names
noun · n
Form of name , plural of name.
Simple meaning
Verbal abuse; a crude substitute for argument.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
naymzIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈneɪmz
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
Verbal abuse; a crude substitute for argument
“Sticks and stones may break my bones but names can never hurt me.”
n
Names, is a three-track EP by British indie rock band Johnny Foreigner.
A quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal that is devoted to the scholarly investigation of names and naming (onomastics).
Words or terms used for identification.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Verbal abuse; a crude substitute for argument
Used this way, names is a specialist word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It turns up most in technical or specialist writing contexts.
“Sticks and stones may break my bones but names can never hurt me.”
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Clinical and detached
Where it naturally appears
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use names
- “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names can never hurt me.”noun
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: verbal abuse
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “names” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
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.