Questions tagged [word-usage]
This tag is for questions about correctly using a word. The word has to be provided within the question. The question should be limited to the usage of one word. For the usage of complete phrases there is the tag phrase-usage.
498
questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
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When are “carpet” and “rug” synonymous?
I am a speaker of Canadian English. Recently, I saw this video on Youtube about operant conditioning link to video where the speaker says
"remove something pleasant like the carpet.”
at about 1....
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3
votes
1
answer
139
views
Can I drop the word "like" in certain instances?
The particular example I am thinking of here is: "This sounds like a noble pursuit." I was wondering if it would be grammatically correct to drop the like: hence, "this sounds a noble pursuit."
It ...
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3
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0
answers
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Using “respectively” in parenthesis in mathematical writing
In general, I know how to create a correct construction using respectively. But in the specific case when respectively is used together with double parentheses, I'm a bit lost. Which of the following ...
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votes
1
answer
348
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pretentious happy faces
I am wondering if the following sentence reflects a correct usage of pretentious:
She put on a pretentious happy face.
The definition of pretentious says "adjective attempting to impress by ...
- 131
3
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0
answers
370
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How does one determine when a comedian is also a humorist?
Wikipedia's list of humorists are categorised as people who write or perform humorous material, but the article also states:
A humorist is usually distinct from a stand-up comedian.
Woody Allen ...
- 359
3
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1
answer
3k
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Is "Flippable" a valid word? If not, what is a better alternative?
I want a word that means "something that can be flipped".
Eg. "I have designed a flippable card like animation for my website."
I found the word in Wiktionary, however I did not find it in any ...
- 131
3
votes
1
answer
119
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A term for a particular or general skill that needs to be improved and acted on?
The title says it all.
I'm unable to come up with the term for something you have as a part of a skill-set that needs to be further improved upon. It may be something very simple that is also at the ...
3
votes
1
answer
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Is "Additionals" a word?
Google Translate recognizes it as a noun, but search with it and Google suggests me to use additional instead.
Is it a recognized word? As in
My order came with a list of additionals that were ...
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2
votes
0
answers
67
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Where does the subcontinental usage of 'one' to mean 'named' come from?
Sometimes, when reading texts published in India, written by authors of Indian origin, I notice a usage of the word one in the sense of 'named,' or 'is called.' For instance, it's present in this ...
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2
votes
1
answer
154
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misconstrue as mispresent/mislead
Can misconstrue be used to mean misrepresent/mislead?
Looking at the definition https://www.thefreedictionary.com/misconstrue it only offers the side of the observer, ie as something being ...
- 121
2
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0
answers
2k
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The number is smaller, fewer or less than?
I always make confusion about the correct usage of the comparative for "irregular" adjectives (I don't know if this is the correct term).
Recently I had to write "the number of X is ...
- 353
2
votes
0
answers
86
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The usage of "you" vs. "yourself" in an imperative sentence
In the sentence "Learn how to protect you and your property . . ." I believe that "you" should be changed to "yourself," since the understood imperative subject of the ...
2
votes
0
answers
161
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Does "stipulated" in a mathematical context mean "assumed"?
I don't have a specific example, but I seem to remember mathematical texts using the word "stipulated" to mean "assumed". Say something like
... and the validity of the last ...
- 188
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0
answers
91
views
Can you use "elated" to describe something like "service"?
Can you use the word “elated” as an adjective to describe something that isn’t attributable to a person or living thing?
Can “customer service” be elated?
I’m editing an advertisement that talks ...
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0
answers
421
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What does the exact phrase "on part with" mean?
I encountered that phrase in the following context. The first numbered item in an unofficial translation of the "Casablanca Protocol"of 1965 says:
"(1) Whilst retaining their Palestinian nationality, ...
- 121
2
votes
0
answers
33
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Nouns which change meaning in question/statement form
Most questions, when converted into statements, retain their overall "meaning", i.e. the statement is asserting what the question is asking.
Question: Can you grate the pears?
Assertion: ...
- 141
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0
answers
1k
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Why is “remove to” no longer used?
By Googling, the difference between remove and move can be found as follows:
As verbs the difference between remove and move
is that remove is to move something from one place to another, especially ...
- 385
2
votes
0
answers
149
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Is "one" a pronoun in these usages?
In the question "Can you use “including” after an uncountable word?" on the SE.ELL site, forms such as
He listened to all of the music, including the bad ones.
are discussed. My answer there ...
- 227
2
votes
0
answers
333
views
Introduce a concept versus give an introduction to the concept
Looking for a shorter way to write In this chapter, I give an introduction to concept A in an academic text, I realized a subtle difference in (academic) English:
I introduce concept A: I am creating/...
- 121
2
votes
0
answers
5k
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"Chapter" vs. "Section" or "Topic"
With the popularity of online help (available on the Internet), book-based terminology, such as "chapter" and "book", don't make much sense. For example, as far as the reader is concerned, there are ...
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0
answers
47
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Specific use of the word "contrast"
Can one use the word contrast in the following way?
I brought the yellow balloon into contrast by darkening its borders.
Or does one have to adhere to in contrast to... or contrasted with...?
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0
answers
488
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"To rejoice" as a transitive verb
From the fourth sentence of the Edgar Allan Poe story 'The Oblong Box':
"…and among other names, I was rejoiced to see that of Mr Cornelius Wyatt…"
'Rejoiced' here is being used as a transitive verb,...
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2
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0
answers
20k
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"Connected by" vs "Connected with" vs "Connected to"
I want to know the difference and when to use which construction.
For instance:
The island and the city are connected with a bridge
or
The island and the city are connected by a bridge
?
...
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2
votes
0
answers
754
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Using "since" instead of "because"
I want to use the word since as because, but I don't know if I can add the word 'then' after it. For example, is the sentence 'since we have A and B, then there is no need for you to get C' correct? ...
- 121
2
votes
0
answers
1k
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to emanate from vs to stem from
Are the words to emanate from and to stem from synonym in the following sense? Do you think I can swap with each other without changing the meaning of the following sentences ?
1 (Of a feeling, ...
- 1,438
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0
answers
5k
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"Amazed by how" vs "amazed how"
I am amazed by how friendly these people are.
I'm amazed how friendly these people are.
What is the difference between the usage with by and the usage without?
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votes
1
answer
883
views
What is a good substitute for "HOPE"?
We hope you enjoyed your visit and we hope to see you again soon.
How do I ask this question without using "HOPE" twice? I would like to keep it short and simple, as this will be used for text ...
- 121
2
votes
1
answer
323
views
Most concise way to describe people of multiple nationalities, not family origins
A problem I'm having is finding a concise way to differentiate between when people are a citizen of one country but have family origins in another, and dual citizens. For example, is there an easy way ...
- 225
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votes
1
answer
451
views
X being Y versus X is Y
I was recently chastised by my supervisor for describing something as being something else.
The problem:
"Species A has genes X1, X2 and X3, Species B has genes Y1 and Y2. Protein X3 being the ...
- 21
2
votes
1
answer
98
views
what is the meaning of 'ruinously'?
What meaning does 'ruinously' convey in the given sentence:
"A city so ruinously sad that it had forgotten its name."
Does it mean that, it was so badly sad that it had forgotten its name or that ...
- 21
2
votes
1
answer
25
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extension from home or extension to home
We are working on a preschool flyer. We describe ourselves as an extension from home. Is it extension from home or extension of home?
Thanks
- 21
2
votes
1
answer
271
views
Is it correct to express possessive form of the word "past"?
The title a colleague came up with shows a possessive form of the word past - but it sounds off to me. Is this correct and if not, how do you suggest I phrase it instead?
Melt the weight by ...
- 29
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votes
1
answer
138
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Using "isn't" in place of "is" to imply how thorough I will be
I'm using a phrase like "We will see if there isn’t a way we can help you with that problem" and I've done this many times before. The (perhaps incorrectly) implied meaning is that I'll exhaust all ...
- 21
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1
answer
6k
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do anything vs do something
Which is correct?
Please let us know if we need to do anything about it.
or
Please let us know if we need to do something about it.
- 121
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votes
2
answers
10k
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What is the difference between 'Corporate' and 'Corporation'?
I've done an extensive search but didn't find anything on that.
Is 'Corporate' (as a noun) simply a shorter form of 'Corporation'?
Also, if a condition dictates that 'a company name can't include ...
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4
answers
671
views
Thematic comparison of 'collaborative' vs 'collective' in literature or culture
I'm trying to brand a product with either the word 'collaborative' or 'collective', but I am having trouble imagining what the well known thematic usage is with either word. I've always seen them ...
- 1,851
2
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1
answer
536
views
The word "afterclap"
Merriam-Webster defines "afterclap" as "an unexpected damaging or unsettling event following a supposedly closed affair." However, a pastor from Oregon, John Mark Comer, wrote an ...
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2
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Is there a clear preferred usage between *lifespan* and *life span*
I haven't been able to find any clear guidance on this. To me, life span looks wrong, but I have no evidence to support my intuition.
A tentative look (webster vs oxford) suggests that perhaps BrE ...
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1
vote
1
answer
114
views
How common is the phrase: "Blessed be nothing"?
The phrase itself is found in one of Emerson's essays:
"Blessed be nothing," and "the worse things are, the better they are," are proverbs which express the transcendentalism of ...
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1
vote
0
answers
88
views
Can “standalone” ever be an adverb?
Is it correct to use word standalone as an adverb?
All the major dictionaries only mention that it is an adjective. However, I’ve seen many sources use it as an adverb. For example:
This program can ...
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1
vote
2
answers
56
views
Use of "to" in "updates to come"/"more to follow"
I'm confused by the construction of "Noun + to infinitive". Is it short for "Noun is + to infinitive?" "Updates to come" becomes "update is to come". "More ...
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vote
0
answers
60
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Parenthetical "read out loud" for word substitution
I want the reader to see the word A, but read it as B. Or, to put it another way, I would like the reader to read A while thinking at its true meaning B.
I think I can accomplish this generally by:
If ...
- 119
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vote
0
answers
113
views
"a bit" vs. "some"
Disclaimer: I'm a German native.
I'm working on some software with a coworker from US. He just sent a message saying "if we decide to actually publish this as a real package, I'd like to clean it ...
- 153
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vote
0
answers
270
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What is the difference between "presume" and "preassume"?
Preassume (third-person singular simple present preassumes, present participle preassuming, simple past and past participle
preassumed)
(transitive) To assume in advance; to presume.
Wiktionary
How ...
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vote
0
answers
34
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Looking for a term to describe this juxtaposition
Our city is planning to re-purpose a Confederate Civil War Memorial by adding the names of Union soldiers & former the slaves who were freed in that era and fought for the Union. Would the joining ...
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1
vote
0
answers
40
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Does "later" ever unambiguously refer to an unspecified time in the future?
I'm wondering about whether the meaning of "later" always can mean "later today" or if it may sometimes clearly have the meaning of an unspecified time in the future, such as a ...
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vote
0
answers
56
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A term for the property of being able to be accessed by many people?
How do I say that a given object has the property that it can be accessed by many people? I am trying to use that property in a sentence as follows:
Y is unreliable since it inherits the *property ...
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vote
0
answers
48
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Is saying something you do not mean always irony?
The other day someone told me that it is irony every time you say something you don’t really mean. At first, I thought that wasn’t correct, but when I thought about it, I wasn’t quite sure. Is that ...
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53
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Why do people answer 'yes' to questions that aren't yes/no questions?
I have realised that (at least in the UK) when I ask "How are you?" many people usually answer things like "Yes, I'm great, thank you.". Given that it is not a yes/no question, ...
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1
vote
0
answers
38
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Why do we sometimes omit and sometimes retain the conjunctions "because/while/when etc" when reducing adverb clauses?
We can reduce this sentence
"Because she has a test next week, she is studying very hard." (1-1) -> "Having a test next week, she is studying very hard." (1-2)
"Before he ...
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