Questions tagged [single-word-requests]
This tag is for questions seeking a single word that fits a meaning. To ensure that your question is not closed as off-topic, please be specific about the intended use of the word. INCLUDE A SAMPLE SENTENCE demonstrating how the word would be used. Click on "Info", or "View Tag" and "Learn more..." for more information. Please use the [phrase-requests] tag if you seek a phrase and the [terminology] tag if you seek a term in a specialized subject also.
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Is there a name for someone who calls someone else what he himself is?
Say person A and person B are having a discussion/argument.
Person A tells person B that his views are arrogant, or closed-minded, or some other derogatory adjective.
But in fact it is person A's ...
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What is the name of the tactic that politicians use to bury people with torrent of words?
Some people write bloated books and long essays with skilful use of hooks, e.g. Jared Diamond; some others speak in long-drawn sentences with torrents of words, e.g. Noam Chomsky. It reminds me of a ...
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What is the term describing someone who has interest in only a narrow field, and nothing else?
There are some people who have interests in only some narrow field, and are not interested in anything else:
physicians who heal only ears, and for whom the stomach doesn't matter
clerks who know all ...
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Is there a name for inverting word order to accomplish a different meaning?
There are many sayings that invert the word order to convey a different meaning.
e.g.
"Do you live to work or do you work to live?"
"He who fails to plan, plans to fail"
Is there a name for this ...
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What is a catchy word that means (non-)self-descriptive
I'm having fun with paradoxes, and I'm trying to come up with a catchy word for non-self-descriptive. Maybe "autosemantic" fits the bill for self-descriptive (definitely open to other suggestions!), ...
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What's the single-word for "left or right handed"?
'Male'/'female' is to 'gender' as 'left-handed'/'right-handed 'is to...?
Is there a word to describe this? For example, if I ask a guy
What's your ____?
It should mean I'm asking whether he's ...
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Word for dismissing someone's opinions as racist, liberal, etc, instead of debating back
I'm looking for either a single word or phrase that would describe either someone or the action of dismissing someone's opinions as something "socially unpopular", without giving any reasoning why, ...
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Word for someone who is ignorant and proud?
Many a times, we tend to meet someone who is ignorant yet arrogant; to the extent that they can go a long way blabbing about something they don't really know with so much vigour. What can you refer to ...
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What do you call the process of combining two words to create a new one?
Two very well established examples I can think of are:
Guesstimate (i.e. Guess + Estimate)
Chillax (i.e. Chill + Relax)
I guess I am meaning the process where two words are artificially combined ...
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Is there a word for a comment which makes no sense or adds nothing to the current discussion?
Consider this conversation:
John: I am giving free chess lessons.
Mary: Nice! You’re a true teacher.
John: How so?
Mary: A true teacher imparts knowledge without a price tag.
John: But ...
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Word or idiom for someone holding (seemingly) contradictory views
I think some good words would be conflicted, or confused. As an example of context, think of someone who believes in freedom of speech, but, at the same time, they would support banning comedians who ...
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Hypernym for "movie" and "TV series"
What is the hypernym for movie and TV series?
I read that medium might be possible, but it doesn't sound that good.
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A word for a symbol which has outlived its origin
I am quite sure that there is a word for a symbol which was originated by a real-life, physical prototype but has since then outlived its origin.
Most notable example: the save button with floppy ...
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Word for a person who talks without content
What is a word for a person who reiterates without adding any new content? (This person is not necessarily talkative per se.) Example of a conversation by such a person would be:
"You know if we do ...
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What is the opposite of "personification"?
I want a word that means the opposite of personification.
What is the correct word for describing people with the characteristics of an object/as if they are objects?
I found the word chremamorphism ...
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