Do You Use These Words Incorrectly too?
There are many words in the English vocabulary that have different meanings but are often used for different purposes in written/spoken form. While many of these words have transformed their meaning to an extent over time and are now somewhat acceptable in their wrong form, many are still totally wrong, but are still used!
Here, in this article, I bring to you a list of 11 such words that are being used incorrectly across the globe, even by native speakers many a time! Let’s go through the list of words people say wrong!
Check if you are using these words right!
11 Words from the English Vocabulary That You are Using Wrong – And their Correct Meanings:
1. Terrific
Intended meaning: Great, fantastic
Correct meaning: Of great size, horrific, something that inspires fear
While the word terrific means something of great size or something that inspires fear (like a giant monster), its use is often slewed. People use it when they want to refer to something as “fantastic”, which is nowhere near to the original meaning. “Terrific”, in its true sense, is a negative word but is commonly used to signify something great in a positive sense and the twisted meaning of the word is widely accepted too. Hence, “terrific” is 1st on the list of wrong words.
2. Literally
Intended meaning: Figuratively
Correct meaning: Actually
“Literally” is quite clearly one of the most abused words of the present times. While in actuality, “literally” means “actually”, people use it to lay extra stress on an emotion. Say, for example, if someone says “I haven’t met my friend in literally 2 years”, he means that he hasn’t actually met his friend for the said period, but when someone says “I haven’t played golf in literally a thousand years”, he means he hasn’t played golf in a long time and is stressing on the fact that it has been a long time, indeed; this is a wrong usage of the word “literally”.
Also Read: The Importance of Oxford Comma
3. Plethora
Intended meaning: Lot of, enough of something, a complete range
Correct meaning: More than required, over-abundant
The meaning of “Plethora” is that there is more of something than what is required. But quite often, it is used to signify that there is enough of something or a complete range of options to look into. For example, we often say, “there is a plethora of TVs to choose from”. What we mean from this statement is that there are enough TVs to choose from, or there is a complete range of TVs that you can consider and choose from. But the statement just means that there are more TVs than actually required.
A “lot of books” is when you have a bookshelf with a capacity of 50 and there are 40 books, a “plethora” is when you stack 60 books on the same shelf, making it over-crowded.
4. Bemused
Intended meaning: Amused
Correct meaning: Puzzled, bewildered, confused
First, what does the word “amuse” mean? Amuse means to entertain someone, to make them smile or laugh, to make them happy. If you are amused by something, you want to laugh or smile. “Bemused” is nowhere near the meaning of “amused”. Even though it looks very similar to “amused”, the word “bemused” has nothing to do with being amused at all! “Bemused”, in fact, means being puzzled or confused, which is in a negative sense; quite on the other side of being “amused”.
Note: What does the word “Bewildered” mean in English?
Ans – Bewildered means puzzled, confused and indecisive.
Also Read: Differences Between American and British English
5. Irony
Intended meaning: Funny, unfortunate
Correct meaning: Opposite of what is expected
The word “irony” is my personal favorite on this list of incorrectly used words in the English dictionary! We often see the usage of this word regularly and most of the time, people who use the word are referring to a funny incident. But not always is an instance of irony a display of a sense of humor. In reality, “irony” is an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing, sometimes funny, and sometimes unfortunate. A marriage counselor filing for divorce is ironic, a teacher failing a test is ironic, stranded on an island with seawater all around, but no water to drink, that may also count as irony!
6. Redundant
Intended meaning: Repetitive, recursive
Correct meaning: Unnecessary, no longer useful
While people often mean “recursive” or “repetitive” when they refer to something as “redundant”, the word actually means the thing is just not useful anymore, or omitting it won’t have any negative effect. I believe the “re” at the start gives the wrong impression to make people believe it occurs again and again.
7. Dilemma
Intended meaning: A problem, a situation that requires choosing from equally viable alternatives
Correct meaning: A situation that requires to choose between two equally undesirable options
People often say things like, “I am in a dilemma whether to send my daughter to a play school or have her schooled at home”, or “Both the refrigerators are great, I’m in a dilemma about which one to buy”, and other things on similar lines. What people generally mean is that they are in a fix and can’t decide on the available options, while the real meaning of “dilemma” is to be in such a problem that both the options available are equally bad.
Also Read: Taking Your Business Global with Localization and Translation
8. Infamous
Intended meaning: Very famous
Correct meaning: Famous for negative reason(s)
Often incorrectly used to denote how famous a person or thing is, the word “infamous” means someone or something having an extremely bad reputation. For instance, soldiers are famous for their service and dedication to their nations, but killers are infamous for the murders they commit.
Abraham Lincoln is famous for abolishing slavery, while Adolf Hitler is infamous for his atrocities against the Jews.
9. Disinterested
Intended meaning: Bored, not interested
Correct meaning: Neutral, unbiased, impartial
The meaning of “Disinterested” in English is a very confusing issue. Sometimes used to denote “not interested”, or “bored”, “disinterested” actually means unbiased, or impartial. So in a match between two football teams, the referee has to stay “disinterested” so that he/she doesn’t give biased decisions, without being uninterested in the game.
10. Chronic
Intended meaning: Severe
Correct meaning: Persisting for a long time
Used quite often in the medical field, “chronic” simply means a disease or pain that has been in existence for a long time, quite often something that doesn’t go away with time; it may or may not be severe. But in practice, the word is often used to signify something severe. Mild pain in the knee joints may be chronic because it’s been there for many years, but not severe. Often, “severe” creates a sense of extra negativity in terms of seriousness.
11. Ultimate
Intended meaning: The best
Correct meaning: The last one
While we use “ultimate” as a medal of honor for something or someone of the highest class, the correct meaning, unfortunately, is that the thing or person is the last on the list. So, if we say, “he is the ultimate dancer in the group”, what we intend to say is that he is the best dancer in the group, but the literal meaning is that he is the last dancer (and it has nothing to do with how well or bad he dances).
This word “ultimate” is the last item on the list of these words, and hence, is the ultimate word of the list!