Generate the answer for a given question. The question requires common knowledge of English. Make sure that the answer is in detail, long, consistent with the context, and requires general knowledge of English. To be less repetitive, please vary your language for each question. Give a proper explanation to answer, and if necessary, provide the definition of various terms. And conclude your answer if it's long. If you have used other resources (e.g., Merriam Webster's.) to answer the question, include citations in your answer. You don't need to paraphrase the context of your resources, but make sure that your answer is consistent and complete.
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Question: Perhaps you say a bad joke or you make a really awkward noise, and everybody suddenly stares at you?.

Answer: This would be an awkward silence. An awkward silence is an uncomfortable pause in a conversation or presentation. The unpleasant nature of such silences is associated with feelings of anxiety as the participants feel pressure to speak but are unsure of what to say next.


Question: Once when I was having a hard time a guy said to me, 'I'm sorry you're having a hard time, I'll pray for you,' in a way that made it clear that he was glad I was having a hard time because it gave him the opportunity to pray for me and feel good about himself. I am interested in this phenomenon but also the much more general (probably universal) phenomenon of human beings finding justification for things they want to do, often by lying to themselves about the utility of the behavior to other people. The best single word I can think of for this is contrived, but it is not close to precise. Similarly, dissembling, insincere, and so on don't really cut it. I also looked at this list of cognitive biases but was unable to find one that expressed this idea. Is there a single word for this? If not, a short phrase?.

Answer: I am not sure if you are stuck to the notion of altruism, but in the context of making a show of being nice to others to make themselves feel good, you could use sanctimonious. Sanctimonious is a twist on the words sanctity and sacred, which mean holy or religious. A sanctimonious person might think he's holy, but their attitude comes across more like 'holier-than-thou.' Though sanctimonious people might try to act like saints, their actions are far from pure or holy, which just makes them sound like hypocrites. Vocabulary.com


Question: When should whilst be used instead of while? For example, should I use the first or the second sentence? They don't do this whilst they do that. They don't do this while they do that. Which would be correct?.

Answer:
I believe while and whilst are interchangeable, but whilst is more archaic and adds a nice flavoring to the sentence. That being said, 'whilst' doesn't seem to come up so often in the middle of a sentence as you had it there, so I would use 'while' in that case, even though both are grammatically correct. Whilst seems more apt to be put at the beginnings of sentences, e.g. Whilst going about my merry way I chanced upon a vagabond. Taking this serendipitous opportunity to satiate my bloodlust I decapitated him with a fork.