antonym of photogenic

[Guest]

what is antonym of photogetic? unphotogenic is not a word.

 

[Doug Robbins - Word MVP]

ugly

--
Hope this helps.

Please reply to the newsgroup unless you wish to avail yourself of my
services on a paid consulting basis.

Doug Robbins - Word MVP

 

[macropod]

Look up a Thesaurus! There you'll find expressions like:
ugly, unlovely, unhandsome, hideous, foul, shocking, monstrous, repulsive,
repellent, odious, loathsome, unsightly, etc, etc

Take your pick.

Cheers

 

[Opinicus]

what is antonym of photogetic? unphotogenic is not a word.

Just because it isn't in a dictionary doesn't mean it's not a "word". There
are lots of words in English, especially those formed from prefixes and
suffixes, that you won't find in a dictionary. If "unphotogenic" works for
you, go with it. The meaning is perfectly clear.

 

[Tom Willett]

"what is antonym of photogetic? unphotogenic is not a word"
What is "photogetic"? Is that a spin-off of "photogenic"?


|> what is antonym of photogetic? unphotogenic is not a word.
|
| >> Just because it isn't in a dictionary doesn't mean it's not a "word".
There
| >> are lots of words in English, especially those formed from prefixes and
| >> suffixes, that you won't find in a dictionary. If "unphotogenic" works
for
| >> you, go with it. The meaning is perfectly clear.
|
| Yes, but words are like coins: Just because you mint your own doesn't
mean
| everyone else has to accept them. Currency is based on the generally
| accepted standard. In the case of money, that standard is a government or
| similar authority; for words, it's the community of
speakers/readers/signers.
|
| For example, I might (tongue-in-cheek) call the opposite of photogenic
| "photoclastic." It makes sense etymologically (as long as one sees the
| "light" with respect to the modern reference of photo-) but logic alone
won't
| "break" through for others to adapt my invention. Others must also adapt
the
| word -- pass the buck, so to speak.
|
| A thesaurus is useful in showing which words have gained currency (though
| many on the list are probably outdated). The very strength of a copious
| listing is also a weakness in that it provides little or no context. For
| example, "merry" means something like "cheerful, joyous" and therefore
| qualifies as a synonym of "happy." But try greeting Americans with "Happy
| Christmas" and you'll see that it fails as a synonym in that context
| (collocation). (To return to the coin metaphor: It's like trying to use
| pennies in a vending machine; though 50 pennies nominally = 2 quarters,
only
| one of those combinations will actually work to get your soft drink.)
|
| So, use Word's thesaurus. (Highlight the word you want to look up then
| presss [Shift+F7] or go to Tools > Thesaurus.) Review the list of
synonyms
| ... but don't stop there. Use your native-speaker judgment of the word,
both
| how it sounds in the intended sentence and especially how it sounds
together
| with the other key word(s) in its phrase. If you're not a native speaker,
| consult someone who is ("Does this sound right to you?").
|
| In this example, the intended lookup word, "unphotogenic," isn't on the
| list. That may indicate there's no commonly used word for the concept.
| Others' judgment on whatever you decide to use is therefore especially
| important.
|
| -- Sarah R
| [Ph.D., Linguistics]
|
| "Opinicus" wrote:
|
| >
| >
| > --
| > Bob
| > http://www.kanyak.com
| >
| >
| >

 

[Guest]

sanjay, in the case of prefixes, like un-, it is generally accepted in most
writing style guides that if the word you want to combine the prefix with has
not yet been formally accepted by the "community of speakers/readers/signers"
with the prefix on it (i.e. it is not yet in the dictionary), you can still
use the prefix with the word, but hyphenate it to indicate that you have done
just that.

So the short answer is just write "un-photogenic."

--Wade
[no Ph.D. in Linguistics]