Glossary: what the labels on this site mean

Terms used here

Each term below carries a plain definition and a sentence showing the term itself in use, in the same shape as the word pages.

• entry

  One published word record: a chosen part of speech, a definition and example produced for this site, and the labels that help readers choose.

  In use bold, boldly and boldness are three entries, because each is used differently in a sentence.

• root word

  A base word counted once even when a related plural, -ly adverb, -ness or -ity noun, or participle also appears on the site.

  In use 4,654 entries come from 4,014 root words, and 640 entries are related forms of another word on the site.

• positive sense

  An established English meaning that says something constructive on its own, without needing a flattering sentence around it.

  In use make was left out because producing something is neutral until the sentence says otherwise.

• part of speech

  The role this entry and its example show: adjective, noun, verb, or adverb. A word can have other roles outside the sense shown here.

  In use uplift appears as a verb here, which is the sense the example demonstrates.

• common

  Familiar in ordinary contemporary English, and unlikely to make a general reader stop.

  In use 852 entries are marked less common, and the rest are not marked at all.

• less common

  Real English that is rarer, more specialized, or more noticeable, so the definition and example are worth reading before you use it.

  In use A less common label tells you to check the definition and example before using the word.

• describes a person

  Suitable for feedback, character description, appreciation, or another direct description of someone in the sense shown.

  In use 1,395 entries are marked as describing a person.

• tone

  How a word feels: calm, capable, energetic, hopeful, joyful, kind, resilient, or thoughtful. Eight labels, and most entries carry two.

  In use brave carries resilient and capable, which is a different thing from how formal it is.

• register

  How a word lands: playful, everyday, warm, professional, formal, or literary. It is about the room you are in, not about the feeling.

  In use resolute and stubborn can share a tone and still belong in different rooms.

Tone and register are different things

Tone is how a word feels. Register is how it lands in a particular setting. They describe different things, so this site never merges them into one score.

tenacious and dogged both carry the resilient tone. tenacious reads professional and dogged reads everyday, so the same praise arrives differently in a performance review and in a message to a friend. Neither is better. The right one depends on the sentence you are writing.

Neither tone nor register is shown as a score. Both appear as words beside each choice so you can compare alternatives without learning a symbol or color code.

How alternatives are ordered

Wherever this site offers a choice between words, alternatives appear in the same register order. This makes the list easier to scan. It is not a scale or ranking, and one register is not better than another.

If an alternative has no register label, a single dot appears and that word comes after the labeled choices. The missing label is shown rather than filled in with an uncertain answer.

• playful
• everyday
• warm
• professional
• formal
• literary