Questions tagged [word-request]

This tag is for questions seeking a word that fits a meaning. Please demonstrate why you expect the word to exist in English. For example you could tell us a word that means the same in another language. Please use a bilingual dictionary and include the result of your research. Please include a sample sentence demonstrating how the word would be used. If you actually seek a phrase, or don't care, see the "phrase-request" tag.

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How to say that my action wasn't effective because I applied it to the wrong thing?

I'm familiar with the expression "barking up the wrong tree" but it means "complaining about something to/with the wrong person". I'm looking for a generalization of that, i.e. &...
ris8_allo_zen0's user avatar
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Past perfect tense example

I passed high-school in 16 years old and later I joined Army. When I was 21 years old I had been an officer. Could I use past perfect as completed action above when I was 21 years old I had been an ...
Thamilay's user avatar
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2 answers
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Is there a phrase to express a thing has already happened really soon after something has been happened?

My child has been sick for just 2 days and now he is much thinner than he was 2 days ago. Do you have a common phrase to express that idea in English? U am not sure "no sooner.. than" is ...
Tom's user avatar
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Is it correct/natural to say "don't mingle with a crowd. It's dangerous."?

When I was young, my dad often said "avoid crowds. You might get killed." When there is an accident or a fight, a lot of people gather to watch it. Say, if that was an accident, the vehicle ...
Tom's user avatar
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Does endearingly magically change the connotation of the word it modifies?

a dad's joke is endearingly corny and unfunny. Does endearingly magically change the connotation of the word it modifies from negative to positive? What are other magic adverbs and adjectives that ...
Tim's user avatar
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How best to describe a person who wants to prove you wrong with half-baked information?

For example, a person uses a word to describe something and another person believing what they know pushes to argue for a misuse of the word only to use part of the definition. This causes a the two ...
Bob's user avatar
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Linking your sentences naturally

Below is a comment of mine in this forum: I know "the proportion of" works in both cases, but I'm not sure if "the rate of" does. And what if I rephrase the first sentence into the ...
Ken Adams's user avatar
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Opposite "side" of a hose?

When I want to describe the side(?) of a hose or any other round object, what is the appropriate word for it? For example, when there is one drilled hole in a hose and I want someone to cut the ...
Jiro F.'s user avatar
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do we call the 2 strips of a masquerade mask "laces"?

When we talk a bout mask, it could be "a medical face mask" And "a medical face mask" has 2 ear loops, for example, "put the ear loops around your ears" or it could be &...
Tom's user avatar
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Can we say "he picked his ear" to mean "to remove earwax from his ear canal" the same way we say "pick his nose/teeth"?

We often say "he picked his teeth" meaning he removed food in his teeth, and "he picked his nose" meaning he removed boogers in his nose. Is it common to say "he picked his ...
Tom's user avatar
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What's a word for someone who makes clockwork mechanisms?

I know the word horologist, but that seems to be for actual clocks. I don't know if it's the correct word, or if there's a more specific one.
Kazimir's user avatar
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What do you call a subject open for doctoral studies?

Universities generally have a set of subjects open for doctoral studies. In my own language we call them "forskarutbildningsämnen", which translates as "doctoral education subjects"...
Helen's user avatar
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Is it natural and corect to use the adjective "relevant" to describe someone who is right for a task?

Can you please tell me if it is natural and corect to use the adjective "relevent" to describe someone who is right for a task? For example: You can let me know what kind of problem you ...
Dmytro O'Hope's user avatar
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Term for something between "ephemeral" and "eternal"

There's no point googling this question, I discovered, because everything links to the difference between those two terms. I'd like to know what is the concept between instead. If we have never and ...
Konrad Viltersten's user avatar
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Is there a word similar to "coveted" in form but meaning "secretly"?

Is there a word similar to "coveted" in form but meaning "secretly"? I remember there is, but can't recall which.
Tim's user avatar
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is it correct to say "hold the toy fan blade-away"?

The person in the picture above "is holding the knife pointy-end down" and I think "pointy-end down" is an adverb. The person in the picture above "is holding the knife ...
Tom's user avatar
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Formal term for pushing down the hourly rate by letting applicants undercut each other

Sometimes (a.k.a. pretty much every time for some), when a company looks for a contractor, the recruiter will inquire about the expected hourly rate. While there may be a few valid reasons to do so (...
Konrad Viltersten's user avatar
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Plural nouns that fit in the construction "to be all (plural noun)"

I'm familiar with "to be all thumbs" and "to be all ears" but I recently came across "She was all smiles", which I thought was interesting. I'm wondering whether there ...
Mohammad's user avatar
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What do you call duties that take place at a specific time each week?

I want to set up a meeting with someone in the next few weeks. I want to write something like this: My only fixed-time duty in the next few weeks is a weekly Monday meeting at 4 pm. I want to express ...
Sinusx's user avatar
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technical name of the small part from a large panel

I am not native and are writing an essay, I am trying my best to use the appropriate word to describe the product, could I call the small red circled one tab? or fragment I are not sure the precise ...
user avatar
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1 answer
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What is the verb expressing that a child just wants their mom to be exclusively for them?

Now, a woman has a 5-year-old daughter and now she has just had a newborn baby. The daughter starts to get jealous of the baby because she just wants her mom to take care of her only not the baby. ...
Tom's user avatar
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What to Call a Document if It Has a Deadline?

There is a document that needs to be signed before a set date, and it will expire/become unusable if it's not signed before the set date. What to call this document? I want to say "dated document&...
Emre Bener's user avatar
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Is there a single word for the emotion conveyed by the expression, "don't look at me"?

Is there a single word for the emotion conveyed by the expression, "I don't want to have anything to do with it"?
Samuel Muldoon's user avatar
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2 answers
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people who expect others to conform to their will or ideas

I’m looking for a word to explain people who expect others to conform to their will or ideas. Similar to bandwagon fallacy. But usually seen in petty mid level managers and narcissists.
Isaac George's user avatar
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Verbs that can go with "contempt"

What are the verbs that can be used to express the idea of "reducing someone's contempt"? Let's say I meet a person who has a deep contempt for my favorite president XYZ. I want to change ...
Underwood's user avatar
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Do - word choice

Is the verb do correct in this sentence? Tom had just arrived in the Maldives, and his first activity was a diving lesson. He was a little scared because he had never done it before; however, he ...
Simo Ita's user avatar
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What do you call the fact that 3d models in a video game have overlapping meshes?

What do you call the fact that 3d models in a video game have overlapping meshes? There was a word for it, but I completely forgot. Couldn't find anything even after looking on Wikipedia. https://en....
Sayaman's user avatar
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Is it correct to say "the child was so into the game that he forgot to do things"?

I remembered I asked this question before but I couldn't find it. A child is playing a game and he liked it so much that he forgot to go for a pee and he peed his pants. I remembered "Kate ...
Tom's user avatar
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What is it called when you replace the last letter of a word with an apostrophe?

I am analysing lyrics and talking about informal register. I came across words like workin', and bangin', what is it called when you remove the last letter and replace it with an apostrophe (this ...
aysob_ay212's user avatar
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Is "in part" a counterpart of "in full" as in "They refunded my money in full/in part"?

I often hear people say "The shop refunded my money in full". How to say that "a shop refunded my money partially"? Can we say "The shop refunded my money in part"? But ...
Tom's user avatar
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349 views

What do you call a naughty, mischievous little boy?

I've searched a bunch of dictionaries and forums, and here's what I found: Rascal is the best option, but I need more. Varlet is archaic, and I need some more context. Scamp is good, but isn't it too ...
Tuffling_Tony's user avatar
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23 views

Is it correct to say "soup doesn't go well with fried eggs"?

We know that "someone gets along well or gets on well with someone" they have a good relationship. How do we express the similar idea when talking about food? For example, people don't eat ...
Tom's user avatar
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What is the word for the dirty substance on the skin of a person who hasn't been showered for days?

If we don't shower for several day, we have some dirty things on our skin. And when we rub the skin, we can roll this thing into a tiny ball which is dirty and as small as a grain of rice. Is that ...
Tom's user avatar
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Idiomatic alternative to the "putting yourself in one's shoe"?

Consider the expression, If the government puts itself in the shoes of the public, it will notice that its policies are damaging to society. The construction "in one's shoe" sounds very ...
Max's user avatar
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What words can I use in place of "background" in my sentence

I have held multiple jobs in multiple fields in my life, such as teaching, tech jobs, philanthropy etc. I have a sentence construction, which goes like this I am grateful to have known people of ...
Max's user avatar
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an adjective for someone who is good at framing things

Is there an adjective in English for a person who is very skillful in presenting a situation in words in such way that it is almost not what the real situation is, yet not lying? For example, "...
brilliant's user avatar
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When someone is falling out of favor with someone else (Informal equivalent)

I am intrigued to know how would you normally imply the following notion in everyday speech? When you do something which makes people stop liking you or admiring you you might fall out of favor with ...
A-friend's user avatar
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When someone moves their hands too much as the speak

Lets suppose someone moves his hands while he is speaking to you or somebody else and then the extent and they way he is doing that starts getting on your nerves. I wonder how would you imply that ...
A-friend's user avatar
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How do we express we visit or talk to a friend who is sick to know whether he is alright?

Your friend is sick. In some countries, it is a good practice to either visit or talk to him/his wife/his parents to know whether he is alright. Is that practice common in English speaking countries? ...
Tom's user avatar
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How to express a child or even a grown-up who try to act floppily and sweetly so that you have to give them what they want?

My children sometimes pull my hand in a floppy way and move around me and ask me sweetly and repeatedly "Daddy, could you buy me this toy?" or "Could you do this for me?" Or ...
Tom's user avatar
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We haven't spoken - informal email

Is the following sentence a good way to start an informal email? Hi Jo, How are you? We haven't spoken to each other for almost two months. Is "I haven't heard from you for almost two months"...
Simo Ita's user avatar
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0 answers
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Can I use "pique" (verb) to mean I am stimulated by something?

Does this sound natural? "This book has piqued me. Now, I love reading." If that doesn't work, why? What's the reason? Could you suggest another verb that works? The definition I got from ...
user516076's user avatar
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0 answers
58 views

What is a common verb to express to put more pressure on the fold when folding a piece of paper?

I want to bend a piece of paper to fold it and I want 2 parts of the folded paper are as flat as possible. In order to do that I will put more pressure on the fold of the folded paper to make the 2 ...
Tom's user avatar
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1 answer
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Do we have structure "somebody/something turns somebody off something"?

I don't know why dictionaries only have this structure turn somebody <-> off ​to make somebody feel bored or not interested People had been turned off by both candidates in the election. The ...
Tom's user avatar
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260 views

“A person who is burning inside in love”

Diljale is a person who was dumped by his love is not getting out of that madness and shock and is still burning inside called “Diljala.” in Hindi and Persian. Dil heart and Jale the burnt one. ...
Jay Ho's user avatar
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a conjunction "when" and tense around it with "can"

How can I describe this situation?: Can I say the following sentence: I'm really glad when I can take a good picture. I have heard that "can" may have several meanings. The sentence I ...
Nigutumok's user avatar
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Is it correct to say "Rapunzel swung with her hair" or "Rapunzel swung by her hair"?

Normally we have these formulas: 1- A person + verbs (hold, grab, swing, seize, etc) + a thing + with + a part of his body (his hand, leg, etc) For example, I held the cup with my hand 2- A person + ...
Tom's user avatar
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The meaning of "anonymous"

"The face of cities in China may be anonymous, but the character of residents in these cities is different." Can anybody tell me whether the word "anonymous" is appropriate in that ...
Vincent's user avatar
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0 answers
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What is the adjective that says a big brother lets his little brother win against him and often give more food to his brother than to himself?

A big brother lets his little brother win against him and often give more food to his brother than to himself. The brother is willing to give up his stuff and give it to his little brother. He won't ...
Tom's user avatar
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Are there words/phrases to describe the things that have been fixed firmly in the same place for a long time that it looks as if impossible to change?

e.g. to describe the US dollar as the world's currency, or English as the most used language, that are unwavering/stable/held securely (long-standingly) and not likely to fall from their position I ...
Salam Aazam's user avatar

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