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should
[ shood ]
auxiliary verb
- must; ought (used to indicate duty, propriety, or expediency):
You should not do that.
All of this is irresponsible alarmism and should be dismissed as such.
- (used to express an expectation):
They should arrive around dinner time.
The paper you need should be in the drawer.
- (used to express a correction):
In your first sentence, that semicolon should be a comma.
- (used to express a potential future event or condition):
Were he to arrive, I should be pleased.
- would (used to make a statement less direct or blunt):
I should think you would apologize.
- simple past tense of shall.
noun
- a demand or requirement; something a person must or ought to do:
Placing too many shoulds or unrealistic expectations on yourself can contribute to stress.
It’s hard to find joy anymore with all these oughts and shoulds.
should
/ ʃʊd /
verb
- the past tense of shall : used as an auxiliary verb to indicate that an action is considered by the speaker to be obligatory ( you should go ) or to form the subjunctive mood with I or we ( I should like to see you; if I should be late, go without me ) See also shall
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Usage
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Confusables Note
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Word History and Origins
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Word History and Origins
Origin of should1
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Idioms and Phrases
In addition to the idiom beginning with should , also see (should) get one's head examined .Discover More
Synonym Study
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Example Sentences
Apparently, Shakespeare coined 1,700 words, from the frequently used (excitement) to the should-be-more frequently used (spewed).
I never had to go through the should-I-stay-at-home conversation.
Most thought-provoking for me, however, in this should-have-been story is the moral at the end.
The problem is that Scott is unpopular—awkward, should-we-be-seen-with-him-in-public unpopular.
Less obvious: To what degree can/should advanced countries act unilaterally without waiting for a grand global bargain?
They have a model of the man-as-he-should-be to which they mold him, in spite of himself and without his knowledge.
The type of the man-as-he-should-be varies by fashion, and this type exerts a great selection in the education of the young.
In mediæval society there were strongly defined ideals of the man-as-he-should-be.
Is the ideal of the man-as-he-should-be to be found, for us, in the "common man," or in the highest product of our culture?
But do you not see that though the King should-300- favour us, yet Amneris's rage would be beyond all bounds?
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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