95 Answered Questions for the topic Word Usage

Word Usage

02/02/21

What do you call a surviving sibling?
A person that outlives their spouse is called a widow or widower. A person that outlives their parents is an orphan. Is there a word to describe someone who outlives their sibling?
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08/10/19

Austen's usage of the word "condescension"?
I looked up the definition of "condescension" both in Merriam-Webster and the Oxford dictionary, both of which imply a negative connotation to the meaning, where the act of emphasizing one's... more
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Word Usage Grammar Grammaticality

08/04/19

Ending a sentence with "however"?
today I got into a discussion with a colleague of mine about if it's correct to end a sentence with "however". Here's the case:"I've attached the following document. I don't think it'll be useful,... more
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Word Usage Grammar

07/31/19

How can one be confident about using "farther" and "further" without mixing them up?
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Word Usage Gre Synonyms Meaning

07/29/19

Differences between "bitter," "acrimonious" and "astringent." Why isn't it appropriate to describe an argument as "astringent"?
>After having ___ arguments virtually every other day,the couple agreed that it was best for them to separate.>A) bitter>B) saturnine>C) astringent>D) effulgent>E)... more
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Word Usage Grammar Verbs

07/29/19

I'll revenge vs "I'll take revenge"?
Throughout my life I have thought that the correct expression is *to take revenge*; however, I have also heard people saying *I'll revenge*. Which is correct?
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07/29/19

Can we use "commiseration" and "condolence" interchangeably?
On what occasions can we use these terms and are they perfect synonym for each other to use interchangeably? Can we say to someone who has lost a friend "our commiseration to ..."?
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Word Usage Literature Word Choice

07/07/19

Usage of 'comprise' in a linguistic manner?
> The small man did not hesitate. "I'm stealing.", he declared in a soft, simple voice, that did not **comprise** even the faintest tremble. Is this a good, nice-sounding way of describing a... more
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Word Usage Esl/esol Speech

07/02/19

Use of the word 'relishing'?
Recently when talking to a friend about the lack of elevators in Asia he told me. > You should be relishing stairs As a native English speaker the use of the word 'relishing' here sounded... more
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06/27/19

What does "At least X to Y" mean?
What does it mean to say "at least..." and then give a range of values? "At least 10" means anything greater than or equal to ten. "10 to 15" means anything greater than or equal to 10, but not... more
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06/27/19

Usage of too while comparing two places?
While in a conversation about a place `xyz` which is facing water scarcity, if another place `abc` is also having water scarcity, which sentence would be correct:- I know `xyz` has water scarcity,... more
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06/27/19

Word for a sudden flow of ideas? Is 'brainwave' good enough?
Imagine you are thinking about a problem you need to solve, nothing's coming to mind, and all of a sudden you get a dozen different ideas at once. Is there a word that expresses this ***sudden flow... more
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06/25/19

Usage of "ain't" in formal conversation?
Is it okay to use *ain't* in formal conversation? I know *ain't* can be used for *am not, is not, are not, have not, has not.* So if I can use it in day-to-day life, it will be easier for me I guess. more
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06/25/19

When to use "respectively"?
I have been wondering what it means when people use "respectively" in, before, and after sentences. For example:> We are looking for a babysitter to pick up and supervise our kids ages> 6 and... more
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06/24/19

Starting a sentence with "rather"?
I've sometimes heard people use *rather* for connecting two sentences where the second one sets counterexample to something negated in the first.> This is not a meaningful sentence. Rather, it's... more
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06/24/19

both the users or "the both users"?
I keep running into this debate with my thesis advisor. Are both of these forms correct?> It can be seen that *both the* users> are able to...or> It can be seen that *the both* users>... more
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06/24/19

Using "so" and "very" for ungradable adjectives?
We generally use modifiers such as "so" and "very" for gradable/normal adjectives (water can be quite/so/very HOT, but not quite/so/very BOILING (an ungradable/extreme adjective). Yet would you say... more
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06/24/19

Just Googling it?
Today in class a student was reading the title of an article for group discussion: "Just googling it is bad for your brain." http://qz.com/519155/just-googling-it-is-bad-for-your-brain/ The... more
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06/23/19

If or since, does it make a difference?
In these sentences below, does it makes a difference if I replace *if* with *since*? 1）*If you are unemployed, why did you leave your last job?* 2）*If you are innocent, why did you flee?* ... more
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Word Usage Literature Adverbs

06/20/19

Is this usage of "now" correct?
Consider this piece of a poem: >Crouched at the elder's feet, the knight >Now kissed his hand in exultation. >The world before his eyes turned bright, >Forgot his spirit's sore... more
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Word Usage Esl/esol Greek Speech

06/17/19

Is there a list of English words where some of their letters can be replaceed with Greek letters?
Is there a list of English words where some of their letters can be replaceed with Greek letters? for example the word `Archive` can be written as `arXve`, where `X` is the Greek letter `chi`.
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Word Usage Esl/esol Speech

06/04/19

Are there times where "wanna" sounds weird in everyday speech?
To illustrate: > She wants to try the new ice cream. > > She wanna try the new ice cream. Are both equally common in everyday speech? What's an example where "wanna" would sound weird... more
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Word Usage Italian Idioms

05/31/19

Filler-words in spoken Italian?
In casual, spoken English, there are certain "filler-words" which are very common, but don't really add much to the actual meaning of the sentence. For example: "like, you know..., look....".The... more
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Word Usage Italian Translation

05/31/19

Translation from "I love you to death" to "ti amo da morire" doesn't seem correct?
In English we say `"I love you to death"`. It's a kind of cute way of saying `"you mean something very profound to me"`, it's lighthearted and yet meaningful.I'm trying to say this to a girl I... more
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Word Usage Italian

05/30/19

Uso del suffisso -oide?
**-oide:**> [dal greco -oeidḗs, da êidos, forma]. Ultimo elemento di parole composte derivate dal greco o formate modernamente, che ha il significato di “simile a, affine a”:> - usato come... more
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