6 Words That Can Ruin Your Sentence - 5

like
Like
[lahyk]
The cardinal sinner of lazy words like is interspersed in dialogue to give a speaker more time to think or because the speaker cannot shake the habit of using the word. Likeshould describe something of the same form, appearance, kind, character, or amount. But, very often, it is used involuntarily in conversation, just like um. Our next and final word is not so obvious.
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like1
lʌɪk/
preposition
preposition: like
  1. 1.
    having the same characteristics or qualities as; similar to.
    "he used to have a car like mine"
    synonyms:similar to, the same as, identical to
    "you're just like a teacher"
    antonyms:unlike
    • in the manner of; in the same way or to the same degree as.
      "he was screaming like a banshee"
      synonyms:in the same way as, in the manner of, in the same manner as, in the same way that, in a similar way to, after the fashion of, along/on the lines of, as, tantamount to
      "the figure landed like a cat"
      antonyms:unlike
    • in a way appropriate to.
      "students were angry at being treated like children"
    • such as one might expect from; characteristic of.
      "just like you to put a damper on people's enjoyment"
      synonyms:characteristic of, typical of, in character with
      "Richard sounded mean and spiteful, which isn't like him"
      antonyms:unlike
    • used in questions to ask about the characteristics or nature of someone or something.
      "what is it like to be a tuna fisherman?"
  2. 2.
    used to draw attention to the nature of an action or event.
    "I apologize for coming over unannounced like this"
  3. 3.
    such as; for example.
    "the cautionary vision of works like Animal Farm and 1984"
    synonyms:such as, for example, for instance, in particular, as, namely, viz.
    "physical decay extends across whole areas of cities like Birmingham, Glasgow, and Leeds"
    antonyms:except for
conjunction
informal
conjunction: like
  1. 1.
    in the same way that; as.
    "people who change countries like they change clothes"
  2. 2.
    as though; as if.
    "I felt like I'd been kicked by a camel"
noun
noun: like; plural noun: likes
  1. 1.
    used with reference to a person or thing of the same kind as another.
    "the quotations could be arranged to put like with like"
adjective
adjective: like
  1. 1.
    (of a person or thing) having similar qualities or characteristics to another person or thing.
    "I responded in like manner"
    synonyms:similar, much the same, more or less the same, not unlike,comparable, corresponding, correspondent, resembling, alike,approximating, analogous, parallel, equivalent, cognate, related, of a kind, akin, kindred; More
    antonyms:different, dissimilar
    • (of a portrait or other image) having a faithful resemblance to the original.
      "‘Who painted the dog's picture? It's very like.’"
adverb
adverb: like
  1. 1.
    informal
    used in speech as a meaningless filler or to signify the speaker's uncertainty about an expression just used.
    "there was this funny smell—sort of dusty like"
  2. 2.
    informal
    used to convey a person's reported attitude or feelings in the form of direct speech (whether or not representing an actual quotation).
    "so she comes into the room and she's like ‘Where is everybody?’"
  3. 3.
    archaic
    in the manner of.
    "like as a ship with dreadful storm long tossed"
Origin
Middle English: from Old Norse líkr ; related to alike.
like2
lʌɪk/
verb
verb: like; 3rd person present: likes; past tense: liked; past participle: liked; gerund or present participle: liking
  1. 1.
    find agreeable, enjoyable, or satisfactory.
    "all his classmates liked him"
    synonyms:be fond of, be attached to, have a soft spot for, have a fondness for,have a liking for, have regard for, think well of, look on with favour,hold in esteem, admire, respect, esteem; 
    be attracted to, fancy, find attractive, be keen on, be taken with;
     
    informaltake a shine to, be into,rate
    "I rather like Colonel Maitland"
    enjoy, have a taste for, have a preference for, have a liking for, have a weakness for, be partial to, delight in, find/take pleasure in, be keen on, find agreeable, derive pleasure from, be pleased by, have a penchant for, have a passion for, derive satisfaction from, find enjoyable, take to, appreciate;
    love, adore, relish, savour, lap up, revel in;
    informalget a kick from/out of, have a thing about, be into, get off on,go for, be mad about/for, dig, groove on, get a charge from/out of, get a buzz from/out of, get a bang out of, be hooked on, go a bundle on
    "Maisie likes veal"
    antonyms:dislike, hate
    • indicate one's liking or approval of (a web page or posting on a social media website) by means of a particular icon or link.
      "more than 15,000 Facebook users had liked his page by Monday morning"
  2. 2.
    wish for; want.
    "would you like a cup of coffee?"
    • used as a polite formula.
      "we would like to apologize for the late running of this service"
    • feel reluctant to do something.
      "I don't like leaving her on her own too long"
    • choose to have (something); prefer.
      "how do you like your coffee?"
    • feel about or regard (something).
      "how would you like it if it happened to you?"
      synonyms:feel about, regard, think about, consider
      "how would she like it if someone did that to her picture?"
noun
noun: like; plural noun: likes
  1. 1.
    the things one likes or prefers.
    "a wide variety of likes, dislikes, tastes, and income levels"
    • an instance of indicating one's liking or approval of a web page or posting on a social media website.
      "pages that rank well are likely to receive high numbers of likes because they are highly visible in the search engines"
Origin
Old English līcian ‘be pleasing’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch lijken .