have words
verb
Simple meaning
To argue, to have an argument.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
havwurdzSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈhævˈwɝdz
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
idiomaticof two or more parties
To argue, to have an argument.
idiomaticof one partyfollowed by with
To speak sternly, angrily, or in an argumentative manner to.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (idiomatic, of two or more parties) To argue, to have an argument.
Used this way, have words is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.