All Questions
Tagged with versus or word-choice
11,418 questions
0
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26
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Specific fractions [duplicate]
What is the correct wording of the following fractions:
1/21 Is it "one-twenty-first" or rather "one-twenty-oneth"?
1/22 Is it "one-twenty-second" or "one-twenty-...
- 1
6
votes
1
answer
924
views
Looking for a word or a term similar to Auteur, applicable to app makers
A person who possesses a vision and expertise in both programming and design, capable of producing an app or software that is unique and superior, has a singular, undiluted vision.
There are some well ...
- 177
5
votes
3
answers
717
views
As an adverb, which word’s more idiomatic: “clear” or “clearly”?
Both “clear” and “clearly” can be used as an adverb. I wonder which one’s more idiomatic in vernacular. For example, when you say
You didn’t say it clear(ly)
I couldn’t see it clear(ly)
You didn’t ...
- 155
1
vote
2
answers
90
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Any item offered for purchase: is it a 'sales item' or 'sale item'?
In reference to any single item offered for purchase, should I say, 'sale item' or 'sales item'?
Experience tells me it should be 'sale item' because 'sales' seems to be preferred in English for ...
- 27
3
votes
1
answer
47
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"Discrepancy" just as "difference" or "difference between accounts"?
Additionally, Black Codes regulated how freedmen were allowed to navigate their lives. These codes predictably gave them fewer freedoms than white people enjoyed. This discrepancy is inherently ...
- 33
0
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0
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23
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Unprecedented usage [closed]
If an entity does/achieves something that is unprecedented is it then redundant to say its unprecedented if it goes on the repeat the feat the next year ?
0
votes
3
answers
157
views
Is "divisioning" a standard English word?
I have been using the word divisioning to mean "separating into divisions" or "making into divisions." While it sounds correct to me, I am not a native English speaker and would ...
- 253
4
votes
2
answers
163
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Name for group of buttons that move values up/down or inc/decrement
Many devices have buttons that change the state of the world by inc/decrementing a value or going to the next/previous value. Examples such as
tv remote volume up/down
air con temp up/down
car engine ...
- 167
2
votes
3
answers
242
views
What's the contrary of formation as in the opposite of the process of formation?
What is a better term to refer to the opposite movement of something forming? That would be the process of something already formed going "backwards". Is there a word more precise for this ...
- 131
2
votes
2
answers
158
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How do I describe food in solid and liquid forms?
We were at a restaurant. According to the picture on the menu, the dish we ordered had solid strawberries (strawberry pieces) in it. But in the actual dish, there’s no solid strawberries. The “...
- 155
-1
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2
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187
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Is there a difference between “America” and “United States” when referring to the country? [closed]
For the Americans, is there a difference between “America” and “United States” when referring to their country? I and my friend went to USA from Canada. When making small talk to the security guard, ...
- 307
3
votes
0
answers
36
views
What's a word describing movement from one side to another? [migrated]
"He walked across the bridge" means he walked entire length of the bridge from one end to other end.
How do I describe the movement width-wise of bridge just like we used the word across for ...
1
vote
0
answers
27
views
Can I use “can” here? [migrated]
Does using “can” instead of “will be able to” in bold sound natural to native English speakers? I am wondering if “can” can express the meaning of future possibility.
Does this sentence in bold sound ...
- 21
0
votes
1
answer
35
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"Agency" or "Organisation" for a transnational political scientific research cooperation?
For a novel I'm writing I'm trying to come up with a name for an organisation similar to the European Space Agency (ESA) or the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), that is an ...
- 113
0
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0
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119
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Is the word "suddenly" really less used in casual conversation than the phrase “all of a sudden”?
According to Google's historic word count of written English, the word "suddenly" is being at the moment used about 200 times more than the phrase "all of a sudden".
How come then ...
- 131
0
votes
2
answers
71
views
Why use "long periods" instead of "a long period"?
Groundwater is the word used to describe water that saturates the ground, filling all the available spaces. By far the most abundant type of groundwater is meteoric water; this is the groundwater that ...
- 11
0
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1
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30
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Convert or Revert? [closed]
Which of the following nouns "convert/revert" is more accurate to describe someone who left his religion and accepted a new one?
- 155
0
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2
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69
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Can you say “you have no morality” to criticize somebody who’s immoral? [closed]
Can you say “you have no morality” to criticize somebody who’s immoral? (I don’t mean sexually.) I want to use a noun instead of an adjective like “immoral”.
When you want to say somebody has no ...
- 307
7
votes
9
answers
2k
views
How to retort when somebody says something you already know?
In my native language, when somebody says something you already know and it annoys you, you can say “Does it even need you to say it” or “Does it even need you to tell me that.” (These are literal ...
- 307
1
vote
0
answers
44
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Word for when baby is blowing raspberries (drooling, spit up)
I'm looking for a word for when a baby blows raspberries or spit bubble. For some reason, the word "babble" comes to mind, but I'm more look for the word when a baby (or anyone for that ...
- 520
1
vote
3
answers
123
views
How to emphasise that you yourself CAN as opposed to the other person being able to, without using typography like capitals or italics in a sentence?
Yesterday I was writing a letter and I stumbled upon a linguistic issue that I couldn't solve in a more elegant way. As such I'm searching for an answer to this puzzle.
I'm Dutch and in my language we ...
- 27
3
votes
2
answers
140
views
Between "as a result" and "in the end", which if either is more suitable in this context's usage?
This is a question from my midterms English test:
Overall, family support is a two-way street; it's important to both give and receive support. ______, strong family bonds help create a sense of ...
- 33
0
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1
answer
71
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Reach the point WHERE or WHEN...? [duplicate]
I almost memorize "reach the point where" as a fixed expression but I came across a sentence
"We had reached the point when there was no money left." (from Oxford Dictionary)
and ...
- 3
2
votes
2
answers
241
views
Is it appropriate to use the native spelling of my country's name ("Brasil") when speaking or writing in English?
As a Brazilian native, I often refer to my country as "Brasil," which is the Portuguese spelling with an 's'. When I am speaking or writing in English, I wonder whether it's appropriate or ...
- 39
0
votes
0
answers
57
views
Is it correct to say "curriculum of study"?
Dictionaries give the following meaning for the word "curriculum":
"the aggregate of courses of study given in a school, college, university, etc."
So, why would someone say "...
- 11
0
votes
0
answers
32
views
Difference vs Differential (nouns - data analysis context) [duplicate]
Regarding the tweet: https://twitter.com/TheAthleticFC/status/1850616203498410243,
Manchester United have the biggest negative differential between expected goals and goals scored in the Premier ...
- 11
0
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0
answers
32
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In a place vs On a place [duplicate]
The line between life and death is a dangerous place to be on.
Vs
The line between life and death is a dangerous place to be in.
You would be on a line, street, border etc. But you are always in a ...
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1
vote
0
answers
42
views
Turning Common English Language errors into a teachable moment [closed]
Context:
I was assisting a younger member of my family with her English homework last night.
She is required to identify the errors in the passages below and correct the error identified.
She has ...
0
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0
answers
39
views
"The myriad" or "a myriad"? [duplicate]
I'm describing an experience helping a group gain access to a certain sport. Right now, the sentence reads
The students were from schools that faced the myriad of barriers restricting access to the ...
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0
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2
answers
65
views
Ostensibly, but without implying lies
I'm looking for a suitable word meaning 'according to the source', where which source is obvious from the context. Example sentence
They made foodboxes with meat rather than fish, ostensibly since ...
- 111
1
vote
1
answer
44
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Comparative Political Economy vs. Comparative Political Economics [closed]
When talking about economy vs. economics, we can find explanation:
Economy refers to the system of production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, while economics is the academic ...
- 351
-1
votes
1
answer
60
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'Going into whoops ' in 17th century England appears to mean laughing when a good put down has been achieved. Am I right? [closed]
I figured this out from reading 17th century fiction & modern day fiction about the 17th century
1
vote
1
answer
42
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This/next day of the week [duplicate]
If it's Sunday, which of "this Wednesday" or "next Wednesday" refers to the Wednesday next week?
I think that on a Sunday, "this Wednesday" refers to the current week and ...
- 129
0
votes
0
answers
37
views
"Who" is to "whose", like "which" is to …? [duplicate]
As far as I can tell, "whose" is a possessive form of "who".
Is there a similar possessive form for "which" or "what"? Sometimes my brain has reached for "...
- 383
-1
votes
2
answers
164
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What word or phrase describes a person who claims that everyone flirts with them or wants to sleep with them?
I am looking for a word to describe a person who claims that everyone flirts with them or makes a pass at them. For example:
She was overheard (NEED WORD or PHRASE) by multiple employees who ...
- 15
0
votes
1
answer
80
views
funded by or with
My Master’s degree from the University of X, funded by the President Scholarship, enriched my learning experiences.
In the above sentence, is "funded by" appropriate? Will it be "...
- 111
1
vote
0
answers
65
views
”I am very proud to say we’re sorry“, why proud instead of ashamed? [closed]
I read (re-read) Gordon Brown's apology for treatment of Alan Turing and I am still struck by these words:
“So on behalf of the British government, and all those who live freely
thanks to Alan’s work ...
- 842
4
votes
2
answers
910
views
Making small talk: Which verbs most commonly accept “small talk” as their direct object?
I know that you can use make because you can say (to) make small talk.
But is it also acceptable and reasonably common to say either of these two?
(to) hold small talk (meaning to hold a conversation)...
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7
votes
1
answer
764
views
Are 'proportional' and 'proportionate' slightly different in usage?
Recently the headlines have been about the kind of response that Governments wish to take in regard to world events.
The headlines seem evenly divided as to 'proportional' response or 'proportionate' ...
- 25k
0
votes
3
answers
155
views
Difference between fact-check and cross-check in American English?
According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, the definitions of the two words are the following:
cross-check ... 2 : to check (something, such as data or reports) from various angles or sources to ...
- 247
1
vote
1
answer
87
views
Which word to use for a road ending and joining into another bigger one?
Merge and intersect both seem close to what I need but both have slightly different connotations.
Merge implies something like this
While Intersect can imply both
and
Is there another word that ...
- 359
0
votes
1
answer
83
views
Would you use befall or befell in this sentence?
I am writing a poem. Should it end with befall or befell to make it it grammatically correct? And do you think I could get away with keeping it as befall, even if it is not grammatically accurate, so ...
-3
votes
1
answer
134
views
What should a professor do if their student writes "8" instead of "eight" in an email? [closed]
Email etiquette requires formal writing, so all numbers below ten need to be written out.
What should a professor do if their student writes "8" instead of "eight" in an email?
For ...
- 127
1
vote
1
answer
62
views
Which is correct “Number is “or “number’s” [duplicate]
I want to know if this sentence is correct:
What number’s this?
I would like to know if it's OK to use short form? Or should I use
What number is this?
2
votes
1
answer
74
views
Is "sharp" a correct synomym for "acute" in the phrase "an acute angle"?
In my native language, Dutch, we only have one word for an angle of less than 90 degrees: "scherp". Therefore, we usually translate this as "sharp", as in "a sharp angle"....
- 21
0
votes
3
answers
96
views
The word for a serious situation that doesn't look it [closed]
Is there a term or word for a very serious situation that doesn't look serious, like a situation that needs or should have been attended to as early as possible but wasn't, because it doesn't seems ...
2
votes
1
answer
135
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What are the words that mean to make something (look) smaller?
There are plenty of words that means to make something (look) bigger, but I can't find their exact antonyms.
magnify - make something look bigger
enlarge - make something bigger
zoom in - move the ...
- 167
0
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4
answers
444
views
On the use of overtly
I need help settling a debate over the way in which I used the word 'overtly' today. A friend and I have been going back and forth over it so I figure let's get a third (or fourth) opinion on it.
...
- 17
0
votes
2
answers
74
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Better term for a stop on the route? [closed]
I am working on a software project and have a problem to find a name for entity that holds location (address, longitude, latitude etc) and time range (from time, to time).
The location entity is ...
- 111
3
votes
1
answer
67
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Hypernymic term for what is being searched and what is being searched for? [closed]
What is a hypernymic term for "what is being searched" and "what is being searched for"?
Contextual examples...
In the old saying...
What is being searched is the haystack.
What ...
- 131