Annoyingly misused words?

[interspark]

Most common one I hate is the use of the word 'Random' , which is actually due to my parents choice, my middle name. Another one is 'fit' to describe someones attractiveness...never got it, I was pretty sure that fitness is about Physical capabilities and endurance no?

well i'd have to disagree with you there. "fit" is a generally spoken word to refer to a person's attractiveness, i don't know if it's official or not (you could probably find it in modern dictionaries) but it IS a real word in that context aswell as refering to physical health.

although arguably the two meanings could have drifted apart from one original meaning, "fit" could have been used to refer to someone who is attractive due to physical health, and then the saying took a life of its own? but im not the best at language history so i can only guess

 

[slopeslider]

The word rape.

Rape is a serious sexual assault and can have people go into shock.
at the young age of 16 my friends use the word "rape" in sentences
like, "oh i raped some noob in cod last night"
It's just vile and unecessary

The word kill.

Murder is an even more serious assault and can have bystanders go into shock.
At the young age of 11 my sisters use the word kill in sentences
like, "Oh, I'm going to kill her!"
it's just vile and unnecessary.

 

[ZeLunarian]

I'm a word hippy, I can accept perfectly the use (or abuse) of things like epic for awesomeness; gay for underwhelming..ness; and whatever else is thrown at me.

cnt stnd dat txt tlk lk. Wiv der dises n dases n h8n vowels etc

But in the end, purpose of language is solely for communication. If it does that then I wont complain... to your face

 

[TheDudeMan14]

the word "gay" as an insult. it insults gays, linguists, the speaker's intelligence but not the actual person being insulted

I consider that slang, not a misuse of the word. It's the same as someone in the 70's calling something "groovy" a term used to express their opinion on something. "gay" is modern slang.

Edit: How does it insult gays?

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Slightly related- "I could care less" works. However, it requires the right tone of voice, and certaintly doesn't come across well typed, much like sarcasm.

I mostly dislike people dismissing words as "Americanisms", when in fact, it's a English word, but the English dumped it. For example, Shakespeare used the word 'trash'.

 

[slopeslider]

the word "gay" as an insult. it insults gays, linguists, the speaker's intelligence but not the actual person being insulted

See I don't know about that one. I have 3 gay friends 2 are female and the other male, and all three still use it as an insult. I can't speak for them as a whole, but they really don't seem to get too bent out of shape about the use of it through my experiences.

well my sister and most of her friends are gay, and i can guarantee that if i used gay as an insult around her she would immediately divorce me. (and the other way round come to think of it)

1. How would your sister divorce you?
2. Would you care if someone said after losing 3 matches of halo in a row that te other team is 'totally heterosexual!'?

 

[interspark]

Winningest.

now tell me you're not dying a little inside!

Nuts to that i'm using it. XD

i said "tell me you're not dying a little inside"!!! not "please say something that will make me want to kill you"!!!

 

[MikailCaboose]

Irregardless.
The word is useless, the shorter version means exactly the same thing, it's used by people who try and sound smarter.

Irregardless is an annoying double negative all in one neat package. I think you deserve a triple word score!

That's still better than "irredisregardless"...
I've seen this before, and it bothers me even worse than "irregardless".
Worse yet, it's not a true word. At least "irregardless" is a word.

 

[Actual]

The Word Inconceivable
It does not mean what you think it means

I'm opposed, I love that word, and I love you for bringing it up.

the word "gay" as an insult. it insults gays, linguists, the speaker's intelligence but not the actual person being insulted

See I don't know about that one. I have 3 gay friends 2 are female and the other male, and all three still use it as an insult. I can't speak for them as a whole, but they really don't seem to get too bent out of shape about the use of it through my experiences.

Hehe "bent", I see what you did there!

 

[ESCAPIST DELETE THIS ACCOUNT]

Wanker - its not even an insult

 

[Gardenia]

The Word Inconceivable
It does not mean what you think it means

Unable to be conceived, unbelievable?
Here's one for the Norwegians: Særskriving. The splitting up of words that should be written as one.
(Oh, it was supoopsed to be about specific words, not grammatical errors? Meh, then I guess I'll hop on the "random"-bandwagon like everyone else.

 

[Tomster595]

Gay, Gamer, Communist, Ironic, Epic... Oh, I could list these all day.

 

[VGStrife]

Saw this yesterday, seems relevant as it voices my opinions on speech.

 

[fgdfgdgd]

Language is supposed to played with, the little flourishes people add to their own spocken word doesn't do any harm.
Do you think anyone gives two shits that I constantly miss use the word Groovy?

No, but your use of 'spoken' kind of stuck out.

 

[Ashcrexl]

dc comics has always annoyed me. doesn't that stand for detective comics comics?

 

[randomsix]

Decimate. It means to destroy one in ten! Hence the root deci!

 

[Dorian6]

Decimate
Made up definition: To completely destroy
Real definition: To reduce by one tenth.

Irregardless
Made up definition: regardless
Real definition: Nothing, It's not a word!

Socialism
Made up definition: Communism, or Totalitarianism
Real definition: Any economic system in which the Government has some level of control over business policies (ex: minimum wage, caps on pollution)

Fascism
Made up definition: Anything my political opponent wants to do.
Real Definition: A radical and authoritarian nationalist political ideology that advocates the creation of a single-party state. Fascists reject and resist the autonomy of cultural or ethnic groups who are not considered part of the fascists' nation and who refuse to assimilate or are unable to be assimilated. They consider attempts to create such autonomy as an affront and a threat to the nation. Fascist governments forbid and suppress opposition to the fascist state and the fascist movement. They identify violence and war as actions that create national regeneration, spirit and vitality.


Irony
Made up definition: Any kind of amusing coincidence.
Real definition: 1. The use of words expressing something other than their literal intention. 2. The opposite of what you would normally expect

 

[Josh111888]

I know it's slang, but it still bugs me when people say yuri when they mean shoujo ai. For those of you who aren't familiar with these terms, shoujo ai is a term used to describe a lesbian love story usually involving Japanese media. However, it's becoming more and more common for people to use yuri instead. Yuri is porn. Stop telling me about your porn habits.

 

[interspark]

1. How would your sister divorce you?
2. Would you care if someone said after losing 3 matches of halo in a row that the other team is 'totally heterosexual!'?

1. you can legally divorce family members if you feel you have no connection with them other than blood (she wouldnt really do that, i was exaggerating)
2. i'd think they were weird because no-one uses that as an insult, but if people did (use it as an insult that is) then yes, i'd feel the same way and think that they were stupid

 

[DiMono]

"(something) begs the question 'what do we do now?'"

Actually, it does the opposite. To "beg the question" is really a shortening of "beggar the question" which means to render a critical question meaningless with your initial assumptions. But because it's been shortened to "beg" which has a definition based around want rather than dismissal, it gets misused as to demand a question be asked.

"He punched him in the face, which begs the question 'why would he punch Bill Gates?'" = wrong

"He said 'I'm going to punch Bill Gates in the face,' which begs the question of whether it's a good idea to introduce them." = right