nickname
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A familiar name for a person.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
niknaymSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈnɪkneɪm
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 familiar name for a person (often a shortened version of a person's given name)
“Joe's mother would not use his nickname and always called him Joseph.”
A familiar, invented name for a person or thing used instead of the actual name of the person or thing, often based on some noteworthy characteristic.
A familiar, shortened or diminutive name for a person or thing.
A descriptive name for a place or thing
“The nickname for the U.S. Constitution is `Old Ironsides'”
verb
transitive
To give a nickname to (a person or thing).
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A familiar name for a person (often a shortened version of a person's given name)
Used this way, nickname is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“Joe's mother would not use his nickname and always called him Joseph.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- soubriquet , rarer, so it draws attention
- cognomen , rarer, so it draws attention
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.
Familiarnoun
“Joe's mother would not use his nickname and always called him Joseph.”
Descriptivenoun
“The nickname for the U.S. Constitution is `Old Ironsides'”
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: familiar name for a person (often a shortened version of a person's given name)
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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.