name
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A defamatory or abusive word or phrase.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
naymIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈneɪm
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.
noun
A defamatory or abusive word or phrase
Any nounal word or phrase which indicates a particular person, place, class, or thing.
A person's reputation
“He wanted to protect his good name.”
A language unit by which a person or thing is known
“His name really is George Washington.”
A well-known or notable person
“They studied all the great names in the history of France.”
An abusive or insulting epithet.
verb
transitive
To mention, specify.
transitive
To identify as relevant or important
transitiveWestminster system politics
To initiate a process to temporarily remove a member of parliament who is breaking the rules of conduct.
transitive
To designate for a role.
transitive
To publicly implicate by name.
transitiveof a person
To disclose the name of.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A defamatory or abusive word or phrase
Used this way, name 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
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Person'snoun
“He wanted to protect his good name.”
Languagenoun
“His name really is George Washington.”
Wellnoun
“They studied all the great names in the history of France.”
More ways to use name
- “His name really is George Washington.”noun
- “Many senators were named in connection with the scandal.”verb
- “His name was mentioned in connection with the invention.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The role of the character after whom the play is named.
A tag showing the name of the person who wears it.
The feast day of a saint whose name one bears.
Verbal abuse.
Someone who pretends that famous people are his/her friends.
Written directions for finding some location.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A person with the same name as another.
A plate bearing a name.
The name given to a computer file in order to distinguish it from other files.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: defamatory or abusive word or phrase
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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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.