All Questions
Tagged with single-word-requests meaning
98
questions
39
votes
12
answers
37k
views
What is it called when words are deliberately spelled incorrectly but pronunciation is kept unchanged?
For example,
Night -> Nite
Through -> Thru
The -> Da
Though -> Tho
Nite even appears in some dictionaries as having the same meaning as night.
What is it called when words are ...
- 35.8k
22
votes
4
answers
51k
views
What word means what many people think 'ironic' means?
'Ironic' is often used to mean an unusual coincidence rather than its true meaning which is closer to sarcastic. That being said, is there a word that would be a good replacement for what many people ...
- 3,755
31
votes
4
answers
11k
views
Can I use "US-American" to disambiguate "American"? If not, what can I use?
Based on this question, I wonder: as an alternative to USAian (which is very nonstandard) is it OK to use US-American to more clearly indicate "inhabitant of the USA"?
According to Google Ngram, this ...
- 2,273
4
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How to distinguish between uses of words like 'Marry'?
Marry can be used both transitively:
"Paul Married Jane"
and intransitively:
"I got married".
Thus making the word ambitransitive
But it has a third use:
"Paul, the vicar Married Jane to ...
- 1,282
29
votes
27
answers
312k
views
What is a word that could define someone who likes to cause conflict?
What would you call someone who does things knowing specifically that his/her actions will cause pain and/or conflict or completes an action just to get someone in trouble or hurt them?
For example, ...
- 299
6
votes
6
answers
37k
views
Word/phrase for a feature that could be both good and bad for something
Take this scenario:
a tool has a specific feature that could be regarded as an invaluable benefit for. However, this feature, if used in opposite direction may be counterproductive. In other words, ...
- 5,499
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What is it called, when a situation is described in a complicated way instead of a simple one? [duplicate]
How do you say in English, when one describes the matter in a more complicated manner than it is?
For instance, one has two options, A and B; and either of them has to be accepted. One wants to say ...
- 143
24
votes
6
answers
3k
views
Word meaning coincidence of reference to the unusual
Most of us have had the experience of stumbling over a new fact or bit of knowledge and then finding several more references to it in the near future. For example, you see a strange word which you're ...
- 241
13
votes
8
answers
12k
views
What's a word that means deflect blame? [duplicate]
I'm looking for a word that means someone is redirecting the blame or attention of something. I have a feeling it starts with an "a" or "i", but I'm not sure.
By the way, it's not "divert", I already ...
- 245
10
votes
14
answers
64k
views
What is a word or phrase for someone who professes to know something but actually doesn't?
Is there a word or phrase that describes when a person professes to know about a certain subject, but in fact knows nothing about it?
- 119
60
votes
11
answers
12k
views
You "show" someone a picture. You "---" someone a song?
In Maltese, we have a verb meaning "to show" corresponding to "to see/to look", and we have a different verb corresponding to "to hear/to listen":
inti tara stampa (you ...
- 1,058
54
votes
16
answers
29k
views
Is there a word for a change so small that it doesn’t seem to be a change at all?
Today, I was reading an article on pharmaceutical companies making minute changes to a drug in order to extend the patent. In one instance, the company profiled did not actually change the content of ...
- 733
19
votes
3
answers
13k
views
What is this type of idiom called: "I know he's not the smartest person in the world, but..."
Basically, when someone says something along the lines of
"I know he's not the smartest person in the world, but he should at least pass first grade math."
It's peculiar because they are using ...
- 303
14
votes
14
answers
103k
views
What do you call someone who can't keep secrets?
Some one who is not good at keeping secrets. In my native language it is called "chugalkhor" but it's a slang. So I can't translate it.
What do you call such a person who can't keep secrets because ...
- 1,927
7
votes
18
answers
13k
views
A word that means that when two elements are mixed they become stronger
I need it to use it in a speech as a metaphor for synergy or the ability to actually be stronger when using the capabilities of both sides.
- 87