies and wrote a paper to demystify some common misunderstanding of certain techniques.
One reviewer gave me ...
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Tone of voice based on word meaning
After being told over text that someone was cooking, I responded with “what?”. I thought to myself that that “what” could have different meanings - was I confused about what the person had said, or ...
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The Relationship Between Style Analysis, Tone, and Voice in Analyzing Writing
Today I was a substitute in a 9th grade AP Humanities class with lesson plans that asked me to present a PowerPoint, titled "Marigolds Style Analysis Structured Paragraph," that asked students to ...
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Is "I wish to" more peremptory than "I would like to"?
Would you say that "I wish" carries some sort of peremptory tone, or none at all? The difference being in the context of a presentation:
"I wish to introduce an idea" vs. "I would like to ...
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Word to describe a sarcastic, condescending tone/remark [closed]
I'm struggling to find the most appropriate word to describe the following type of remark (italicized), or the tone behind it:
"I wish I could talk to him right now..."
"There's this ...
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Meaning and tone of "Offhand I do not know..."
Two days ago I sent a mail to a university I am interested in, asking for the ratio of Early-Decision–accepted students to Regular-Decision–accepted ones. I received this answer part of larger mail.
...
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Reflexive pronouns to affect false intellectual tone
In the comments on this answer from another question, a discussion was started regarding the way native speakers use reflexive pronouns to sound "more intellectual" (for example: "I myself have found ...
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Is there a specific term for "tone of command" in English?
I'm wondering if there is a specific word that refers to a "tone of command." I'm putting it in double quotations because in my native language (Korean) we have a specific word called "...
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What does it mean when too much formality can appear menacing?
What does it mean when too much formality can appear menacing?
Consider the responses when one asks for a lemon:
"Do you have any lemons in your fridge?"
"No, sorry"
"Nah"
"No, I don't think so."
...
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I need to know whether my sentence tone is correct for a Software Product [closed]
You recently made an offline purchase, and the payment methods associated with that subscription have been dissociated. So update your payment method in our Payment portal.
This is the statement I am ...
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Tone and formality of the word "loth"
On this Economist article, the journalist uses the word loth in the following sentence:
(...) they are loth to do this.
Checking the definition online I found: adj. unwilling; reluctant
I get the ...
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Does past tense soften tones?
What goes in the blank here?
In order for your website to be modern and professional, it is my
suggestion that every product ______ more detailed specifications....
have
should have
shall have
...
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What is the tone of this line?
I am preparing for an aptitude test and then I came to a question. I need to find the 'tone' of a line that is written below.
John likes work, it fascinates him! He can sit and look at it for hours.
...
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Do I <verb> ....?
Do I get all my packages?
Do I get any food for supper?
Do I have ....?
Does this kind of sentence pattern starting with "Do I " when said as expressions for querying information sound more ...
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Extending a sentence with a semicolon
Which version is better, grammatically? How can I improve this? Is the grammar legal? I want to extend the end of a sentence, like so-
"Life means I have a choice at every turn; every moment."
"Life ...
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How can I improve this introduction? [closed]
Hi, I'm bernk.
I'm here to make interacting with digital products a positive experience for us all.
Why are you here?
More importantly, does it read positive or negative to you?
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How to name "people who talk a lot" in a company, without sounding rude
I'm delivering a presentation in which I want to mention people "who talk a lot" in companies. To me (non native english speaker), this term sounds a bit offensive.
I want to describe the ...
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Is there a difference between "I am male" and "I am a male"?
Both versions seem grammatically correct to me, since the word "male" can be either a noun or an adjective, so it can be used with and without an article.
But I wonder, is there any difference in ...
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Term used when answering a question with a lowered tone?
Is there a term/phrase that can be used to describe the answering of a question with such a tone that would indicate that the answer isn't as all it seems?
For example, if one person were to ask ...
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More informal verb to go with "rapport"
I want to say that two people established a good rapport. But the context is quite informal, and "established" sounds stuffy in my context. What other verb(s) could I use in place of establish here?
...
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Is it appropriate to say "just checking in and see if there is anything that I can help with" to your boss in an email? [closed]
Is the phrase "check in" too informal to say to anyone other than your friend? And the same question for "check back". In addition, is there any other way to say "reach out" in a work email?
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How to be both polite and persuasive?
Context: I have to persuade the recipient to close the billing cycle by today and I have to be polite, since the recipient holds a very high position.
I urge you to expedite the billing of ModuleXYZ ...
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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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A increases B vs. A leads to an increase in B
I am not very sure about the differences in the tone and the implication between the following:
i) Printed books increased literacy.
ii) Printed books lead to an increase in literacy.
Are they ...
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What is the Difference Between a Mood and Tone?
The two literary devices "mood" and "tone" seem to be the same no matter where I read about them. I cannot seem to differ them.
Example: "the dark and gloomy night"
The ...
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