Wordz

DebG's post about 'food poisoning' got my tiny brain a-thinkin'.

I notice a lot of people - both on here and in 'real life' - will use certain words incorrectly but in a commonly wrong way. When asked about it - most people will just say that they are using the common colloquial usage. Some get pretty defensive about it.

What do you think about using words in a way that is outside the actual definition? Like saying electrocuted - when the person was actually shocked? Do you think it is watering down and bastardizing our language? Or do you believe that it adds more layers, context and facets to the language?

Message edited 7/16/2007 7:24:53 AM.

Re: Wordz

I think it's laziness. The word that bothers me is "nauseous", as in "After watching that movie, I felt nauseous". It's common vernacular now, so the meaning is beginning to change, but the word is supposed to be "nauseated". Nauseous means to cause nausea, so if you feel nauseous, it means you are making other people feel sick.

Just because you don't know the meaning of a word, it doesn't mean we should try to figure out what you are trying to say.