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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.

63 votes
11 answers
120k views

"Man" is to "womanizer" as "woman" is to what?

What's the feminine version of womanizer?
user avatar
57 votes
19 answers
231k views

Is there a word to describe someone who tends to disagree with others only to upset them?

What's the word to describe someone who acts arrogantly and always disagrees with others unreasonably in order to upset people around him/her? [I'm not looking for adjectives like unpleasant, ...
user avatar
55 votes
8 answers
10k views

"To science the sh*t out of something"

In The Martian movie, Matt Damon (Watney), when left stranded on Mars with very limited resources to survive, says: Mark Watney: In the face of overwhelming odds, I'm left with only one option, I'm ...
NVZ's user avatar
  • 22.6k
44 votes
4 answers
6k views

English word for taking a derogatory term and owning it with pride

E.g. "geek" or "queer" were originally meant as an insulting term, but were taken by the recipients as titles of pride. Is there a term for this phenomenon?
Richard Haven's user avatar
35 votes
18 answers
66k views

What's a word for avoiding a question with a generic (fake) answer?

Examples... Q: Why is the sky blue? A: Because God made it that way. (A kid to their parent) Q: Why do I have to clean my room? A: Because I said so. What is it called when someone ...
BZink's user avatar
  • 453
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 ...
gerrit's user avatar
  • 2,273
30 votes
11 answers
8k views

Single word for people who are like "a frog in the well"

Is there a single word describing someone who is like a frog in a well? The frog believes the well is the entire world. How can I describe people who think that their own small environment is the ...
Ankit's user avatar
  • 545
26 votes
20 answers
111k views

What do you call a person that goes to extreme ends to accomplish a goal?

I've been trying to find a single word that describes a person that will go to extreme ends to achieve a goal. For example, a person that would harm friends or leave behind a path of destruction to ...
D-zap's user avatar
  • 425
24 votes
11 answers
180k views

Word for something sad and funny at the same time

What's a word for conflicting emotions that are felt at the same time? For example, loneliness, sadness, happiness, being content but also feeling as if something isn't right? To sum up: What's a ...
Surya's user avatar
  • 1,009
24 votes
2 answers
7k views

What do you call words that look like a negation but are not?

I can be nonplussed (in fact that is practically the ground state of my existence), but not plussed. I can also be indifferent; but if you are different, that doesn't mean you care, either. What do ...
JeffSahol's user avatar
  • 18.7k
22 votes
18 answers
65k views

Is there a word for a person who gives out too many extraneous details?

I'm looking for a single-word term that describes a personality that wants to give out too many unnecessary details in a conversation. [EDIT] Let me give you guys an example. Suppose you ask your ...
n0nChun's user avatar
  • 2,735
22 votes
8 answers
10k views

Is there a hypernym for debit/credit?

I’m looking for a generic word that means “debit or credit”. Say I have a transaction, and I don’t know whether it’s a debit on the account or a credit on the account, and I want to ask about it, is ...
keithjgrant's user avatar
  • 3,434
21 votes
11 answers
11k views

What do you call an 'unselfish' action made with a selfish reason?

There are many examples of this, and I'd like to give a few: A person who puts a lot of effort to help the community and earns reputation points. But that reputation is the motivation behind helping ...
Ooker's user avatar
  • 3,096
17 votes
3 answers
3k views

Term for a word that is unintentionally made up of two or more other words?

For example, therapist may be split into the + rapist, neither of which (arguably) has anything to do with the original words. Another example would be conflagration: con + flag + ration. Or weather: ...
Robusto's user avatar
  • 152k
15 votes
24 answers
9k views

What is a term or idiom for "blah blah blah" talk?

I am looking for a term or and idiomatic expression to convey the concept of "empty, irrelevant" talk. I am thinking about those situations in which people want to express their ideas on facts about ...
user 66974's user avatar
  • 67.5k

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