Explore glossary
Useful patterns, changing names and workplace language from the Singapore Government glossary, plus curated writing guidance.
Change trails
Former, current and emerging names.
Coming into use
- HESL
Higher Education Student Loan
- Status
- Upcoming
- As of
- 23 Jul 2026
- Effective
- 29 Jul 2026
- StudentLoanSG
Higher Education Student Loan portal
- Status
- Upcoming
- As of
- 23 Jul 2026
- Effective
- 29 Jul 2026
Name changes
-
Successor
Microsoft Entra ID
48 name changes· 12 emerging names
View allBuilt from within
Letters drawn from inside words.
- SAFMPCOMD Singapore Armed Forces Military Police Command
- TREASURES Towards Resource Efficiency and Sustainability for Urban Environments
- FJCOURTS Judiciary, Family Justice Courts
Lookalikes
Similar letters, different meanings.
- Compare carefully
- Compare carefully
- Compare carefully
Often confused
Similar words, different jobs.
- Comprise / Compose / Include / Contain / ConstituteA whole comprises or contains its parts; parts compose or constitute a whole. Include introduces members or examples. Write “comprises”, not “comprises of”.Compare
- Criterion / CriteriaCriterion is singular; criteria is plural. Pair “one” or “a” with criterion, and use a plural verb with criteria.Compare
- Fewer / LessUse fewer for countable items and less for amounts. Established expressions involving time, money, distance and measurements often use less.Compare
Most meanings
One short form, many uses.
Most domains
Used across different fields.
- PC6 meaningsCross-government · Digital and Technology · Finance and Economy · General · Law and Justice5 domains
- DC5 meaningsDigital and Technology · Finance and Economy · General · Housing and Built Environment · Transport5 domains
- PG6 meaningsEducation · General · Home Affairs · Law and Justice4 domains
Longest
The most letters and digits.
- IOC-WESTPACSub-commission for the Western Pacific of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission10letters or digits
- SAFMPCOMDSingapore Armed Forces Military Police Command9letters or digits
- TREASURESTowards Resource Efficiency and Sustainability for Urban Environments9letters or digits
Workplace language
Phrases officers use at work.
- SubmissionAn official written paper put up for a superior or forum to note, discuss, clear, endorse, approve or decide.
- ClearanceA review confirming that material is suitable to move forward; clearance does not always constitute final authority to implement.
- Take offlineTo move a detailed, unresolved or tangential discussion to a separate conversation so the current meeting can proceed.
Acronym families
Committees, schemes, systems and more.
- ProgrammesADIPADWPALPAMAP99 entries
- CentresAACAFICAFRCAIC83 entries
- SchemesAISAOPBCRSCEAS79 entries
Agency fingerprints
Terminology attributed to agencies.
- Public Service DivisionCross-government · Digital and Technology · Finance and Economy80 entries
- Ministry of FinanceCross-government · Finance and Economy45 entries
- GovTech/OGP/agency product teamsDigital and Technology37 entries
How Explore works. Most lenses are derived from published glossary entries; Often confused is separately curated and source checked. Uncertain glossary entries are excluded from rankings and generated groupings. Agency views include only entries with explicit attribution; family views group recurring final words in abbreviation expansions.