Questions tagged [vocabulary]
The vocabulary tag should be used for questions discussing a multitude of words in a certain field. E.g., the vocabulary concerning money or the vocabulary concerning leatherworking.
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What is a prepositional phrase starting with "in" that substitutes "necessary"?
To elaborate using an example, I'll use the following sample sentence: "It would be necessary for us to expand our office campus."
The substitution would look like this: "It would be in ...
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Is it correct to say “Welcome to John” if you want to welcome somebody to John’s house? [migrated]
If you want to welcome somebody to John’s house, would you say:
“Welcome to John”
“Welcome to John’s”
“Welcome to John’s house”
For instance, which of the previous can be written on doormat?
Thank ...
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Synonymous synophone [closed]
Is there a word or term for two words that sound very similar, almost indistinguishable, that share the same meaning? I've scoured the internet for a few hours a day over the past few days and ...
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Injury VS Injuries in this context
I came across this exercise in the Cambridge English Advanced exam:
Because he was injured he couldn't play in the next game.
PREVENTED
His ______________________ in the next game.
ANSWER: injury ...
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Coffer vs Chest vs Box vs Trunk [closed]
What is the difference between the words : Coffer , Chest , Box & Trunk
I had browsed many sites but could not get a crystal clear difference between them.
Moreover, when to use each one?
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Is "unalive" both a verb and a noun?
An emerging colloquialism that is trending at the moment is "unalive", used, for example, in the sentence:
The police officer who was sued has a tendency to unalive someone he stops for a ...
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Is there a better word for "whistle-blower"?
Is there any better word for whistle-blower, this looks cheap in my opinion compared to the courage shown by individual or sometimes even putting their life on line in case of autocratic regimes.
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"A hundred" treated as one word in speech (extra indefinite article)
I'm a teenager from Chicago. I've noticed some particular usages of the words "a hundred" by people around me.
During a running workout, one student was 100 meters from the finish, while ...
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Distinction between number, digit, numeral
Here is my current understanding: 24 is a number, in which 2 and 4 are digits.
XIV is a Roman numeral, in which X, I and V are Roman numerals.
Could you please confirm that?
Context: effort to ...
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Is "wiliness" a word? [closed]
I am wondering whether wiliness is a legit/valid word. Google Translate seems to translate it properly, and https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wiliness and https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/...
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What did Lady Gaga mean when she sang that she's heard a "sine" from above?
In Lady Gaga's song featuring Elton John "Sine From Above", she sang that she has heard a "sine" from the sky. Sine is defined as the very famous mathematical function in Cambridge ...
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What does mean: Sunsetting a piece of software? [closed]
I found the expression Sunsetting Atom on https://github.blog/2022-06-08-sunsetting-atom/. What does it really mean?
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Adjective made out of swim meaning swimmable [closed]
I know this question does not make sense, but if I wanted to construct a word meaning swimmable (i.e. be able to swim inside more accurately) in a parallel way to lets say smell->smelly, how would ...
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The difference between "add up" and "lump"
Do these two sentences mean the same thing: "lump all the lodging charges" vs "add up all the lodging charges"? Generally, is the latter used more?
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Why does something "strain credulity"?
Credulity, as I have understood it, approximately means "an unreasonable readiness to believe in things".
If something "strains credulity", it apparently means that it is difficult ...
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Talking "saloon"
I recollect vaguely a line found in some piece of poetry by Dylan Thomas, and it suggests a question in many ways puzzling that I could hardly answer. I have not been able to find the poem and I ...
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Hierarchical groupings as subordinate, superordinate, and... lateral-ordinate?
I am working on a hierarchical model which differentiates between elements (e.g., workers) under a focal element, above it, parallel to it, and considers all elements regardless of position.
It has ...
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Pattern to Old English verbs-of-making-adjective?
The other night (after hearing someone on TV say "smoothen"), I noticed that a fair number of Anglo-Saxon-derived adjectives tend to come in pairs where the more "distinguished" or ...
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"complete" as a noun
I came across the definition of complete on Wiktionary. To my surprise, complete is used as a noun. I assumed it might be a rare/archaic usage, but there are frequent quotations from books.
Is it part ...
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Can anyone help me correct this sentence? [closed]
Have you ever met any ghosts?
And I was suggested to correct it as follow:
Have you seen any ghosts?
So my questions are:
What is the difference between using the 'ever' in this sentence or not ...
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If left / right is laterality what is front / rear?
I want to write something like this:
Something can be differentiated by laterality [i.e. left - right dimension], by ___ [front - rear dimension], and also by the interaction between laterality and ...
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What is a word describing 'angry' and 'sad'?
What is a word describing 'angry' and 'sad'?
I am writing a story where there is a part I'm frustrated and angry but also sad at the same time. I honestly don't know what word to use. It is a very ...
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Is there a word that means the opposite of "perfect". Ie, that describes being the absolute worst? [duplicate]
I want a word for the absolute worst.
Example 1:
If someone gets 100% on a test, they scored "perfectly". What if they got every single answer wrong?
Example 2:
Spanish has the word pésimo (...
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What does "what is at" mean? [closed]
One of my friend asked me if İ know what "what is at" could mean. l would like to know what this phrase means.
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Approval Process feature best wording for approve and decline
I'm a UX designer but not an English native speaker. I'm working on a web interface where some item types required an approval from a 3rd party.
So when the user clicks on a button named 'Approval' he ...
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Truly unthinkable
Unthinkable may mean two different things:
Something that we cannot think about, normally for moral reasons, e.g. killing someone.
Something we cannot think about, because cognitively we are not ...
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Is there a word/words/phrase for the "act" of praising a person or inflating his ego with the intention of causing his/her downfall later?
Jack __ the other person.
I am looking for a word/words/phrase that describes putting someone on a high pedestal only to bring him down later. Any word that follows this chain of activity may also do,...
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Is it "increase" or "expand" when talking about vocabulary?
When my son said he doesn't recognise all the words in Wordle I commented that he is thus increasing his vocabulary.
He then contended that the correct word should be expanding.
Who is correct?
What ...
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Don't worry about YOU being alone or YOUR being alone? [duplicate]
Can't stop wondering what the correct option is.
Or are they both correct, and the latter just sounds more formal?
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Please is it "the language barrier" or "language barriers"? I feel both sentences mean the same thing. Am I right? [migrated]
I feel that learning English is important for everyone since it reduces language barriers/ the language barrier.
It is important for everyone to learn English since it reduces language barriers/ the ...
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What is the most suitable antonym for the word loud? [closed]
In terms of talking, what is the opposite of a loud voice?
For example, when someone is talking and I can not hear them properly, how can I say to them that their voice is very "opposite to loud&...
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Is there any difference between "congenial" and "genial"?
As the question implies, I'm interested in only the linguistic distinction between the two words I've listed. I've looked up these two words on some online dictionaries. After some searching, I've ...
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What is the difference between "hallmark" and "trappings"?
Is there a distinction between "hallmarks" and "trappings"? What separates them? I've scoured many dictionaries, but I don't see the difference.
For example, Cambridge Advanced ...
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Which one is correct - run off or run off from? [closed]
They ran off the burning car before it exploded.
or
They ran off from the burning car before it exploded.
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Phonetic symbols for Port are different: Webster Internet vs Webster paper
Phonetic symbols are different for the same word Port.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary on the Internet:
port noun (1)
\ ˈpȯrt \
Definition of port (Entry 1 of 10)
1: a place where ships may ride ...
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At some point it's pointless to buy very expensive jeans because the quality can only be so high: term for this? [duplicate]
There is a term for something being very expensive in a pointless or vain way since the quality can only reach a certain point so you're just paying for a reason besides that.
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Does "multiple" have a special meaning within the context of industry?
I just came across this unusual usage of the word "multiple" in two separate articles about Daimler's name change and it got me wondering if it has some industry-specific meaning.
Example 1 (...
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What do we call a specific place we visit with a specific person? [duplicate]
What do we call a place that we often visit with a specific person whenever we meet?
For example, when I go out with my old friends, we go to the same place we used to 2-3 years before.
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Modern usage of the word 'hearken'
I'm doing some translation work and would like to use the word 'hearken' as the original piece (Chinese) has a religious and traditional feel to it.
Question:
Would the sentence,
"Such an ...
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Is out building universally used? [closed]
In North America we say out building for a smaller secondary structure, e.g., on a farm, used for non-human habitation, e.g., storage. Is this also used in Britain? If not, what would be a British ...
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'Just like she does'..........is it used properly in this sentence? [duplicate]
She didn’t show the workings in the math exam, she just tried to guess the answers just like she does in the homework.
I am not sure if 'just like she does' makes sense. If not what can I use ...
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" flip-up/down the switch " or "turn up/down the switch"
" flip-up/down the switch " or "turn up/down the switch", I'm wondering which one sounds more natural or both of them are good. Help me pls.
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Any word or phrase for changing defeat to victory in a short time? [duplicate]
Is there a word or a phrase that describes a situation where you were losing nearly completely but you strongly fight back to win nearly completely? Words like "victory" or "triumph&...
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Is the word "chum" to mean friend a common word?
Does the average American know its meaning? Is it used commonly in the spoken language? What connotations does it have?
Is it gender specific?
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Does the usage of the word 'absenteeism' in relation to COVID match with the standard usage of the word? [closed]
Wikipedia defines 'absenteeism' as staying away without good reason which to me immediately implies some kind of judgement of the reasons for staying away. However I've seen the word used in relation ...
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Is there a naming pattern that can be applied to numbers in another radix/base/root? [duplicate]
In decimal (Base Ten), we have one, two... ten... twenty-five, etc.
In senary (Base Six), what would we call six (written "10" in senary)?
What would we call the hundredths position of a ...
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Looking for a word that describes a text as ‘having too much useless information’ [duplicate]
The word should be applicable to a text with too much useless information. Preferably, the term is used in everyday speech, but I wouldn't object against somewhat grandiloquent words.
Since I’m ...
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Has the word individual 'outcompeted' that of person historically?
Would it be correct to say that the word individual have 'outcompeted' that of person since 17th century in everyday English, as well as in social sciences?
According to etymonline.com's entry on ...
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Can you wind the wind? Can you tear a tear? Can you lead to lead? What are these examples called? [duplicate]
These words are spelled the same. These words sound different. These words have different meanings.
This question can be answered and is about learning English. We really speak American in the United ...
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Mass vs weight, referring to property of a human body [closed]
If you want to ask a person what is their body mass or weight in kg or pounds, what is the proper thing to ask?
Options:
What is your mass?
What is your weight?
How much do you weigh?
What is the ...
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