Questions tagged [connotations]
This tag is for questions regarding the associated or underlying meaning of a word, in addition to its primary definition.
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Can the word "attaboy" be used in the context of humor or is it just offensive slang?
While watching a movie, I came across the expression "attaboy".
A quick search here or on the web gave me the meaning, and roughly, the background. It's slang, it can probably be understood ...
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Does the phrase count on carries connotation?
I want to ask whether the phrase count on contains connotations? I'm not a native speaker and determining connotations makes me confused. In the dictionary, the phrase count on means rely on someone/...
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What are the various meanings of the expression "North America"?
My understanding is that anglophones take it to mean any of the following depending on context:
Canada and the U.S.: by far the most common usage in most contexts, the default definition.
Canada, the ...
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Is 'Twisted' strongly pejorative?
Someone said in a comment at What adjective can be used to describe this kind of behavior?:
'Twisted' is strongly pejorative and comes across like aggrieved complaining.
I was wondering how "...
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Does the word "luxury" have a negative meaning or nuance?
Does the word "luxury" or "luxurious" have a negative meaning or nuance?
In dictionary, it is described as follow:
something expensive which is pleasant to have but is not really ...
user487212
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4
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How to remind and confirm an appointment?
What is the best informal wording to remind someone about an appointment to get an attendance confirmation? imagine you agreed to meet up with your first in two weeks and want to make sure your friend ...
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Can anyone tell me the difference in usage of "dominant" and "domineering"?
What are the various situations where we use the word dominant and domineering? I'm aware that both of these are adjectives (dominant is a noun, too), but, I'm not sure if they both can be used as an ...
user469769
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Is 'full-grown' only about physical growth?
Is 'full-grown' only about physical growth? Does it have the connotation of mental growth? Say, does saying someone is full-grown imply that he/she is mentally mature by any means?
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If someone says "That hair tho", does it have a positive or a negative meaning?
I've seen this many times on social media and I can't decide whether it has good or bad meaning.
Here is an example from twitter of a picture of a person with the statement saying
BREAKING: CANTOR ...
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What is the difference between 'ambitions' and 'ambition'?
I found a sentence below:
When guided by a sense of moral purpose, they were able to channel their ambitions and summon their talents to enlarge the opportunities and lives of others.
(Extract from ...
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Explanation of the clause
"Here," I said, "deposit it." The tone of the words seemed to mean, "Let us do this painful thing while the fit is on us."
(Reference: MY FINANCIAL CAREER by Stephen ...
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Explanation of the idiom
Both the mother and the father almost turned themselves inside out in embarrassment and apology.
Sometimes idioms make great difficulty to understand the text like this 'turned themselves inside out' ...
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Any difference between these sentences: "Buy her THAT THING she won’t buy for herself." vs "Buy her THAT ONE THING she won’t buy for herself."
"Buy her that one thing she won’t buy for herself."
I noticed "...that one thing..." is a very special usage here, where as a non-native speaker I would make a sentence almost same ...
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Is the phrase "hand-picked" associated with positive connotation or negative? [closed]
What is the general way to find the "connotative meanings" of a phrase?
I am guessing that some voting website will do the work.
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What does juvenile taste mean (and why)? [closed]
I read the following in Stephen Budiansky's "Journey to the Edge of Reason":
... his perpetually juvenile tastes in art, music, and decorations, ...
What connotation does juvenile have in &...
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"real funny" vs "really funny"
I was wondering why "real funny" is usually used sarcastically (to my experience, almost exclusively so) while the related phrase, "really funny" doesn't carry the connotation.
[A ...
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"Not to me, I wasn't married to her!" in Memento (1999)
In Memento, there is a scene where Lenny and Natalie argue with each other.
N: Kill him. I'll pay you.
L: What do you think I am? I'm not gonna kill someone for money.
N: What, then? Love? What would ...
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"From which to" how should I interpret this?
The full sentence is this:
Instead of creating a mathematical model from which to predict performance, the workload can be characterized, simulated, and then tested on clouds of different scales.
...
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Sentence simple explanation [closed]
He crosses to pose with wife and daughter.
In my native language, this sentence is translated as, He turns to impress his wife and daughter. which seems quite odd. The denotations of the words cross ...
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Which one is more negative connotation?
I didn't like smirk on jester's face.
Or
I didn't like grin on jester's face.
Smirk means to smile in a way that annoys, and grin means to smile widely that all teeth are shown in an amusing way. ...
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Do "neat" and "tidy" also mean "clean"?
On this site, the first two definitions of "neat" and "tidy" from Oxford Learner's Dictionary seem to mean the same thing: (for things and people) orderly and organized.
However, ...
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linking two sentences with a connoctor or integrating them into one sentence for calrity
In the below example, can anyone give suggestions on how to connect the two or integrate them into one sentence?
I wrote my thesis on The Effectiveness of Health Education. I evaluated the evidence ...
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Synonym for "utilize" with a positive connotation?
I have the sentence below:
"I want to work with this professor and utilize his expertise to resolve my problem."
The connotation of "utilize" in the sentence above feels like I am ...
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Connecting two sentences with comma and without a connector
In the below sentence, why there was comma without a connector or transition? What rule allows separation of two sentences with comma and without connector?
Is this phrase (the fulfillment of ...
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imperative + will you?
What effect does the "will you?" tag at the end of a question have? To my ear, it sounds a little rude, adds emphasis. "Be quiet, will you?" As compared with the bare imperative ...
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Does "peer down on somebody" include the meaning of contempt?
Does "to peer down on somebody" mean "to look at somebody with contempt, as if you think you are better"?
The context is this:
The sculptures peer down on visitors to America's ...
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Is it offensive to say "utilize workers"?
Is it offensive to say "utilize someone"?
Automated factories perform better than those that utilize human
workers.
If it is, could you please give me a polite and positive alternative?
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“stop off” vs. “stop in” vs. “stop by”
According to Cambridge Dictionary, I found that "stop off", "stop in", "stop by" all mean "stop to visit someone/ somewhere for a short time while you are going to ...
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"Before God...." versus "In the presence of God..."
I am writing my wedding vow. For brevity I am considering replacing "XX, in the presence of God, our family and our friends I take you to be my wife..." with "XX, before God, our family ...
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Is this the right connotation for the word across in this context?
This is the context, from an English translation of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment.
A very poor-looking room about ten paces long was lighted up by a candle-end; the whole of it was visible from ...
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Connotation of the verb 'to attack'
In my experience, the verb 'to attack' or the noun 'attack', more specifically in the context of criticism / a verbal attack, usually has a positive connotation, in that the person doing the attacking ...
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"Get Groomed" Is it safe to use without negative connotation?
Can I ask someone to "Get Groomed" without any negative connotation?
Recently I came across a post on hinative.com which said:
The second meaning is that it's an expression which means ...
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Is "ill employee" offensive?
In the following sentence I would like to mention employees who suffer from a disease.
Ill employees are terminated in some developing countries, but I believe that under
fair-trade rules, workers ...
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what does "painted" mean in these contexts, exactly?
Aren't you bitter about Amy? I thought she was the one who ditched you.
All women are painted satans. So why should I even care?
What does "painted" mean in this context? Is the speaker ...
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"must" vs "shall" - are they the same, or is one a softened version of the other?
In Information Technology, the "RFC2119 standard" (not exactly standard, but it does not matter here) provides guidance for the use of some words: "must", "must not", &...
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Is using ", right?" at the end of a question aggressive or could be read as such?
Is using ", right?" at the end of a sentence aggressive or could be read as such?
For example:
What you say is that the project should be finished tomorrow**, right**?
Could this "...
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How to ask for a clarification for some word
For example, someone said:
The dm said its our call
I'm new to D&D, so I don't understand what does it mean by "our call". How do you ask for that? I tried:
What do you mean by "...
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How good is it, "decent"?
When you say "a decent meal" or "a decent job", how good is it usually, on a scale of one to ten? 5 or 6? or 8? or above that?
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Meaning and nuance of "The art of those commercials is not to be mean, but it’s actually for the guys to like each other."
I love this part of the interview of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates because they, have been long-time rival to each other, exchanged positive emotions between them, on Steve's explaining about Apple's ...
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Nuance of “Why” which has comma after it
On Twitter, a phrase in an advertising was mentioned as a mistake by a native English speaker.
Why, Subaru?
I think the advertising tries to say “Why don’t you choose Subaru?”
However, this sentence ...
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Is it normal to feel rude if someone tells me “you might appreciate” in certain context?
There was a meeting that I did not attend due to my schedule. I made prior notification to my colleagues and they have accepted it.
My colleague said he will give me a “full” update of the work and ...
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Does petite have a sexual connotation?
Is there a synonym that doesn't convey the sexual connotation? Also, could you list words that contain sexual connotations because I don't want to say them and get in trouble?
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Does it sound rude to say "you'd better..."?
When I want to make some suggestions to others, does it sound rude to say "you'd better..."? I feel like it contains the implications that I am bossing people around.
If so, what are some ...
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How is it (that) Subject Verb ~~~
Do "How is it that...?" and "How...?" mean the same thing?
Hi
I've looked at the above post. Now I want to know the nuance of "how is it (that) S V~~?".
Tᴚoɯɐuo said,
...
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<My understanding> You know what probably happened? and others
I have learned more about conjecture.
Link: You know what probably happened?
So, my understanding is as follows.
First
1. You know what probably happened?
2. You know what I think probably happened?
...
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You know what probably happened?
You know what probably happened? Somebody must have stolen my credit card.
I have seen the above sentences from a textbook.
Question 1
According to a textbook, "You know what probably happened?&...
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Is "beyond your comprehension" an offensive phrase?
In the following sentence does "beyond your comprehension" have an offensive connotation?
When a large population of tourists swarm the city during the tourism season, it's beyond your ...
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Does stickler have a negative connotation?
Does "stickler" in the following sentence have a negative connotation?
My wife is stickler for detail.
If it is negative could you please give me an alternative which has a positive ...
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Does “prevalent” have a negative connotation?
Here is the definition of prevalent from Cambridge:
Prevalent: existing a lot in a particular group, area, or at a
particular time:
It doesn't tell anything about the connotation of the word. But in ...
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Set limits vs set up limits vs set out limits
In the following sentence, should I use "set", "set out" or "set up"?
The government has set/set up/set out strict limits on public spending this year.
Do the 3 of them ...
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