How can I ask Google search to use only the exact words (not entire phrase) I typed and not to use spell check and similar words/synonyms?
Here is a string I entered into Google's search form:
Mayavi plot3D vary tube radius
Many of the results I got back do not have the word "vary" but have the word "very" instead in bold, indicating Google searched specifically for "very" in addition to "vary."
Google also found results that had "diameter" instead of "radius" in bold, which although seems to be well-meaning, is not actually helpful for me, as "radius" is the name of a Mayavi variable I am working with, not "diameter."
Can I stop Google search from reporting results found with words similar to but different than the words I searched with, and how?
Best Answer
Here are two articles about changes Google has made to search which affect required terms. First Google started silently ignoring some of the search terms included in multiple term searches (making all search terms required by default was one of the reasons I originally liked Google better than Yahoo). Then more recently they stopped supporting the "+" to force term inclusion, apparently because they want to use that in searches involving Google+.
Google Just Made Bing the Best Search Engine
Google Kills Its Other Plus, and How to Bring It Back
In years past, I could have searched for things like the following and only gotten pages that had all these terms:
I would only double-quote exact phrases I wanted matched, such as "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"
When I noticed the first change above several months ago, I started using the + operator, which had been previously redundant:
Now it appears we have to separately double-quote each term we require which is a pain: