Are these words proper English: unconceding and uncondoning

Question

Hello,I would like to know whether the two words:unconceding and uncondoningare proper English. I ask because in mostonline dictionaries such as m-w.com orthefreedictionary.com these are notlisted whereas several other wordsbeginning with un (such as unforgiving)are actually listed.What I want to know is, does the fact thatsuch words don't appear in dictionariesmake them improper English (so forinstance do I have to use the wordunforgiving instead or am I stillok using uncondoning orunconceding)?Thank you for your advice and help,John Goche

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Hello, I would like to know whether the two words: unconceding and uncondoning are proper English. I ask because in ... the word unforgiving instead or am I still ok using uncondoning or unconceding)? Thank you for your advice and help,[/nq]
I haven't really looked these up, but have at times wondered what makes the difference between the "un-" and the "non-" prefixes. Have you tried looking up "non-condoning" and "non-conceding"?

Just thinking of people: I don't think we call anyone an unconformist, but he might be a nonconformist.
(My spell-checker just rejected "unconformist", suggesting that I might prefer "unconformity";)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hello, I would like to know whether the two words: unconceding and uncondoning are proper English. I ask because in most online dictionaries such as m-w.com or thefreedictionary.com these are not listed whereas several other words beginning with un (such as unforgiving) are actually listed.[/nq]
There is a reason for that: "unforgiving" is an ordinry word in everyday use, and any dictionary that omitted it would be incomplete; "unconceding" and "uncondoning" seem to be words you've just invented, and they would fulfil no obvious need if they existed. You can't just invent new words and express surprise that they aren't in the dictionary.
[nq:1]What I want to know is, does the fact that such words don't appear in dictionaries make them improper English[/nq]
Of course. Dictionaries list words that are used (or, in the case of historical dictionaries, that have been used). They don't list words that have no significant existence.
[nq:1](so for instance do I have to use the word unforgiving instead or am I still ok using uncondoning or unconceding)?[/nq]
Why are you so anxious to use these words? If you do use them you won't get hauled off to prison, but you'll get people asking what on earth you mean, and when you explain they'll want to know why you don't use an ordinary word.You may be confused by the fact that English (like other languages) has some living suffixes. For example, "-ly" can be added to just about any adjective to make an adverb, and if it makes sense it will be accepted as English; "-ness" can be added to almost any adjective to make a noun. In both cases, the "-ly" words and the "-ness" words will be in the dictionary if they are common enough to justify the space. In most cases they will be accepted as English, though probably not if much commoner alternatives exist: for example, "stupidness" will be understood, but it sounds odd when we have "stupidity" to use instead.

Also, "-ness" is awkward (and hence to readily accepted as English) if added to an adjectived derived from a noun: you can't say "angriness" (though you'll understood if you do), because "angry" derives from "anger".
The problem with "un-" is that it's just one of many ways of making a word negative: there are also "in-", "non-", "dis-", "mis-", "anti-", "contra-". Of all of them, "non-" is one of the least used but it's also the only one that I'd call a living suffix that you can add to just about any word that would make sense in the negative. However, apart from a few words like "nonsense" it doesn't feature much in colloquial English. However, I think that if you say "non-conceding" you'll be more easily understood than if you say "unconceding".

Lewis Carroll could get away with "unbirthday" (an unbirthday party is one you have on one of the 364 days that is not your birthday (or 363 if you're the Queen)) for two reasons: (1) he was Lewis Carroll, and popular writers can do things that unknown writers can't; (2) he was obviously being jocular, whereas your "unconceding" seems to be intended seriously.

athel

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hello, I would like to know whether the two words: unconceding and uncondoning are proper English. I ask because in most online dictionaries such as m-w.com or thefreedictionary.com these are not listed whereas several other words beginning with un (such as unforgiving)[/nq]
Being forgiving is thought to be (by me too) a general characteristic that describes a person, at least in a category, probably broad, of situations. So a person is thought to be forgiving, or forgiving.

Condoning and conceding strike me as much more situation-dependent.

Tolerant is the word people would use for condoning and intolerant for uncondoning.
Maybe there is a set of words that would be used for conceding, depending on the details of the situation.
So no, unconceding and uncondoning are not words. They might be used on rare occasions by someone in a hurry who didn't take the time to find the right word. Especially if earlier in the narrative he said someone conceded or condoned something and later he is the opposite. And people would know what was meant, but that doesn't make them valid words in my book.
[nq:1]are actually listed. What I want to know is, does the fact that such words don't appear in dictionaries make them improper English (so for instance do I have to use the word unforgiving instead or am I still ok using uncondoning or unconceding)?[/nq]
What makes them improper is that no one uses them, and I don't think they fit the pattern of words that begin with un-.
[nq:1]Thank you for your advice and help, John Goche[/nq]
Posters should say where they live, and for which
area they are asking questions. I have lived in
Western Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis 10 years
Chicago 6 years
Brooklyn, NY 12 years
Baltimore 26 years

Usenet · Answer

Nonsense. 'Unconceding' and 'non-conceding' are equally clear. Some of the other prefixes might cause problems; for example 'inconceding' would require context to distinguish the negative 'in-' from the insertive 'in'. I very much doubt any English speaker would know that one of them is in the dictionary, and the other isn't, unless they had researched it previously.
My point is, you can't have both "usage defines language", and arbitrary dictionary restrictions. Either you accept any usage as valid, or you follow grammar rules. Because of my prescriptive native language background, I prefer to follow grammar rules, and would not use 'who' instead of 'whom', unless I made a mistake. However, following the existing word-formation rules, I see no reason not to use words like 'unconceding' and 'insertive', even though they are not in dictionaries, as long as they are formed according to the existing rules, and their meaning is clear.
[nq:1]Also, "-ness" is awkward (and hence to readily accepted as English) if added to an adjectived derived from a noun: you can't say "angriness" (though you'll understood if you do), because "angry" derives from "anger".[/nq]
Check your dicionary - 'angriness' is a valid existing word. This exactly confirms my point - obeying some arbitrary dictionary, when a word is formed correctly and has a clear meaning, is a lot of nonsense. I've stopped doing that, and will use any word I see fit, as long as it is formed correctly, and is understandable.

You'd be crazy to e-mail me with the crazy. But leave the div alone.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hello, I would like to know whether the two words: unconceding and uncondoning are proper English. I ask because in ... for instance do I have to use the word unforgiving instead or am I still ok using uncondoning or unconceding)?[/nq]
If a given form does not appear in an unabridged dictionary, it is not in use as a "word". That does not mean that the construction is impossible or "wrong": sound English encompasses what is referred to as a "nonce word" as Wikipedia puts it, "a word used only 'for the nonce'â??to meet a need that is not expected to recur."
"Unconceding" and "uncondoning" are not in dictionaries because no one has found sufficient need for such constructions to justify coining them. But it is possible, albeit by stretching, to conceive circumstances "for the nonece" usages in which such words might be wanted or justifiable. (In each case, the form would seem to indicate a reversal of a previous action a concession or a condoning now being retracted by the party in question.)

Cordially,
Eric Walker, Owlcroft House
http://owlcroft.com/english/

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]If in the context in which "unconceding" is used you have first established "conceding" as an adjective or noun then ... or listener. In other words the material in which "conceding" and "unconceding" appears should define these terms (probably by implication).[/nq]
The earlier reference to Google hits led me to scan the first page or so of them. As I suspected (and earlier remarked) would be the case, the uses all seem to be about a candidate who has conceded an election then retracted his or her concession.

Cordially,
Eric Walker, Owlcroft House
http://owlcroft.com/english/

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Hello, I would like to know whether the two words: ... instead or am I still ok using uncondoning or unconceding)?[/nq]
[nq:1]If a given form does not appear in an unabridged dictionary, it is not in use as a "word". That ... to indicate a reversal of a previous action a concession or a condoning now being retracted by the party in question.)[/nq]
Just because a word's an undictionary word doesn't make it an unword.

Marshall Price of Miami
http://marshallprice.wordpress.com

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]If a given form does not appear in an unabridged ... a condoning now being retracted by the party in question.)[/nq]
[nq:1]Just because a word's an undictionary word doesn't make it an unword.[/nq]
Some thoughts are unthinkable. But you can't unthink them.

Are these words proper English: unconceding and uncondoning

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