A mob is a big gathering of people, this group may or may not be violent or angry. The mob is an illegal organization of people that commit crimes. To mob is to have a gathering of people push toward something, surrounding it. This group may just be excited but also may have the intent to attack something. Demob is a verb, mainly used in British English as an abbreviation for demobilize. Demobilize is a verb that means to discharge or release from service in the military, or …
The adjective matter-of-fact is hyphenated and describes something or someone as having little to no dramatic emotion when speaking about potentially upsetting things. Note that this does not mean a lack of all emotion, but it means that the individual is not letting his or her emotions get the better of him or her. The adverb form is matter-of-factly and the noun form is matter-of-factness. An alternate noun form is matter of fact. This is used for things that are not opinion or up for discussion. …
Have you ever found yourself using the phrases “matter of fact” and “fact of the matter” without knowing what they mean? Well, you’re not alone! Everyone does it! At first glance, these two phrases sound super similar, but they’re meant to be used in different ways. So, to make things easy, I’ll show you the difference between “matter of fact” and “fact of the matter.” Matter of Fact Meaning “Matter of fact” is an adjective we use to describe something …
In fact is by far the more common idiom. It is phrase that is used to emphasize a particular truth, especially if it is contrary to what would commonly be understood. A good synonym is actually. In point of fact means exactly the same thing, only takes more words to do it. Most of the time it is listed in dictionaries, if it is listed at all, as in (point of) fact. One benefit to the longer phrase is that it calls even …
In a manner of speaking is an idiom that means the same as ‘in other words’ or ‘so to speak’. It is used usually after a statement to clarify a subtext or alternative meaning to the previous statement. Many people confuse this phrase by saying in a matter of speaking. This phrase builds off of one of manner‘s definitions as a type or kind of something (e.g., manner of men, manner of style). So one can think of manner of speaking as a way of saying something. …
Gaiety is a noun for a attitude or atmosphere that is happy or lively, something with lots of energy. The plural is spelled gaieties. An alternative spelling is listed in US dictionaries as gayety, but this has been out of favor for decades and is only used now for proper nouns or in old quotes. Outside the US a common phrase is the gaiety of nations. It means a sense of happiness or cheerfulness, and may sometimes be used ironically to mean the exact …
Macabre is an adjective describing something or someone as having to do with or representing death in a dark or twisted way. Things that are macabre elicit fear or shock from those who view them. It can also be used to talk about things that have to do with violence or harm to others, even if it does not result in actual death. The word comes from the phrase danse macabre, or dance of death, a form of art in the fifteenth century …
Militate is a verb that means to have a significant and influential part or effect. The verb is usually used with the word against and is therefore negative most of the time. Militate against is used to speak of halting or preventing things. It should be noted that militate does not have an object and is an intransitive verb. When militate is used in the positive sense, it is usually paired with toward or towards. The prevalence of either is about equal, and both are extremely rare and should be used with …
Merry Christmas and Happy Christmas are both greetings used during the last part of December, around Christmastime. The first word of each is only capitalized when used as a greeting. When one is speaking of a happy or merry Christmas, the adjectives are lowercase. Merry Christmas began as a saying in the 1500s. It was recorded in a letter as a wish that God would send the recipient a “mery Christmas”. It was solidified as a capitalized greeting by Charles Dickens in his …
To maximise something is to use it to its fullest or to get the most out of it, whether it be a job, a computer, or a bar of soap. If you maximise something, you could also be increasing it to its fullest. One can be a maximiser, and you could refer to your activity as maximisation. How Do You Spell Maximize in UK English? The British spelling of maximize is maximise. This rule of changing -ize to -ise for …