Nonsensical game names interpreted by online dictionaries
Defining the undefinable
Just go with it
So what if a word doesnt exist--if it sounds cool, slap it on the cover! Thats the position some developers have seemingly taken in regards to naming their games. Case in point: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Yes, Revengeance is technically a stylistic combination of Revenge, Vengeance, and Avenge, and yes, all of those words fit the bill of cool, but seriously. Revengeance? Come on. Gaming neologisms aren't a recent development, either; plenty of games have thrown meaning to the wind in favor of chic-sounding idioms.
But say you have no inkling of what these words could possibly mean. Say, for instance, youre an online dictionary. How would you interpret these game names? We put some of these made-up words through the lexicon ringer, and the results posit game plots that would suggest wildly different experiences. Check out the scholarly computerized think-tanks ridiculous responses, and get ready to learn some new words along the way
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Dictionary.com suggests: Revengeance (an obsolete [OR NOT! - Ed] noun meaning vengeance; revenge)
Merriam-Webster.com suggests: Refinance (to renew or reorganize the financing of)
Infinite Undiscovery
Dictionary.com suggests: Nondiscoveries (the acts or an instances of not discovering)
Merriam-Webster.com suggests: Indiscoverable (not discoverable)
Wargasm
Dictionary.com suggests: Orgasm (the physical and emotional sensation experienced at the peak of sexual excitation, usually resulting from stimulation of the sexual organ)
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Merriam-Webster.com suggests: Largesse (liberal giving, as of money, to or as if to an inferior)
XEXYZ
Dictionary.com suggests: XAXES (the plural of x-axis, which is the axis along which the abscissa is measured and from which the ordinate is measured)
Merriam-Webster.com suggests: Sexy (sexually suggestive or stimulating)
Tetris
Dictionary.com suggests: Tetras (any of several tropical, freshwater fishes of the family Characidae, often kept in aquariums)
Merriam-Webster.com suggests: Tigress (a female tiger; also a tigerish woman)
Psybadek
Dictionary.com suggests: Postbag (a batch of mail from a single delivery)
Merriam-Webster.com suggests: Subadult (an individual that has passed through the juvenile period but not yet attained typical adult characteristics)
Viewtiful Joe
Dictionary.com suggests: Pitiful (evoking or deserving contempt by smallness, poor quality, etc.)
Merriam-Webster.com suggests: Videophile (a person fond of video; especially one interested in video equipment or in producing videos)
What about "Viewtiful Joe"? Dictionary.com suggests: Vitiligo (a skin disorder characterized by smooth, white patches on various parts of the body, caused by the loss ofthe natural pigment)
KLAX
Dictionary.com suggests: Flax (any plant of the genus Linum, a slender, erect, annual plant having narrow, lance-shaped leaves and blue flowers, cultivated for its fiber and seeds)
Merriam-Webster.com suggests: Klux (a shortening of Ku-Klux, which is to maltreat or terrorize in a way thought to be typical of Ku Klux Klaners)
Bubba 'n' Stix
Dictionary.com suggests: Styx (a river in the underworld, over which the souls of the dead were ferried by Charon, and by which the gods swore their most solemn oaths)
Merriam-Webster.com suggests: Stets (to direct retention of a word or passage previously ordered to be deleted or omitted from a manuscript or printer's proof by annotating)
What about "Bubba 'n' Stix"? Dictionary.com suggests: Bourbonists (those who adherence to the ideas and system of government practiced by the Bourbons)
Lucas Sullivan is the former US Managing Editor of 12DOVE. Lucas spent seven years working for GR, starting as an Associate Editor in 2012 before climbing the ranks. He left us in 2019 to pursue a career path on the other side of the fence, joining 2K Games as a Global Content Manager. Lucas doesn't get to write about games like Borderlands and Mafia anymore, but he does get to help make and market them.
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