Questions of similar words - Adamant,obstinate,firm and steady

Question

Government should stand adamant/firm/steady/obstinate in going ahead with the stricter punishment on the criminals/offenders for abusing drug and involving in gambling events to construct a better country.

Which one is correct in uses of adamant/firm/steady/obstinate ?

What is the difference between criminal/offender and which one is correct of use here ?

Doctor D · Accepted Answer

The differences are largely of tone.
"Obstinate" suggests an unreasonable attitude. "Adamant" is a more formal word suggesting a person who is unyielding in the face of counter arguments. "Firm" and "steady" are more conversational terms.
As for "criminal" vs. "offender"--either is properly descriptive but "criminal" has a more negative tone.

I would also rewrite the sentence to make it clearer and grammatically correct:

Government officials should be adamant in insisting upon stricter punishment for criminals who abuse drugs or are involving in gambling, if they want to construct a better country.

I hope this helps.

Franklin Ong · Answer

Doctor DAs for "criminal" vs. "offender"--either is properly descriptive but "criminal" has a more negative tone.

Thus,It mean there is no difference between criminal and offender,either in formal English or not,but criminal sounds like to be more negative and (more) serious of what crime the person has committed.Correct of that ?

BTW,should I add the bracket-word (more) ?

Government officials should stand adamant in going ahead with fighting against the corruption in our country to bring an end to the scourge which has had tentacles in our country's reputation for years.

Is the sentence correct and of the use of tentacles here ?

Doctor D · Answer

Yes. The literal meanings of criminal and offender are very similar, but we think of "criminals" as being worse people and their crimes as being more serious than those of "offenders."

I would make a few small changes in your sentence:

Government officials should be ~~stand~~ adamant in going ahead with fighting against the corruption in our country in order to bring an end to the scourge which has had its tentacles in our country ['s reputation] for years.
You can use "tenacles" if you want to create an image for the reader. But I would drop the bracketed words because it is difficult to picture a "reputation" being held in tenacles.

Franklin Ong · Answer

Doctor DYou can use "tenacles" if you want to create an image for the reader. But I would drop the bracketed words because it is difficult to picture a "reputation" being held in tenacles.

tentacles is made as a metaphor and always used in negative expression,correct ?

For instance,
Smoking is resembling the tentacles that once you have been addictive to it,then it will tangle you tightly and to escape from its grip very difficultly.

Am I correct of my use of this metaphor ?

Doctor D · Answer

Yes, "tentacle" is a scary animal image, so it has negative tones.

Smoking is resembling the tentacles that once you have been addictive to it,then it will tangle you tightly and to escape from its grip very difficultly.

I would change this somewhat. First, you need to say what the tentacles are part of. You don't have tentacles unless you have the beast they belong to. Then, I would simplify the sentence

Once you are addicted to smoking, you are in its tentacles and it is very difficult to escape from its grip.

Clear?

Franklin Ong · Answer

Corruption has rooted and blossomed badly in our country.It has brought some negative impacts on the country's image.Therefore, the government has decided to uproot the scourge completely because a weed must be exterminated,or it grows again in spring.

Is the metaphor used well in this paragraph ?

I would like to learn how to do a well metaphor,but no idea where to start from.
Do you think a good essay or article has to include some metaphors in ?

Doctor D · Answer

Corruption has rooted and blossomed badly in our country.It has brought some negative impacts on the country's image.Therefore, the government has decided to uproot the scourge completely because a weed must be exterminated,or it grows again in spring.

Nothing wrong with the metaphor. But I would clean up the wording. For example:

Corruption has become deeply rooted in our country. The flowers of corruption make our country look bad. Therefore, the government has decided to uproot the scourge completely, because, like a weed, it must be exterminated or it will reappear in the spring.

Note: you don't want to say "blossomed badly" because that means that it had weak blossoms. You mean "it is bad that it is blossoming."

I like to use metaphors, because it adds a visual image that is easy to remember. But it should be an ornament on the tree of your argument. Let your reasons speak first, then find ways to make them memorable.

However, be careful. A silly metaphor, or one that is expressed badly, will distract your reader, so he will not listen carefully to your argument.

I hope this helps.

Franklin Ong · Answer

What do you think about a metaphor is only required to be understandable and thinkable that can communicate with a great deal of meaning what you want to express.

Therefore,it does not a matter what the word/sentence you apply as a metaphor,as long as that is suitable in which expressions,then this is more a matter of capability of metaphor understanding than stressing on a specific wording as metaphor.(I hope you can understand my meaning)

We should grow a seed of patriotism in the people and always water it,so that it will sprout and bear fruit well one day.

This one,I think is easy to understand,because a seed that will sprout and bear fruit finally.

l can see a smile sprouting from the edges of her lips when she is showered with birthday gifts.

In this case,however,it is quite hard to imagine a smile is sprouting which means the smile is extending to the edge of the lip and shower here means giving abundantly.What do you think ?

Do native speakers often apply some metaphors in daily conversation ?

Doctor D · Answer

I think effective use of metaphors is a literary device. In ordinary conversation, it is rare. However, people do use what are called "dead metaphors," that is, language which contains what look like images but which people no longer think of as images because the words are commonplace.

For example: "His new business plan is dead in the water." This means, that it is not moving forward. Originally, the phrase "dead in the water" suggested the image of a sail boat which is becalmed because of lack of wind. But the phrase has been used so much that no one thinks of the image anymore, just of the literal meaning.

Other comparisons may also be ineffective as metaphors because they are too much used (they are cliches), such as "cool as a cucumber" or "that's the tip of the iceberg."

As for your example:
l can see a smile sprouting from the edges of her lips when she is showered with birthday gifts.

In this case, however, it is quite hard to imagine a smile is sprouting which means the smile is extending to the edge of the lip and shower here means giving abundantly.What do you think ?

You could make this a hidden metaphor--one that some readers will recognize but not all. As long as the words are first used clearly in a non-metaphorical sense. I would refine it a little in that case.
"I can see a smile sprouting on her face as she is showered with birthday gifts."

Note that this is different from your earlier example:

We should grow a seed of patriotism in the people and always water it,so that it will sprout and bear fruit well one day.
This only makes sense if we pay attention to the image, the metaphor. There is no non-metaphoric meaning to the language.

Franklin Ong · Answer

Doctor D people do use what are called "dead metaphors," that is, language which contains what look like images but which people no longer think of as images because the words are commonplace.

Could you list some commonplace dead metaphors to me?Please

Do you think the metaphors shown below are living or dead metaphor ?

1)Every life has its roses and thorns
2)Life is not a bed of roses
3)food for thought
4)jump out of oneself's skin
5)Adrenaline surged through my vein
6)give the green eyes
7)has oneself's nose buried in
8)grinning from ear to ear
9)give the green light

Do you consider whether a good formal essay or article is supposed to involve dead metaphor as shown above,that can act as an important and essential parts to beautify/make the essay much better ?

However,I am really in demand of this kind of sentences to write excellent essay for my exam which is around the corner.So that I hope you can recommend some good websites that posses this kind of perfect sentences to me.

Questions of similar words - Adamant,obstinate,firm and steady

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