Rules for hyphens in words and phrases

Question

What are general rules for when hyphens are used in words such as "bad-ass" or "well-deserved". Could someone explain what kinds of words/phrases those are?

Actually, most dictionaries list badass without a hyphen, and it has been spelled that way for a long time. — John Y, Jul 14 '21 at 13:55

score 0 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

0

They are hyphenated compound words or hyphenated phrasal verbs

Hyphens in compound words

Hyphens are used in many compound words to show that the component words have a combined meaning (e.g. a pick-me-up, mother-in-law, good-hearted) or that there is a relationship between the words that make up the compound: for example, rock-forming minerals are minerals that form rocks. But you don’t need to use them in every type of compound word.

edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

Community

1

answered Mar 20 '14 at 08:22

mplungjan

29,914

Is there a difference between what kind of compound words they are? – user69498 Mar 20 '14 at 08:24
Please see the link - it describes verbs, nouns, adjectives and phrasal verbs – mplungjan Mar 20 '14 at 08:24
Your link explains what I need to know. Thank you so much! – user69498 Mar 20 '14 at 08:30

score -2 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 20 '14 at 08:12

-2

when you can't finish a word in the same line, you put a - after the first part of the word and continue the rest of the word in next line

answered Mar 20 '14 at 08:12

sotondolphin

193

This is not what is asked - you are referring to hyphenation – mplungjan Mar 20 '14 at 08:21

Rules for hyphens in words and phrases

2 Answers2