# Looking for a word, AI is not helping **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** ai\ **Created:** [April 2, 2025, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529 "2025-04-02T17:11:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529/1 "2025-04-02T17:11:42Z")
This is a word I have used almost daily for the past 6 months and a few days ago it left me and I isn’t coming back. I have tried googling and AI to no avail. It is a commonly used word. The closest word I am using in it’s place is to configure or configurations but that is not the word I want to use. Suppose I have a device that I am developing different ways that I can apply it. I have to build a framework that will support it in any number of ways. What would be the word for the different applications? ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529/2 "2025-04-02T17:15:41Z")
Uses? Use cases? Permutations? Scenarios? Implementations? Is there a particular field you’re working in, and is this one of its jargon… or just a general word for “device that can be used in many different \_\_\_\_\_\_\_”? How would you want to use it in a sentence? ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529/3 "2025-04-02T17:19:35Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Is there a particular field you’re working in, and is this one of its jargon… or just a general word for “device that can be used in many different \_\_\_\_\_\_\_”? Implementations is very close. This is a workout device with a single source of resistance. The discussion would be around how to build a frame that would allow for different muscle groups to be worked or more comfortable positions for example. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529/4 "2025-04-02T17:20:26Z")
“Applications” might be close the word you’re looking for. To be clear, is this word about discussing the ways you can _use_ the device, or about ways to build a machine “framework” to _hold_ the device? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529/5 "2025-04-02T17:21:35Z")
Arrangements? ---
**Author:** ![Historical\_Vagabond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/historical_vagabond/32/18705_2.png) [@Historical\_Vagabond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Historical_Vagabond)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529/6 "2025-04-02T17:22:40Z")
Iteration? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529/7 "2025-04-02T17:22:52Z")
Some ideas: - Deployments - Setups - Applications - Integrations - Adaptations - Manifestations - Instantiations - Arrangements - Modalities ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529/8 "2025-04-02T17:23:00Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Implementations is very close. This is a workout device with a single source of resistance. “Setups”? It’s universally understood and can be used in this context along with others. Or maybe orientation, mode, position… ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529/9 "2025-04-02T17:24:37Z")
There’s also a whole subreddit for these questions, if you wanna try your luck there too: [What's The Word: For when you can't think of the word you need](https://old.reddit.com/r/whatstheword/) ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529/10 "2025-04-02T17:26:52Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I suspect this is for the exercise machine he’s busy inventing. So kind of like the old fashioned “Universal Gym”, it supports a bunch of different exercise movements with different attachments or pushing or pulling on _this_ instead of _that_ No attachments, extremely simple, A sentence I would use this word in. Someone suggests that in its current state it is hard to work the legs. My response would be that " there are any number of ways I can configure it." ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529/11 "2025-04-02T17:32:56Z")
FWIW, Bowflex and Total Gym both call their configurations “exercises”, like " 100 exercises with 400+ variations" or " 100+ Unique Exercises". Bowflex also calls them “positions” in its detailed user manuals: [https://download.bowflex.com/supportdocs/OM/Bowflex/BFX\_Xceed\_Plus\_OM\_RevC\_web.pdf](https://download.bowflex.com/supportdocs/OM/Bowflex/BFX_Xceed_Plus_OM_RevC_web.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529/12 "2025-04-02T17:37:01Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Bowflex also calls them “positions” in its detailed user manuals: The word I am looking for refers to the process of developing all these positions. I can easily substitute the word configure, configurations, configuring, the other word just sounds better and is a little more precise. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529/13 "2025-04-02T20:24:52Z")
If it isn’t implementation, integration is my pick. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529/14 "2025-04-02T20:31:52Z")
Profile. Though profiling isn’t really the word you’d use for developing profiles in this sense. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529/15 "2025-04-02T20:41:53Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > If it isn’t implementation, integration is my pick. I think my last clue was slightly misleading. I will try to comeback wit a more concise description of how it is used. > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Some ideas: > > - Deployments > - Setups > - Applications > - Integrations > - Adaptations > - Manifestations > - Instantiations > - Arrangements > - Modalities I am starting to wonder if my mind is not playing trick on me. I went back through my notes and configuration seems to be the word I am using most commonly. It just doesan’t right. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529/16 "2025-04-02T21:52:16Z")
I haven’t tried AI, but I generally find a little program called Wordhippo to be the best way to find that elusive word that is driving you crazy. You can put in a synonym or a definition. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529/17 "2025-04-03T00:55:14Z")
Great program, I went through hundreds of words and can’t find it. I am going to chalk it up to my brain just playing tricks on me. I remember the word as being pleasing in its use. configuration does the job ok. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529/18 "2025-04-03T16:21:44Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I am going to chalk it up to my brain just playing tricks on me. Sounds like one of those dreams where a situation, person or concept that you have never encountered in real life is _of course_ completely familiar & known for a long time, in the dream world. I get those from time to time… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529/19 "2025-04-03T16:29:45Z")
Alignments? j ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529/20 "2025-04-03T17:09:19Z")
Maybe the word you’re looking for is _[jamais vu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamais_vu)_. Configuration. Configuration. Configuration. Configuration. Configuration. Configuration. Configuration. Configuration. Configuration. Configuration. Configuration. Configuration. Configuration. Configuration. Configuration. That’s not a real word, is it? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-ai-is-not-helping/1016529.md?page=2)