Hey everyone! So I was writing my book and I used the word "unresisted," but my word program said it isn't a word (and this website's spell check has just claimed the same thing. This confuses me, as I've heard it being used many times and online dictionaries say it's a word. I mean, if "resisted" and "unresisting" are words, shouldn't "unresisted" be a word, too? If it isn't "officially" a word, do you think it'd be all right if I used it in my book? I really like how it sounds in context vs. the other options.
Hi Elven Candy, Are you using WordWeb? I don't see unresisted either. But Grammarly doesn't object. Have you tried Grammarly? Bill
WordWeb and Microsoft Word say it's not a word, but at least three online dictionaries say it is. If you came across "unresisted" in a book, would it bother you?
I think it would bother me. I've never heard it or seen it. Do you have an example in a sentence? I can't picture it.
I thought the word would bother me but an online dictionary example: "the army's advance was largely unresisted" actually sounds fine to me.
Alas, I do not. It's just one of those things I heard/read a lot growing up, so it became a word to me. It's as natural to me as any other word, so I don't even notice it. I really like how it sounds in context. Unopposed, unchallenged, unimpeded etc. just don't have the same ring to them. If you think it would help, I can actually post the sentence.
Ah, yes! That's exactly the type of sentence I've heard/seen it used in! It has to be a word, right? Unresisting is, so why not unresisted? I don't understand that concept at all.
Why not have the army advance with impunity? it sounds better and is a better word than 'unresisted'. Or if you like as an alternative: unopposed is still better than unresisted. That word sounds a little clunky to me.
Well it's actually not an army situation; it's the MC dragon talking to another dragon: "(name[sorry, I can't give it away 'cus spoiler]), what is the one enemy all dragons have? The one thing in this world that can kill us all unresisted?” Basically, a dragon doesn't stand a chance against this enemy and every other word I can think of implies that dragons have simply decided not to fight it even though they stand a chance. Unopposed comes the closest, but it just sounds very human and high class to me. I don't know, maybe I'm being picky.
Thwarted isn't something that flows well from him--it's just not something that's in his language. There's a certain feel I get from words that keep him in character, and to use the word thwarted would break his character in my head. Does that make sense?
These are my thoughts too. It would make me stop if I read that. Given the context of @ajaye's example I understand what is being said, but it's still a bit of a... don't know if there's an official term for it. Not exactly a double negative, but it's a bit like saying 'Unpregnant' if you ask me. I really don't like it as a word.
Then make up a word in Dragon speak that will mean the same thing, it will add a bit of their culture into the story giving it a bit more 'realism'. Just a thought.
In that context, I'd go with a word for 'absolutely' or 'unconditionally'. Unopposed doesn't seem like a good choice. I might actually just rework the scentence. "What's the one thing in this world that can utterly exterminate us? What is the one thing that seeks to eradicate us, destroy us in all our entirety, with ruthless, merciless, hatred ?"
Well, it seems just about everyone agrees it isn't a good choice, so I guess that means I need to change it! Er, well I don't actually have made up words (except unkillable, but it's still English . . . sort of), so that isn't really an option. I'll just have to figure out another way around it. ETA: What I meant by "not in his language" was more like it's not how he or his people talk. I don't know what to call that, but certain words just aren't right for these characters to say. It's looking like that's what I'll have to do. Maybe a fresh mind in the morning will help me figure out a good rewording. Thank you, everyone!
Why not simply say, 'surrendered', or 'voluntarily'... which are real words. You could say, ununresisted, which means you're resisting... unununresisted means you're back to not resisting.
I just checked my paper dictionaries, which were printed in the 1980s. The Webster's (which is just the college dictionary, not the full one) doesn't contain 'unresisted.' However, the Roget's Thesaurus I have which was printed in 1987, contains 'unresisting.' I don't know whether unresisted/unresisting are new-ish words, or just not very popular words. But they do, apparently exist. At least in online dictionaries.
I'd call it a word, but not one in regular use. If I wanted to re-cast the sentence to avoid it, I'd go with "The army's advance met little resistance."
Really dislike it in this context. Personally, I would ditch that sentence altogether and do something like "(name), what is a dragon's top weakness?" "(Answer)" "And that my brother/child/warrior, is what we face." Again, just an example of my own view. However, if you still want to have the unresisted type of secondary question- Why not "Can kill us all without resistance?"
I would say something like 'with ease' if I'm honest with you. That or 'like an insect' or what the dragon's parallel would be to emphasise that resistance is futile.
$.02: These are some of the words from a glance at my current wip that libreoffice and chrome don't recognize as words at all: transformative eyeholes antagonization smarmily unlooped unbothered flittered backstab They show up in Merriam-Webster or some other dictionary if I google them, but - more importantly, IMO - I think you can tell what all of them mean. I can tell what 'unresisted' means. While there may be other words that work better or better phrases entirely, I don't see any problem with using it and wouldn't use the grounds that a spellchecker doesn't know it to discount it. These things aren't perfect.
Finally my internet's working! Thanks to all of you suggesting I change it, I did redo the sentence a bit and got rid of unresisted. I actually like the new version better! Ironically, my alpha reader brother agreed that it didn't work for this sentence. Go figure! "(name) what is the one enemy all dragons have, the one thing in this entire world that can effortlessly kill us all?” It isn't perfect, but it's good enough for a first draft.
