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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questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
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Simpler synonym for serial monomania
I read a book years ago in which one character described another succinctly in one or maybe two words. Sadly, the book was lost in a flood and I cannot recall the vocabulary used. Nor can I recall ...
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2
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1
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87
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What is a good alternative for “stand in”?
I'm writing a sentence that currently reads: The question "What do you do" can be a proxy for a person's value.
I'm sure that proxy doesn't fit but I'm trying to find a way to say that a person's ...
2
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1
answer
190
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Word for a gift or debt that is so great it is not repayable
I’m looking for the word that describes a gift or debt that is so great it is not repayable (such as a parent’s gift of life. The child can never equally repay that). When I was in university, I ...
- 29
2
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1
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Word that describes the practice of "expressing a feeling/assessment by first denying that feeling/assessment"
I'm looking for a single word that describes the practice of "expressing a feeling/assessment by first denying that feeling/assessment". Here is an example of that practice: "I'm not saying you're ...
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2
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1
answer
590
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What is a sibling that comes long after all the other siblings called?
I belive there's a word for this, as I've heard it before, but I can't think of it. If a sibling comes many years after the rest of the pack, what is set sibling called? It doesn't need to be one word,...
- 2,147
2
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1
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Looking for a negatively connoted word meaning "female" for a translation
I am translating a volume of poems from German into English and am having trouble translating the German word "dämlich" - which means stupid but comes from "Dame" meaning woman or dame.
I need a ...
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2
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1
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135
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Looking for a term, similar to "epigraph," meaning a quotation given in order to explain another text
For an English Lit. essay I am writing on TS Eliot and Joyce, I wish to use a Biblical quotation I find useful in illuminating certain themes common to their work (1 Corinthians 13 if anyone is ...
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2
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1
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Does the Spanish concept of "Institucionalidad" exist in English? If so, what word is used to describe it?
In Spanish, there is a concept we call "Institucionalidad" that is described in the following terms:
Es el conjunto de creencias, ideas, valores, principios,
representaciones colectivas, ...
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2
votes
1
answer
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What do we call the components in names?
In a western name, you usually have a first name, some number of middle names, and a surname (family name). What is the catch-all word for these components?
To give you context: I am writing a ...
- 1,654
2
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1
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271
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Use of “eclectic” when referencing objects in a set
I have often referred to my music tastes as being eclectic, until I recently encountered a possible aspect to the definition I had not previously considered. In referencing musical tastes, there are ...
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2
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1
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Term for a word with opposite meaning to its root?
I remember coming across a term for a word which has an opposite (or at least very different) meaning from its etymological root word's meaning. Does anyone know what this term is?
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Is there a value-neutral word for Brandolini's law?
As you may know, Brandolini’s law states:
The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than that needed to produce it.
I am looking for a term that shows the ...
- 59
2
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1
answer
105
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What is a noun for the level of how anthropomorphic an object is?
Consider a set of objects like the following:
a cube
a 3-fingered robot claw
a robot hand in the general shape of a human hand
a human hand
Objects further down the list have more "human" ...
- 139
2
votes
2
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556
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Word for "doing/getting away with something only because you're 'concealed' in a big group..."
Is there a word for this behavior?
Doing or getting away with something just because you're in a big crowd setting where you don't perceive your actions to be noticeable to most people and therefore ...
2
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Is "strategization" a word, or is there something more correct/appropriate?
Is strategization a word? As in:
We noticed flaws in their accounting department so the project will
include a QuickBooks strategization.
[EDIT] As @tchrist points out, this isn't the best ...
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