What word do you wish people used with more care and precision?

[rajillustration]

cringe.

[DokiDokiTsuna]

Pretty much everything related to psychology. It's not enough that there's stigma around mental illness already; people who aren't even affected by it have to take the vocabulary it relies on and twist it and wring it out until it doesn't mean anything anymore.

"Mental breakdown" doesn't just mean "I feel very tired and upset". "Psychopath" doesn't just mean "mean person". "Abuse" doesn't just mean "something someone did to me that I didn't like". And of course, "gaslighting" does not simply mean "lying".

The list goes on and on, and there's a new phrase to run into the ground practically every year...it's just a little tiring. =/

[NickRowler]

Trigger/Triggered. I don't like how it has been turned into a joke because it is a medical term. I am glad the meme has died down. I think it gives more room for people to talk about their mental or health issues, because that is what the term was originally used for.

[Ordinaryaverageguy]

"Decimated" - It doesn't mean "almost completely destroyed" it means 10% destroyed. The clue is in the freaking name!

But words change meaning over time & 'decimated' is one that has changed a few times over time. The clue points to one of the most antiquated uses. To stick rigidly to old meanings of words as "the only right use" would put one in opposition to nearly all slang words.

[Ordinaryaverageguy]

If we're allowed to bring in phrases, I'd like to nominate "could care less". The correct phrase is "couldn't care less", of course, because the sentiment is that one hasn't even the slightest interest or concern about something.

How about, "pure as the wind-driven snow"? New fallen snow can be rather pure but when the wind drives it over the landscape, as one of my characters said, "Wind driven snow isn’t pure, it gets all mixed up with dirt and leaf bits and dead grass and dog poop and gosh knows what all else." Some people use "pure as the wind-driven snow" sarcastically but it's become common to hear it used synonymously with "pure as new-fallen snow".

[AnonymousHouseCat]

So as @Ordinaryaverageguy pointed out, this probably fits into the category of something that's meaning changed over time, but "apocalypse" technically doesn't mean "end of the world." If you say "apocalypse." everyone will understand what you mean, so it's fine to use it that way in everyday conversation. But, in a theological/biblical sense, apocalypse just means divine revelation. I think what happened is that people mostly think of the apocalypse of John (another name for Revelation), which talks about the end of the world. The correct term for end of the world is "eschaton."

[Ordinaryaverageguy]

Can I toss in another item, one that you all have no doubt seen over & over?
"should of"
As in, "I should of told you sooner."
The correct wording is, of course, "should've" - a contraction of "should have".

[TheLemmaLlama]

'Entitled'.

Wanting things is not entitled. Asking for things isn't entitled. Even if the thing is something outrageous.

Only when you won't take 'no' for an answer, ONLY THEN are you being entitled.

[Legendofgenii]

Sorry.

[oshirockingham]

you're your their they're

[fleurravenbooks]

Wanting things is not entitled

i saw tiktok video (can't remember who the creator was since i only watch sometimes so i don't have acc ) where mom showed how she welcomes her daughter ( little kid around maybe 7) when she comes home from school, mom would wait at the door and hug HER CHILD, some comments said that child is entitled and that she will grow up spoiled ,etc.... How is parent hugging their own child spoiling them?

[TheLemmaLlama]

Wow, that's so damn sad. I hope she doesn't see that comment and grow up to be afraid to express any desires for affection or other things ...

(edit because I feel like I'm clogging up the thread lmao: @Kann I feel like people who were made to feel entitled in their childhood would be more likely to not want to not make others to feel that way. It's the people who feel inconvenienced by those in their lives wanting things that are trigger-happy with entitlement accusations imo)

[DiegoPalacios]

i pity the commenter's children.......

[Kann]

How dare those parents show their kids they love them, am I right? xD

Seriously, though. If kid being hugged by their parents is entitled according to some people, then I can't help but feel a little sorry for such people. How did their childhood look like to make them think being hugged is entitlement?

[Lensing]

persecution / oppression

I read this a lot and I also read some really disrespectful holocaust comparisons
in the last 2 years

[melissatowner]

"Sorry". A lot of people don't really mean it while apologizing.

[DiegoPalacios]

this.....so much.......those cheap comparisons only trivialize the holocaust

[surenlicious]

Cancel culture. It sickens me how especially non-black people have twisted that shit around to something it's entirely not.

[ar-ninetysix]

...what?

Non-black people?? Twisted meaning??? I wasn't aware that this phrase had its roots in black culture And that's been one of my favorite phrases I've been using this year.. like "ahhh twitter's gonna cancel you" or whatever.

So, what did it originally mean then?

[Breezy]

I know someone already talked about mental health, but I would just like to generalize this to overuse and misuse of all neurological diseases. Words like "OCD", "autistic", "Alzheimer's", "migraine", "psychopath", "Tourette's", and other terms are often used to describe individuals who do not have those conditions.

Misdiagnosis is, unfortunately, a common occurrence even in real life. Physicians who have spent eight years of their lives in school, working 80+ hours a week to learn how to diagnose neurological disorders are subject to misdiagnosis. Unfortunately, misdiagnosis and misinformation has perpetuated stigmas surrounding these disorders and caused real harm to real people who have them. If we, as authors, allow our media to be filled with even more misrepresentation, we are perpetuating those harmful stereotypes.

OCD doesn't mean someone who is clean.
Autistic doesn't mean someone who is socially awkward.
Alzheimer's doesn't mean any elderly person with memory impairment.
Tourette's doesn't mean someone who curses a lot.
Psychopath doesn't mean a mass murderer.
And, most close to my heart because of my career choices, migraine doesn't mean a bad headache.

Thanks for reading my rant.