Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To fish for by trailing a baited line from behind a slowly moving boat.
- intransitive verb To fish in by trailing a baited line.
- intransitive verb To trail (a baited line) in fishing.
- intransitive verb To move around in (an area) or go to (different places) searching for something.
- intransitive verb To examine or search through.
- intransitive verb To sing in succession the parts of (a round, for example).
- intransitive verb To sing heartily.
- intransitive verb To post inflammatory or irrelevant material on (an electronic forum) to provoke responses.
- intransitive verb To fish by trailing a line, as from a moving boat.
- intransitive verb To stroll along or wander.
- intransitive verb To move around in an area or go to different places searching for something.
- intransitive verb To examine or search through something.
- intransitive verb Music To sing heartily or gaily.
- noun The act of trolling for fish.
- noun A lure, such as a spoon or spinner, that is used for trolling.
- noun Music A vocal composition in successive parts; a round.
- noun A person who posts inflammatory or otherwise unwanted material on an electronic forum, especially anonymously.
- noun The material so posted.
- noun A supernatural creature of Scandinavian folklore, variously portrayed as a friendly or mischievous dwarf or as a giant, that lives in caves, in the hills, or under bridges.
- noun Derogatory A person, especially an older gay man, considered to be unpleasant or ugly.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A going or moving round; roll; routine; repetition.
- noun A song the parts of which are sung in succession; a round.
- noun A reel on a fishing-rod.
- noun Same as
trolley , 1. - noun An artificial lure used in trolling.
- noun Any long unshapely thing that trails on the ground; any long thing.
- noun In Northern myth., a supernatural being, in old Icelandic literature represented as a kind of giant, but in modern Scandinavia regarded as of diminutive size and inhabiting a fine dwelling in the interior of some hill or mound, answering in some respects to the brownie of Scotland.
- To roll; turn round.
- To circulate; pass or send round, as a vessel of liquor at table.
- To sing in the manner of a catch or round; also, to sing in a full, jovial voice.
- To angle or fish for; especially, to angle for in a particular manner. See
trolling . - To allure; entice; draw on.
- To angle or fish in.
- To roll; roll in.
- To go round; pass; circulate: sometimes with an indefinite it.
- To stroll; ramble.
- To wag; move glibly.
- To take part in a catch or round; sing catches or rounds.
- To angle or fish in a particular manner. See
trolling .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Scand. Myth.) A supernatural being, often represented as of diminutive size, but sometimes as a giant, and fabled to inhabit caves, hills, and like places; a witch.
- noun (Bot.) Same as
Globeflower (a). - noun The act of moving round; routine; repetition.
- noun A song the parts of which are sung in succession; a catch; a round.
- noun A trolley.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word troll.
Examples
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Nocturne: Better yet did someone explain not all replies (and insults) were aimed at her Michael Chandra: Oh and did someone explain the term troll?
GamePolitics News 2008
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Nocturne: Better yet did someone explain not all replies (and insults) were aimed at her Michael Chandra: Oh and did someone explain the term troll?
GamePolitics News 2008
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I mean, other than changing their mind from “this troll is dumb” to “this troll is a total imbecile,” of course.
Think Progress » Scott Brown Yawns At Plane Attack On IRS Building: ‘No One Likes Paying Taxes’ 2010
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What makes a troll a troll is the constant demands for attention, and the willingness to argue in bad faith to get it.
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The true troll has no such fantasy position, no high-rise hidey-hole of mock objectivity to snipe from; the troll is a grunt on the ground, running this way and that, chucking whatever wank grenade happens to be handy, through whatever doorway happens to be ajar.
Archive 2009-06-01 Hal Duncan 2009
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P.D. says: biz@58, I guess the troll is a Robertson fan?
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Seems Ginger or another troll is annoyed, and has her/his finger on the down button ….
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What makes him a troll is his unwillingness to argue honestly and his constant need to provoke, but I do think he really believes his own nonsense.
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Wow, the troll is actually targeting Breast Cancer and Earth Day?
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P.D. says: biz@58, I guess the troll is a Robertson fan?
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For instance, sometimes it is difficult to tell a bot from a troll, which is an antagonistic human just spoiling for a fight, or a cyborg, which is a human-run account that intermittently deploys a bot.
Who’s a Bot? Who’s Not? By 2020
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A local term for those hailing from south of the bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac, which separates the Upper Peninsula from the rest of the state, is “trolls.”
Notable Sandwiches #53: Cudighi Talia Lavin 2023
uselessness commented on the word troll
Someone who finds pleasure in starting flame wars on the internet. Sort of a sadistic devil's advocate.
October 17, 2007
sionnach commented on the word troll
I think this does an injustice to devil's advocates, many of whom have honorable motives.
October 17, 2007
uselessness commented on the word troll
Right, hence the modifier sadistic. I enjoy being a devil's advocate myself quite often, as it plays a valuable role in the Socratic method (a way I frequently converse with people). I assure you, my motives are always pure. :-P Trolls, however, are just rabblerousers and have no motives beyond their own epicaricous entertainment.
October 18, 2007
Prolagus commented on the word troll
I'm so happy we don't have trolls in Wordie. But just in case anyone of us happened to see one of them,
DON'T FEED TROLLS.
If we don't like a discussion, let's just ignore it.
(Personally, I won't open two of the pages anymore - unless the first line of the comment contains the word uranus.)
April 21, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word troll
Pro, at the risk of flagrantly denying your eminently useful suggestion, and although your proposal is almost exactly one that I try to follow myself... Sometimes the answer isn't silence, but more speech.
A troll is just a troll, and probably won't stay long or come back. But there's not really a way to tell if a new user is a troll or just trying to figure stuff out. In the case of new users, those who hang out on this site owe it to them to try to be reasonable and explain our (sometimes bizarre) reactions.
In the case of actual trolls, ignoring them does work. But so does merciless teasing (and if nothing else, it entertains those of us indulging in it).
But in the case of hateful speech or flagrantly offensive speech... the answer is not censorship, nor is it letting the comment lie on the site like a time-bomb ready to destroy a casual user's day--it's talking them to death.
But I love your comment, and I love that you chose this page to post it on. :)
April 21, 2008
sionnach commented on the word troll
Uranus.
Pro: You realize that you have more or less invited everyone to open all future comments with the U-word, don't you?
April 21, 2008
sionnach commented on the word troll
Uranus.
I've been eyeballing the google ads this morning and have come to the conclusion that the often highly nonlinear thinking of many Wordie users and the resulting eclectic page content may be posing a bit of a challenge for google.
I like that. On the other hand, it may be that we are just providing the beast with advanced training, thereby accelerating the move toward world domination.
April 21, 2008
vanishedone commented on the word troll
I hope John is being paid handsomely for the advanced training.
April 22, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word troll
March 3, 2010
timonti commented on the word troll
Just to add about the usage of the word.
I quote this from http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/66970
If you have ever participated in an open Internet discussion group, particularly one that deals with contentious issues, you are probably familiar with the concept of a "troll." A troll is someone who is not really interested in the discussion at hand, but instead enjoys making outrageous or inflammatory remarks just to upset the other participants.
October 7, 2010
ruzuzu commented on the word troll
Anyone from the Lower Peninsula of Michigan (because they live below the bridge).
October 19, 2010
Prolagus commented on the word troll
Sigh
December 5, 2010
ruzuzu commented on the word troll
...nigh.
December 5, 2010
Prolagus commented on the word troll
what a night.
December 5, 2010
dailyword commented on the word troll
People on fanfiction.net rants sometimes accuse other people of being this.
June 9, 2012