Kinda is not a word

I’ve used «kinda» as a word basically meaning «kind of» just run together. I wouldn’t use it formally, but I noticed that Microsoft Word’s spellchecker says that it isn’t a word. I searched some and it seems that I’m not the only one who uses it, but it doesn’t seem to be too popular.

So is it an actual word? How accepted is it?

answered Jun 19, 2015 at 10:01

Authorities at Oxford and Webster do not control or shape the English Language, they only define it. In reality, the collective mind of every English speaker shapes the language. And because some words have gained popularity in some groups and not others, the language has spread out into many dialects. If you’ve ever read Mark Twain, you might have found his works difficult to understand as he wrote in the dialect of the Mississipi region. Now imagine if all English speakers wrote in their own dialect. We would all have to make a great effort to understand each other. Authorities of the English language basically determine what words and grammatical structures the majority of English speakers can understand, so that every English speaker can read books and other published works without trouble. However, not everyone can understand their English. My mother teaches in an inner city school and many of her students struggle in grammar because phrases like «Y’all goin’ to the zoo» sound perfectly fine to them as they are grammatically correct in their dialect. So in short, «kinda» is a word, but not in the common dialect that English Authorities provide. When writing, I would consider to what audience the work is intended for. For example, if I were to write an article about the Packers and Bears rivalry, I would use it because people in the Midwestern United States commonly use it. However I would replace it with a word like «rather» or find stronger diction if writing a formal and proper essay to an English Teacher.

Символ показывает уровень знания интересующего вас языка и вашу подготовку. Выбирая ваш уровень знания языка, вы говорите пользователям как им нужно писать, чтобы вы могли их понять.

• Мне трудно понимать даже короткие ответы на данном языке.

• Могу задавать простые вопросы и понимаю простые ответы.

• Могу формулировать все виды общих вопросов. Понимаю ответы средней длины и сложности.

• Понимаю ответы любой длины и сложности.

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As you said, it means «kind of». It’s very informal and you won’t find it in dictionaries. In formal contexts, you can use «rather» with the same meaning, e.g.:

It was rather cold.

Note:

«kind of» is in the Merriam-Webster dictionary (see below). «Kinda»2 is listed as a «pronunciation spelling.»

Definition:

1: to a moderate degree

2: in a way that approximates : more
or less

Synonyms:

enough, kindly [chiefly Southern],
fairly, like, moderately, more or
less, pretty, quite, rather,
relatively, something, somewhat, sort
of

Correct answer by b.roth on July 5, 2021

The NOAD reports that kinda is an informal contraction of kind of; it was first used in the early 20th century, and it was originally an American English alternation.

Kind of is an informal phrase for rather.

Answered by apaderno on July 5, 2021

Wiktionary contains such words.

The entry for kinda (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kinda) includes:

kinda

1. (colloquial) kind of

   I kinda hafta do this right now.

   That’s kinda funny.

Answered by Peter Mortensen on July 5, 2021

The Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) has 1650 incidences of kinda:

TOTAL SPOKEN FICTION MAGAZINE NEWSPAPER ACADEMIC
1650  172    1023    244      169       42

It is used overwhelmingly in fiction, and the few examples in newspapers and academic texts are almost exclusively in quotations of spoken English.

So, as the other answers have said, kinda is a pretty informal word, not used in formal texts except in quotations. I personally would only use the word in very informal situations. Its 1650 incidences in COCA are comparable to other adverbs, such as besides (1720), tight (1642), and regardless (1607). As to whether or not it is an “actual” word, I think this is pretty clear evidence that it is. As for its acceptability, it is listed in some dictionaries, including Random House and Merriam-Webster.

Answered by nohat on July 5, 2021

Answered by rogermue on July 5, 2021

Answered by Matt Luettgen on July 5, 2021