Questions tagged [definition]
Definition is a statement of the exact meaning of a word or phrase, especially when given in a dictionary.
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Why is sentence ‘a color has blue’ wrong?
Why is ‘a color has blue’ wrong but ‘a color is blue’ right?
If ‘blue’ and ‘color’ are defined, isn’t it ‘a color having blue’? A blue color’ is right though.
Or am I approaching it so mathematically?
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What's the meaning of the word 'wordstruck?'
I found this term reading a novel, Presumed Innocent:
“We’ve made some decisions here,” Raymond says. He turns to Della Guardia. Silence. Delay, in his first assignment as P.A., is wordstruck. “Well, ...
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What kind of verb is “is” in this sentence?
She is crying for help.
What kind of verb is the verb "is" in this sentence? Whether it is finite or helping verb or both?
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Can the dictionary definition have two different modifiers?
The following excerpt is the definition of ‘no’
no
not any
But, here’s a problem. Can ‘not’ modify determiner ‘any’? If not, does ‘any’ modify a noun, and ‘not’ modify a verb (that is, there are two ...
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Definition of ‘In a row’
The following definition is what ‘in a row’ is defined as, in the Cambridge dictionary.
In a row
one after another without a break
What does ‘without a break’ modify?
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is there any difference between social constructs and social norms?
is there any difference between social constructs and social norms? what would we call it when a society expects you to have a good job etc. or doing the same that is accepted to be the good by ...
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Can ‘10 minus 3’ be interchanged by ‘10 with the subtraction of 3’?
10 is subtracted by 3
Can ‘10 minus 3’ be interchanged by ‘10 with the subtraction of 3’?
https://www.lexico.com/definition/minus
Is Lexico wrong? The other dictionaries says ‘deducted by’ and so on
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Which definition? “Run up debts of XXXXX”
This is the continuation of the last question.
There is a line saying,
Meanwhile, Florida’s Democratic Party ran up debts of up to $860,000 and had to cancel health insurance coverage for party ...
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Definition of adjectives
For example, ‘destruction’ means the act of destructing and the act is destructing.
Here is my question:
‘happiness’ means the quality of being happy.
Is the quality being happy? I mean, is being ...
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Meaning of “players” and “port of a bitt”
The Cotgrave Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues (1611) has this definition for the word Babillon:
Babillon: m. The players that hang to the port of a bitt.
Can anyone shed some light ...
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which sentence fits this definition of “when”?
The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English has the following definition of "when":
used to introduce a fact or statement that makes something seem surprising
I'd like to know which of ...
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What's the meaning of “the big sort”?
I'm listening to Brene Brown's podcast. The word "big sort" comes up, and i've tried to search for meaning on the internet but there was no definition :'(
Can you please explain it to me?
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Meaning of somewhere off?
What is the definition of "somewhere off" not just in this example but also the meaning in general
Example:
Potential infinity refers to a procedure that gets closer and closer to, but never ...
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1answer
58 views
Can “annular” mean both rectangular ring and circular ring?
Some dictionaries define the term "annular" as ring-shaped.
So, I think both shapes shown above can be described as an annular shape.
If it is necessary to distinguish the two shapes, the ...
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Definition of 'purpose' & relative adverbs
purpose (Cambridge)
Why you do something or why something exists.
purpose (Merriam)
The reason why something is done or used.
Does it mean 'why' can be replaced by 'the reason why'?
If so, is 'why' a ...
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1answer
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Don't word defintions need to be in one of five phrase types?
There are noun phrases, adjective phrases, adverb phrases, verb phrases, prepositional phrases. Word definitions don't need to be in one of five types?
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Can we really call them adverbs?
Only adv. :as recently as : not before
Merely adv. :nothing more than
I think 1 is more like a preposition and 2 is a noun+preposition.
Both are from a Merriam Webster dictionary.
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Some questions about “can (not) help”
It would be highly appreciated that one helps me to find an equivalent for sentences below:
In the OALD dictionary, it was written that: "sb can (not) help (doing) sth| sb cannot help but do sth&...
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What does an “abstract model” mean?
I came across the following sentence in a book on political theory:
Political theory stands for an abstract model of the political order…
a guide to the systematic collection and analysis of ...
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1answer
31 views
What does “cosmologies” mean in this particular context?
Consider the following extract:
A skillful cook can make delectable dishes without quite being able to
tell us how. (Conversely, the possession of a good recipe book is not
sufficient to make a good ...
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1answer
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What does “abstraction” mean in this particular context?
"A theory aspires to some degree of generality and abstraction." The book where I found this sentence is a book in one of the disciplines of humanities. According to Merriam-Webster, "...
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1answer
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What is the meaning of “Life is true to form…”?
I've come to read this Mark Spitz' quote:
Life is true to form; records are meant to be broken.
Second part is 100% clear to me and surprisingly the first part is nearly none percent. I'm not good ...
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1answer
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What does “much to the displeasure of” mean?
But he stayed put, and so did Biron, much to the displeasure of the crowd.
Did he and Biron stay put because of the crowd's displeasure or the crowd was displeasured by Biron and him to stay put?
...
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1answer
308 views
What's the exact meaning of the word “nows”?
I've been reading an article from Newsela, and there was a sentence that goes
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, changed its guidelines the week of March 16. It nows says ...
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half-column means terse?
In the opening paragraph to “The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Watson writes:
The story has, I believe, been told more than once in the newspapers,
but, like all such ...
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1answer
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Definition of Forged
I am confused about how I can use the word 'forged' in my English essay.
Here is my sentence:
Through building an undying bond with his son, forged through the omnipotence of love, they survive even ...
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428 views
The difference between characteristic, feature, aspect, attribute and quality, their definitions are defined using each other
It's annoying the Dictionary always happens to me this absurdity:
Characteristic - distinguishing feature or quality
Feature - a distinctive attribute or aspect of something
Attribute - regard a ...
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1answer
36 views
“They have harmed oneself” is wrong in this sentence?
They have harmed oneself? It should be better instead they have harmed themselves? Or it's referring to they are harming someone in the highlighted part?
retaliation NOUN
mass noun
1The action of ...
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2answers
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Pure meaning about people
-Thinking about the school festival's concert makes me happy
-You're so pure
What does "pure" means when we talk about people and what it means in this context?
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Not understanding the sentences with the formula 'word + out '
Exist a pattern that I already do not know to decipher each phrase with the formula word + out?
Work Out = Excercise
Deck Out = Decorate
Force out = Compel to leave
How does adding out is related to ...
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2answers
374 views
What is an entry in a dictionary?
I see the marketing on selling dictionaries "350,000 entries and meanings", I searched in the dictionary and I get
An entry is:
The description is too general, what is an item in a ...
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1answer
32 views
What place is this quote referring to?
What is "Bankers' row and sleight of hand at Seventh Avenue fashion houses" referring to?
I searched Google Maps for Seventh Avenue and 6 Seventh Avenue in the US, awkward.
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Can we call Mathematics a kind of Art?
The dictionary says Art can refer to 'skill in conducting any human activity', and it also has an archaic usage 'science, learning, or scholarship'. So can we call Mathematics a kind of art or is it ...
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2answers
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Science(s): natural sciences only?
What do the terms "science" and "the sciences" refer to: the natural sciences (physics, biology, ...) only or also all scholarly disciplines in general (including, e.g. psychology ...
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How many people/something would you imagine when you hear a phrase “a number of”?
Definitions of "a number of":
Collins Dictionary at https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/a-number-of
an unspecified number of; several or many
Merriam-Webster at https://...
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Learning vocabulary is a journey wihout destination, but exist ways to accelerate?
Is a hassle to learn vocabulary, I'm not saying is the devil and needs to be avoided, it's worth-while but I have been learning for the past year and I feel it consume a lot of my time and energy that ...
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What does “libel act” mean?
What does "LIBEL ACT" mean? Does "the state of things was even more in evidence means that the situation was worse than England or not?
Even at the present day the air is charged with ...
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3answers
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If a legatee receives a legacy, what is the legacy giver called? Maybe legateer?
I'm looking for a word to describe a person who leaves a legacy. It would be nice to call someone or a group of people that word. Similar to how being a maverick is someone who's different from the ...
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385 views
Why does the definition of ingratiate say “gain favor WITH somebody” instead of “FROM or FOR somebody”?
Ingratiate
verb: gain favor with somebody by deliberate efforts
Even though Tom didn't like his new boss, he decided to ingratiate himself to her in order to advance his career.
I find the ...
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Is the term “restricted interest” not redundant?
Here is a quote from an article on Wikipedia on Asperger's Syndrome:
People with Asperger syndrome often display restricted or specialized
interests, such as this boy's interest in stacking cans.
...
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What is the exact meaning of the word additional?
I would like to ask one question regarding the meaning of the word additional.
Does the word additional carry on the connotation of optional?
Like for example if I write "additional settings" in a ...
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1answer
37 views
what does it mean when a name fascinates you [closed]
I just wanted to know out of curiosity because I was wondering and I did not know what it is so can someone please explain it to me I don't know because no one has told me
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1answer
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What does “do/start the circuit” mean in filmmaking?
Could you be so kind and explain the meaning of "doing of circuit"? Action goes in Hollywood.
As far as I understand it is something actors do after movie is made, but have no idea what it is... :( ...
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2answers
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Meaning of “broken shell of a man”
Rachel: So, got any advice? Y'know, as someone who's recently been- dumped?
Ross: Well, you may wanna steer clear of the word 'dumped'. Chances are he's gonna be this, this broken shell of a man
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1answer
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What is the meaning of “Or else”
Okay. Okay. I am just going to get up, go to work and not think about him all day. Or else I'm just gonna get up and go to work.
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What Does very interesting mean [closed]
I would just like to know because I do not know the meaning and I would like some clarification so please can someone clarify what it is
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“over in about six weeks” - What does that mean?
Text:
No. The reason is that on the internet no one knows if you’re a dog. So legislators, executives, or administrators who are being lobbied by these petitions don’t know if you are a registered ...
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Is there a phrasal verb that describes going around, engaging in pointless chores just to kill some time because you don't know what to do?
Not "to procrastinate", maybe a verb that emphasizes more on the movement characteristic of the action
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What does 'Maytey' mean in John Clare's poem?
What is the meaning of 'Maytey' in John Clare's poem titled 'To an April Daisy'?
It starts with the line, which is "Welcome old Maytey peeping once again."
Does it mean 'mate' in a familiar style?
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1answer
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“Virtually” and wiktionary
I read
Ordinary language, as most of us are at least vaguely aware, serves various functions in
our day-to-day lives. The twentieth-century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein thought
the number of ...
