Ask vs Improve - What's the difference?
ask | improve |
To request (information, or an answer to a question).
To put forward (a question) to be answered.
To interrogate or enquire of (a person).
* Bible, John ix. 21
To request or petition; usually with for .
* Bible, Matthew vii. 7
To require, demand, claim, or expect, whether by way of remuneration or return, or as a matter of necessity.
* Addison
To invite.
To publish in church for marriage; said of both the banns and the persons.
(figuratively) To take (a person's situation) as an example.
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An act or instance of asking.
* 2005 , Laura Fredricks, The ask :
Something asked or asked for; a request.
* 2008 , Doug Fields, Duffy Robbins, Speaking to Teenagers :
An asking price.
An eft; newt.
* 1876 , S. Smiles, Scottish Naturalist :
A lizard.
(lb) To make (something) better; to increase the value or productivity (of something).
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*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=70, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= (lb) To become better.
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*:“My Continental prominence is improving ,” I commented dryly. ¶ Von Lindowe cut at a furze bush with his silver-mounted rattan. ¶ “Quite so,” he said as dryly, his hand at his mustache. “I may say if your intentions were known your life would not be worth a curse.”
(lb) To disprove or make void; to refute.
*(William Tyndale) (1494-1536)
*:Neither can any of them make so strong a reason which another cannot improve .
(lb) To disapprove of; to find fault with; to reprove; to censure.
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:(Chapman)
*(William Tyndale) (1494-1536)
*:When he rehearsed his preachings and his doing unto the high apostles, they could improve nothing.
(lb) To use or employ to good purpose; to turn to profitable account.
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*(Isaac Barrow) (1630-1677)
*:We shall especially honour God by improving diligently the talents which God hath committed to us.
*(Joseph Addison) (1672-1719)
*:a hint that I do not remember to have seen opened and improved
*(William Blackstone) (1723-1780)
*:The court seldom fails to improve the opportunity.
*(Isaac Watts) (1674-1748)
*:How doth the little busy bee / Improve each shining hour.
*(George Washington) (1732-1799)
*:True policy, as well as good faith, in my opinion, binds us to improve the occasion.
As a noun ask
is amplitude shift keying.As a verb improve is
(lb) to make (something) better; to increase the value or productivity (of something).ask
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) asken, from (etyl) .Verb
(en verb)- I asked her age.
- to ask a question
- I'm going to ask this lady for directions.
- He is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.
- to ask for a second helping at dinner
- to ask for help with homework
- Ask , and it shall be given you.
- What price are you asking for the house?
- An exigence of state asks a much longer time to conduct a design to maturity.
- Don't ask them to the wedding.
- (Fuller)
Usage notes
* This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . See * Pronouncing ask as /æks/ is a common example of metathesis and a feature of some varieties of English, notably African American Vernacular English (AAVE). * The action expressed by the verb ask'' can also be expressed by the noun-verb combination ''pose a question'' (confer the parallel in German between ''fragen'' and ''eine Frage stellen ).Derived terms
* ask after * ask around * ask for * ask in * ask out * ask over * ask round * for the asking * no questions asked * outaskNoun
(en noun)- To ask for a gift is a privilege, a wonderful expression of commitment to and ownership of the organization. Getting a yes to an ask can be a rush, but asking for the gift can and should be just as rewarding.
- Communication researchers call this the foot-in-the-door syndrome. Essentially it's based on the observation that people who respond positively to a small “ask'” are more likely to respond to a bigger “' ask ” later on.
Etymology 2
From (etyl) aske, arske, from (etyl) .Alternative forms
*Noun
(en noun)- He looked at the beast. It was not an eel. It was very like an ask .
Statistics
*improve
English
Alternative forms
* emprove (obsolete)Verb
(improv)Engineers of a different kind, passage=Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about, they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling, if not more so. Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster.}}