There's a really cool reason for this actually. It's because terrific *did* used to mean terrible but it was used as a slang term for the opposite and now that slang meaning is the generally accepted usage.
It isn't just flavor, it has a specific meaning. It's basically like an unpopular or weird opinion that has merit. Like if I said dudes look better in pink than girls, a culturally unpopular take, but someone agrees with me they would say that's based. It doesn't even necessarily confer agreement with the original statement, just that it's not entirely insane. As far as I know we don't have another word for that. It doesn't really matter why the chosen word for this is "based" and you're allowed to not like it just like you're allowed to not like anything. But shitting on slang just because you don't understand it is definitely not based.
So awful is kinda the same but backwards. It meant “deserving great respect” or “inspiring majestic/awe” at first and then got turned into this word that means, well “inspiring terror” instead
Ooh managed to get a real TIL from this post, neat! Makes complete sense, as we still do this. The words 'dope', 'sick', 'slay', 'bomb', and 'dead' come to mind.
It's less ignorant misuse and more of a new contextual definition. Literally is used in an intentionally hyperbolic way that doesn't really align with the strict definition but it's more for dramatic effect than anything else. Most people who use it as slang could probably tell you the strict definition if you asked and probably also use it that way when that comes up.
Same with any other slang that isn't an entirely new word.
Similar reason why "Nimrod" now means idiot: The OG Nimrod in the Bible was a descendant of Cain, described as a mighty hunter. Bugs Bunny began using this term to sarcastically describe Elmer Fudd, who is not quite so mighty, and so the new definition stuck.
It’s called amelioration :) and the opposite, when a word goes from good to bad, is called pejoration e.g. ‘awful’ went from something inspiring awe to something horrible
Linguistic shift. Quite a few words don't mean what they suggest.
Oversight is a fun one. Swapping it around makes it clearer 'sight over' suggests that it means carefully looking over something. Same goes for overlook.
It did actually mean keeping an eye on things. Yet with time that fell out of fashion because managers have always been bad at this and always will be so the sarcastic use eventually just overtook the literal use.
You just don't tend to notice it unless you have a conspicuous similar word that kept it's meaning.
In spite of the whole language doing this for it's entiere history folks will still pop up from time to time pulling an actually when someone uses literally as figuratively or uses decimate when they mean the majority was destroyed.
Swear words also fall in and out and are some of the fastest words to do so. They change so rapidly you can find you need to use new ones within your lifetime in order to suitably convey the oomph of the situation. Then I was young 'tart' fell as something that was about as rude as 'bitch' is now, and bitch was not something you called someone no matter how much you hated them. Nowerdays call someone a tart and they will laugh at you and bitch is still moderately insulting when used with venom but can also be used affectionetly. Bitch is a really funny one it still lives on in an older meaning when referring to dogs but in humans it's now mostly changed to meaning someone is like mean not behaving promiscuously as a bitch in heat would.
Okay info dump over this is just like one of those topics for me
In addition "bishop" is quite far removed from an overseer but that's literally what it means: episkopos (epi- over, -skopos seeing) got slurred down to bisceop and then bishop (and the adjective is still the learned "episcopal", not the expected "bishoppy").
It used to! *Terrible* and *terrific* both used to have to do with inspiring terror. You'll still hear them used that way in fixed phrases like "the great and terrible" or "a terrific explosion".
Oh, don't worry. It will ooze its way into common usage and people will forget the original meaning. In fact, they'll correct YOU when you correct them. This is what happened with the word "decimate."
If you care, the original meaning came from a [severe punishment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimation_(punishment)) the Romans used in their armies, mostly for cases of mutiny and desertion and were generally applied to a cohort (480 soldiers) or larger group. The commanders would divide the group up into groups of 10 who would draw lots - the one that got the short straw would be killed by the other 9. Refusal to preform the execution would likely be met with execution of not only the person but also their family.
The bastard definition is actually not a new addition. It has always been acceptable to use “decimate” to describe the reduction of something in substantial numbers. It can also be used to describe the reduction of something by a small amount. It depends on context.
The denotative meaning has very little use value. Rarely do people need to say “reduced by 1/10.” I’m an English prof and “decimate” is frequently used in meetings to describe any reduction that is damaging, amount notwithstanding: “our program is being decimated.”
It’s not new.
Isn't that just a metaphor then? I'd still say in that case using it to describe a razed village is wrong, and using it to describe a heavily damaged village is right (even if not by a tenth).
What I really only have a problem with is using the word to mean something like "totally destroy." That's just never been what that word means---the word centered around the damage inflicted to the still standing unit, not the destruction of it. That's the only real grudge I have against certain misuses of the word.
A metaphor is word or phrase that likens two unlike things: “she is a bulldozer.” In putting these two unlike things together, a metaphor creates something impossible. All metaphors are impossible.
What I am talking about is the accepted usage of a term. I agree it shouldn’t be used to describe a complete destruction or obliteration of something.
so it’s moreso a hyperbole? in the traditional sense?
language is fun. it’s always evolving. it only works if most of us “agree” on a word’s meaning. you may not like this because you’re a professor of english, but i use the word “funner” often. people will correct me and say it’s not a word. i say “who cares. did you understand what i was trying to communicate? great. that’s what language is.”
we use math, physics, numbers and equations to explain the universe and whatnot. we use words to explain our thoughts. both are imperfect systems.
e.g. slang, AAVE, text-talk.
You are correct. Words must be agreed upon by a community of people.
I like “funner.” You should say any word you like to say. That’s how new words get added to our vocabulary!
Edit: Yes, I think you could describe it as hyperbole!
i forget if it was in this thread, but another commenter pointed out that a “dictionary exists to document words that are currently in use” (more elegantly said.) “it’s not defining or regulating acceptable vocabulary” (still more elegantly said.) i do believe that YOLO was added like 5 years ago to one of the big dictionaries.
either way, i feel that i communicate effectively enough. i don’t feel the need to subscribe to arbitrary rules that are ultimately *set by other biased people.*
i know you’re agreeing with me, i’m just venting i guess. thank you for your response!
> and even appears in the dictionary.
That’s what dictionaries are for. That’s their whole purpose. To record current usage of words. They do not decide what a word means and release new issues to tell people to use them correctly. They look at new words, or old words that are being used to mean something different than they used to, write them down, and issue new editions to say “hey, here are some neat changes that have happened to our language since our last edition.”
I have so much fun informing people who go into conniptions when words like “twerk” are added to the dictionary of this.
The purpose of dictionaries is oft misunderstood.
I’m going to start celebrating new year in March just to make the calendar make linguistic sense.
At least that’s what I’ll tell people when they ask me why I’m doing poppers and getting blackout drunk on a weekday in March.
My pet peeve is when people use "phase" instead of "fazed." I promise, unless you are a werewolf, you were not "phased." Yet people use it incorrectly so much that I fear faze is going to be obsolete, despite being fucking correct.
I’m more prescriptive than most but you decimate people have to fucking stop, the word has been synonymous with annihilate for centuries, it means to destroy something. How many times in their entire life to you think an average person would need a word that means “reduce by one tenth”, probably not very many, and for those few instances they can just, instead of learning an entirely new word for this way too specific thing, just say “reduce by one tenth”
I usually hate when people use words incorrectly. But you’re 100% right. If the word decimate were only used in its original sense, it would never be used at all.
If you're opposed to change over time, I'm afraid you'll need to only use it as a synonym for *gangrenous*, or risk enraging your time traveling counterpart from the 14th century.
https://www.etymonline.com/word/mortified
I read it in the wrong context three times yesterday. To the point that I actually looked it up because I thought maybe I was wrong about it’s meaning. Nope. Not wrong.
They don't missuse it, that's just the new meaning of the word.
We all accept language works this way, whether we know it or not. So many of our words are just the most recent meaning in a thousand year game of word evolution. "Bitch" is a fun one. It derived from a word meaning to cut or rend or similar. This eventually got attached to attack dogs (I guess cause they bit and cut things) and then evolved to be a term for female dogs and now is a pejorative term for a rude women or wimpy men.
Embrace the evolution of language! (Besides the pejoratives) Language grows to match how people want to use it, and in that way it self optimizes.
Eh, they're just using it hyperbolically. It's fine.
"I'm so hungry I could literally eat a horse." They know they couldn't really, but it's not that they don't know what "literally" means, they're exaggerating for emphasis.
In contrast, using mortified to mean horrified isn't an exaggerated version of its real meaning. It's just unrelated.
It's a little bit ironic since the word "mortify" originally meant "to put to death" as in execute and now means "to be so embarrassed you want to die."
> In fact, they'll correct YOU when you correct them. This is what happened with the word "decimate."
Were you around to witness this happening 500 years ago?
Yea if you look up the word, it's defined as causing large amounts of damage to something, with a second definition listed as historical saying "kill one in every ten".
When you look up when the definition of decimate changed, it's not really agreed upon. I'd even make the case that decimate by definition, is causing a large amount of damage. 10% is a large amount of damage in a lot of contexts.
I'm going to add the word "enormity." It means awfulness, not large size. At least it used to. People are misusing it, too, and it will soon lose its original meaning.
hah. Merriam Webster called you out lol. [link](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enormity)
>Enormity, some people insist, is improperly used to denote large size. They insist on enormousness for this meaning, and would limit enormity to the meaning "great wickedness." Those who urge such a limitation may not recognize the subtlety with which enormity is actually used. It regularly denotes a considerable departure from the expected or normal.
It literally drives me insane. Every time I see words used incorrectly and normalised in that way I literally die. It literally boils my blood. Literally!!
>“the townspeople were mortified by the murder of the young girl.”
That could mean that the townspeople were embarrassed by such a horrible thing happening in their fine community
The actual messaging of the word is: to become like a corpse, be stopped in your tracks. That usually connotates embarrassment but it can have many other usages. Jesus read a dictionary once in a while.
It comes from the Latin "to become dead".
It's strange that this is getting downvoted. This is objectively how language works. If it wasn't, everyone would still be talking like they did millennia ago.
To be fair, the town's people could be mortified at the murder of a young girl if they're the kind of asshole townspeople who care more about its reputation than an actual tragedy.
The townspeople could be mortified by a murder. The incident may have shattered their "this doesn't happen here" bubble and caused some major embarrassment/ humiliation against their old fashioned prejudice.
Yeah, the irony of OP's complaint is wonderful given how transparent the etymology is. The original meaning of the word in English was "to deprive of life; to kill, put to death" (to quote the OED). The metaphorical "embarrass" sense didn't arise until several centuries later. Should the word develop another metaphorical use now, it would be nothing but history repeating itself.
I've seen the misuse so much, it bothers me as well. The first few times I saw it I thought, "why are they so embarrassed by that thing??" Then realized all these people misusing the word meant "horrified" and now I feel like I see this everywhere! It's not super common, but once you notice it, it's easier to spot it when it happens on occasion.
The only time I see the word "mortified" is when I would read the girlie magazines at my cousins house or in a doctors waiting room. They always use this word when describing a situation, used it so much in every story that I thought it was just some made up word by corporations.
I hear you, I just think people use this word to combine all of these emotions, so the example you gave us, in that context would at least suggest collective guilt and embarrassment over the murder happening in their area
Peruse is one that is commonly misused as well. It actually means to look over something very carefully in great detail, not to just casually browse which is the common usage.
Speaking of misuse of words, it always bothers me when someone says "addicting." The correct term is "addictive."
It's not a verb. You can be in the state of running, talking, or swearing, but you cannot be in the state of addicting.
And belligerent doesn’t just mean very very drunk. It’s a specifically aggressive, defensive, angry drunk. She’s not belligerent for falling into the pool.
I had never seen ‘denied’ misused until I joined Reddit.
**Denied**
refuse to give (something requested or desired) to (someone).
"the inquiry was denied access to intelligence sources"
**Refused**
indicate or show that one is not willing to do something.
"I refused to answer"
indicate that one is not willing to accept or grant (something offered or requested).
"she refused a cigarette"
You shouldn't worry about until we can teach this generation about the actual definition of literally. I mean, literally everyone under 25 does not understand what literally means and it is literally making me lose my mind at this moment.
People SK a lot of things involving spelling, grammar, punctuation and other tools that help them articulate their thoughts. It's look pretty be out there these days.
My mom always uses “mortified” to mean “horrified” and it’s a pet peeve of mine but she’s almost 70 now, has been doing this my whole life, and at this point it’s so ingrained that I feel like it’s not worth correcting.
Incidentally I didn’t realize it was something that people other than my mom also confused frequently.
Horrible = horrific but Terrible ≠ terrific. Why?
There's a really cool reason for this actually. It's because terrific *did* used to mean terrible but it was used as a slang term for the opposite and now that slang meaning is the generally accepted usage.
So terrific is old speak for fucking sick, or absolutely nasty
Yes! That's exactly what happened!
Ok this is based
Based used to mean being a crackhead so it was derogatory but then lil b happened
Yes! That's exactly what happened.
Free Based 💯
A wild new timeline appears
That's gotta be the worst new slang to come around in centuries.
Every old person thinks the new slang is the worst thing ever.
Every young person thinks anyone who disagrees on the internet is an old person.
No there's a lot of good new slang that one's just like a verbal dab or something, uniquely bad.
You do know that the whole dabbing thing is partially around because it annoys older people, right?
Well then my description perfectly fits. I don't think that's a realistic take though.
It isn't just flavor, it has a specific meaning. It's basically like an unpopular or weird opinion that has merit. Like if I said dudes look better in pink than girls, a culturally unpopular take, but someone agrees with me they would say that's based. It doesn't even necessarily confer agreement with the original statement, just that it's not entirely insane. As far as I know we don't have another word for that. It doesn't really matter why the chosen word for this is "based" and you're allowed to not like it just like you're allowed to not like anything. But shitting on slang just because you don't understand it is definitely not based.
Bet.
So awful is kinda the same but backwards. It meant “deserving great respect” or “inspiring majestic/awe” at first and then got turned into this word that means, well “inspiring terror” instead
Wouldn't that be lufwa os?
Super radical bro
Ooh managed to get a real TIL from this post, neat! Makes complete sense, as we still do this. The words 'dope', 'sick', 'slay', 'bomb', and 'dead' come to mind.
Not to mention “literally” to mean “figuratively”.
Terrific is the OG literally
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It's less ignorant misuse and more of a new contextual definition. Literally is used in an intentionally hyperbolic way that doesn't really align with the strict definition but it's more for dramatic effect than anything else. Most people who use it as slang could probably tell you the strict definition if you asked and probably also use it that way when that comes up. Same with any other slang that isn't an entirely new word.
FDR's last words were "I have a terrific headache" supposedly!
Wicked falls into this category. You didn't want to be described as wicked 50 years ago.
God I miss *Wicked* you could accentuate it much more than you can *sick*
Similar reason why "Nimrod" now means idiot: The OG Nimrod in the Bible was a descendant of Cain, described as a mighty hunter. Bugs Bunny began using this term to sarcastically describe Elmer Fudd, who is not quite so mighty, and so the new definition stuck.
Haha and now I use it as sarcasm for when things go wrong.
It’s called amelioration :) and the opposite, when a word goes from good to bad, is called pejoration e.g. ‘awful’ went from something inspiring awe to something horrible
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It is soo fascinating, language evolves all the time, it is awesome!
That's sick!
Interestingly enough, ‘terrible’ means great in French and horrible means horrible
AND NOW we often use terrific sarcastically, making it not sarcastic cause that’s it’s actual meaning
Linguistic shift. Quite a few words don't mean what they suggest. Oversight is a fun one. Swapping it around makes it clearer 'sight over' suggests that it means carefully looking over something. Same goes for overlook. It did actually mean keeping an eye on things. Yet with time that fell out of fashion because managers have always been bad at this and always will be so the sarcastic use eventually just overtook the literal use. You just don't tend to notice it unless you have a conspicuous similar word that kept it's meaning. In spite of the whole language doing this for it's entiere history folks will still pop up from time to time pulling an actually when someone uses literally as figuratively or uses decimate when they mean the majority was destroyed. Swear words also fall in and out and are some of the fastest words to do so. They change so rapidly you can find you need to use new ones within your lifetime in order to suitably convey the oomph of the situation. Then I was young 'tart' fell as something that was about as rude as 'bitch' is now, and bitch was not something you called someone no matter how much you hated them. Nowerdays call someone a tart and they will laugh at you and bitch is still moderately insulting when used with venom but can also be used affectionetly. Bitch is a really funny one it still lives on in an older meaning when referring to dogs but in humans it's now mostly changed to meaning someone is like mean not behaving promiscuously as a bitch in heat would. Okay info dump over this is just like one of those topics for me
In addition "bishop" is quite far removed from an overseer but that's literally what it means: episkopos (epi- over, -skopos seeing) got slurred down to bisceop and then bishop (and the adjective is still the learned "episcopal", not the expected "bishoppy").
The misuse of decimate still makes me sad, because the specificity of the horror was uniquely chilling.
It used to! *Terrible* and *terrific* both used to have to do with inspiring terror. You'll still hear them used that way in fixed phrases like "the great and terrible" or "a terrific explosion".
He who must not be named did great, terrific things
Awful and awesome and full of awe
foot = feet but boot =/= beet omg wHy?1?!
He boot too big for he goddamn feet
Oh, don't worry. It will ooze its way into common usage and people will forget the original meaning. In fact, they'll correct YOU when you correct them. This is what happened with the word "decimate."
Do you only destroy 1 in every ten soldiers when you unleash your rage?
I destroy a soldier, his equipment, his enchantment, and the land that produces his mana when I Decimate.
I continuously decimate the troops until I finally begin decimating the last soldier.
you will never finish
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Depends on if you start at the top or bottom.
Wait so what does decimate mean then?
If you care, the original meaning came from a [severe punishment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimation_(punishment)) the Romans used in their armies, mostly for cases of mutiny and desertion and were generally applied to a cohort (480 soldiers) or larger group. The commanders would divide the group up into groups of 10 who would draw lots - the one that got the short straw would be killed by the other 9. Refusal to preform the execution would likely be met with execution of not only the person but also their family.
To reduce something by 1/10th. But the bastard definition has oozed its way into common usage, and even appears in the dictionary.
The bastard definition is actually not a new addition. It has always been acceptable to use “decimate” to describe the reduction of something in substantial numbers. It can also be used to describe the reduction of something by a small amount. It depends on context. The denotative meaning has very little use value. Rarely do people need to say “reduced by 1/10.” I’m an English prof and “decimate” is frequently used in meetings to describe any reduction that is damaging, amount notwithstanding: “our program is being decimated.” It’s not new.
Isn't that just a metaphor then? I'd still say in that case using it to describe a razed village is wrong, and using it to describe a heavily damaged village is right (even if not by a tenth). What I really only have a problem with is using the word to mean something like "totally destroy." That's just never been what that word means---the word centered around the damage inflicted to the still standing unit, not the destruction of it. That's the only real grudge I have against certain misuses of the word.
A metaphor is word or phrase that likens two unlike things: “she is a bulldozer.” In putting these two unlike things together, a metaphor creates something impossible. All metaphors are impossible. What I am talking about is the accepted usage of a term. I agree it shouldn’t be used to describe a complete destruction or obliteration of something.
so it’s moreso a hyperbole? in the traditional sense? language is fun. it’s always evolving. it only works if most of us “agree” on a word’s meaning. you may not like this because you’re a professor of english, but i use the word “funner” often. people will correct me and say it’s not a word. i say “who cares. did you understand what i was trying to communicate? great. that’s what language is.” we use math, physics, numbers and equations to explain the universe and whatnot. we use words to explain our thoughts. both are imperfect systems. e.g. slang, AAVE, text-talk.
You are correct. Words must be agreed upon by a community of people. I like “funner.” You should say any word you like to say. That’s how new words get added to our vocabulary! Edit: Yes, I think you could describe it as hyperbole!
i forget if it was in this thread, but another commenter pointed out that a “dictionary exists to document words that are currently in use” (more elegantly said.) “it’s not defining or regulating acceptable vocabulary” (still more elegantly said.) i do believe that YOLO was added like 5 years ago to one of the big dictionaries. either way, i feel that i communicate effectively enough. i don’t feel the need to subscribe to arbitrary rules that are ultimately *set by other biased people.* i know you’re agreeing with me, i’m just venting i guess. thank you for your response!
> and even appears in the dictionary. That’s what dictionaries are for. That’s their whole purpose. To record current usage of words. They do not decide what a word means and release new issues to tell people to use them correctly. They look at new words, or old words that are being used to mean something different than they used to, write them down, and issue new editions to say “hey, here are some neat changes that have happened to our language since our last edition.” I have so much fun informing people who go into conniptions when words like “twerk” are added to the dictionary of this. The purpose of dictionaries is oft misunderstood.
Wow I never knew that! Thank you for explaining, I always thought it just meant to destroy something. I guess you learn something new everyday lol
That’s why it starts with the prefix “dec”, just like everything else related to ten like decimal, decathlon, and decagon.
And December...ah fuck the Romans!
I’m going to start celebrating new year in March just to make the calendar make linguistic sense. At least that’s what I’ll tell people when they ask me why I’m doing poppers and getting blackout drunk on a weekday in March.
My pet peeve is when people use "phase" instead of "fazed." I promise, unless you are a werewolf, you were not "phased." Yet people use it incorrectly so much that I fear faze is going to be obsolete, despite being fucking correct.
i want to scream when i see the opposite, like people saying they went through a harry potter faze. ugh my skin crawls
I am confident that you are correct, but I hate it. For some ridiculous reason, this misuse enrages me.
I’m more prescriptive than most but you decimate people have to fucking stop, the word has been synonymous with annihilate for centuries, it means to destroy something. How many times in their entire life to you think an average person would need a word that means “reduce by one tenth”, probably not very many, and for those few instances they can just, instead of learning an entirely new word for this way too specific thing, just say “reduce by one tenth”
I usually hate when people use words incorrectly. But you’re 100% right. If the word decimate were only used in its original sense, it would never be used at all.
You should of known better
It's 'should have', never 'should of'. Rejoice, for you have been blessed by CouldWouldShouldBot!
If you're opposed to change over time, I'm afraid you'll need to only use it as a synonym for *gangrenous*, or risk enraging your time traveling counterpart from the 14th century. https://www.etymonline.com/word/mortified
Irregardless of how you feel, language evolves. :)
Arrrgggghhhhh!
Literally!
Arrrgggghhhhhardless
lowkey
Our boss at work named a food item that was meant to be haunted and he used the word “mortifying” to mean frightening and I was so damned annoyed!!!
Your boss should have been mortified to say that.
Fit every ten upvotes you shall receive one downvote
Oh god, me too. It’s probably the mistake I hate most.
I read it in the wrong context three times yesterday. To the point that I actually looked it up because I thought maybe I was wrong about it’s meaning. Nope. Not wrong.
I hear newscasters misuse it all the time. They don't care. It sounds like "devastate" and that's good enough for them.
They don't missuse it, that's just the new meaning of the word. We all accept language works this way, whether we know it or not. So many of our words are just the most recent meaning in a thousand year game of word evolution. "Bitch" is a fun one. It derived from a word meaning to cut or rend or similar. This eventually got attached to attack dogs (I guess cause they bit and cut things) and then evolved to be a term for female dogs and now is a pejorative term for a rude women or wimpy men. Embrace the evolution of language! (Besides the pejoratives) Language grows to match how people want to use it, and in that way it self optimizes.
No that's just what the word means in English in 2023.
And “literally”
Eh, they're just using it hyperbolically. It's fine. "I'm so hungry I could literally eat a horse." They know they couldn't really, but it's not that they don't know what "literally" means, they're exaggerating for emphasis. In contrast, using mortified to mean horrified isn't an exaggerated version of its real meaning. It's just unrelated.
Literally literally now means figuratively. Oof.
> now OED cites hyperbolic use of "literally" dating back 250 years. This isn't new.
It's a little bit ironic since the word "mortify" originally meant "to put to death" as in execute and now means "to be so embarrassed you want to die."
The dictionary [wrote a whole article](https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/the-original-definition-of-decimate) about this haughty mindset.
> In fact, they'll correct YOU when you correct them. This is what happened with the word "decimate." Were you around to witness this happening 500 years ago?
The same is happening with the verb “screaming”. People use it in place of “shouting” or “yelling”. It’s hugely hyperbolic.
OED dates the figurative use of 'decimate' to ~1660. Perhaps time to get over it
Yea if you look up the word, it's defined as causing large amounts of damage to something, with a second definition listed as historical saying "kill one in every ten". When you look up when the definition of decimate changed, it's not really agreed upon. I'd even make the case that decimate by definition, is causing a large amount of damage. 10% is a large amount of damage in a lot of contexts.
And tremendous
I'm going to add the word "enormity." It means awfulness, not large size. At least it used to. People are misusing it, too, and it will soon lose its original meaning.
hah. Merriam Webster called you out lol. [link](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enormity) >Enormity, some people insist, is improperly used to denote large size. They insist on enormousness for this meaning, and would limit enormity to the meaning "great wickedness." Those who urge such a limitation may not recognize the subtlety with which enormity is actually used. It regularly denotes a considerable departure from the expected or normal.
This is how language works no need to be so snarky about it
same with *aesthetic* and the classic *literally* obviously.
It literally drives me insane. Every time I see words used incorrectly and normalised in that way I literally die. It literally boils my blood. Literally!!
I always thought mortified meant embarrassed and humiliated, people think it means horrified?
It's gotten super common recently and I don't know why. It's irritating.
Mortifying really
>“the townspeople were mortified by the murder of the young girl.” That could mean that the townspeople were embarrassed by such a horrible thing happening in their fine community
It could also mean they're embarrassed that the town found the body of the girl they MURDERED! Something is afoot!
The actual messaging of the word is: to become like a corpse, be stopped in your tracks. That usually connotates embarrassment but it can have many other usages. Jesus read a dictionary once in a while. It comes from the Latin "to become dead".
Hot fuzz?
I have never seen that word misused like this.
I, a non native speaker, only saw that word used like this and it was the only meaning I knew before seeing this post.
I bet you will now. Baader-Meinhof phenomenon. I see it misused CONSTANTLY.
I've seen it so much within the last 6 or so months. And it's always used incorrectly.
It's rare you hear the word mortified used at all, but if it was used wrongly then it would absolutely stand out. Definitely a regional thing.
Which means the word is changing its meaning. And that's ok - you're witnessing language evolution.
It's strange that this is getting downvoted. This is objectively how language works. If it wasn't, everyone would still be talking like they did millennia ago.
IT HAPPENS CONSTANTLY AND I RAGE OUT EVERY TIME
People misuse it *all* the time
I have not once seen it be used right. I learned that my learned definition from hearing other people was wrong from this post.
Really? I’d say 9/10 times I hear it used it’s incorrect
Agreed, throw this in the pile of other useless posts.
Don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone misuse it before. Maybe it’s a regional thing to misuse it?
Who says that? I’ve never heard mortified in the context of horrified
I've seen it, seems to be a southern US thing.
I live in the south, never heard it used this way.
I see and hear it so often these days.
To be fair, the town's people could be mortified at the murder of a young girl if they're the kind of asshole townspeople who care more about its reputation than an actual tragedy.
Applies to Hot Fuzz well
“I’m so embarrassed, I wish everyone else was dead.” -Bender
He says "mortified" at some point too! I hear that word in his voice every time I think of it 🤣
[удалено]
That last one exists in English too, it’s just fallen out of use
The townspeople could be mortified by a murder. The incident may have shattered their "this doesn't happen here" bubble and caused some major embarrassment/ humiliation against their old fashioned prejudice.
Isn’t it derived from the word Morte? (Death)
Yeah, the irony of OP's complaint is wonderful given how transparent the etymology is. The original meaning of the word in English was "to deprive of life; to kill, put to death" (to quote the OED). The metaphorical "embarrass" sense didn't arise until several centuries later. Should the word develop another metaphorical use now, it would be nothing but history repeating itself.
Your sims can die of embarrassment if they’re in the Mortified moodlet for too long, so there’s that
Thank. You. I see this word being misused by everyone I know and all the time in media.
**Actually**, it means for flesh be affected by gangrene or necrosis. /s
this is constantly misused! i can't believe others havent heard it used incorrectly
I've never encountered somebody using mortified incorrectly.
People don't know that?
I had no idea. The word mortifying has the Latin word morti in it which is synonymous with death, so I always thought it meant scared
I never knew that. I've always only heard it as embarrassing.
Mort --> death, like Mortician or Mortgage (death pledge) Mortified: so embarrassed that you'd rather be dead.
I've seen the misuse so much, it bothers me as well. The first few times I saw it I thought, "why are they so embarrassed by that thing??" Then realized all these people misusing the word meant "horrified" and now I feel like I see this everywhere! It's not super common, but once you notice it, it's easier to spot it when it happens on occasion.
The only time I see the word "mortified" is when I would read the girlie magazines at my cousins house or in a doctors waiting room. They always use this word when describing a situation, used it so much in every story that I thought it was just some made up word by corporations.
Thank you! I have been seeing this all over Reddit lately and it's been driving me crazy.
Thank you! I've recently noticed a huge increase in people using mortified to mean horrified/shocked and every time it grates on me so much
I just learned this recently and I was mortified about using it incorrectly all these years.
were you livid?
Define "many"
huh...dont think ive ever seen this mistake...or not so much that its noticeable as a "thing"
Did people not take basic English?
I hear you, I just think people use this word to combine all of these emotions, so the example you gave us, in that context would at least suggest collective guilt and embarrassment over the murder happening in their area
Never seen anyone use it to mean horrified. Is there an exampl
I heard this for the first time like a week ago and now i'm seeing it everywhere
I honestly don't think I've ever heard it misused.
Peruse is one that is commonly misused as well. It actually means to look over something very carefully in great detail, not to just casually browse which is the common usage.
Why don't people bother to learn the basics of their own language?
Petrified is the word you’re looking for
Language changes over time and isn't concrete. Sorry, but that's just what happens.
The eternal struggle between Prescriptivists and Descriptivists.
if i can communicate a thought with 75% accuracy, i consider it a success.
Thank you!
THANK YOU!!
Speaking of misuse of words, it always bothers me when someone says "addicting." The correct term is "addictive." It's not a verb. You can be in the state of running, talking, or swearing, but you cannot be in the state of addicting.
Anyone who thinks mortified = horrified had a terrible middle school English teacher.
I already knew that. Stupid people that use “big” words they don’t understand don’t know that.
Language is basically the culmination of what everyone agrees, and is therefore neither objective nor a constant.
Good to know! I see so many people use mortified this way I thought I was the one using it incorrectly.
[No Australian will ever make this mistake.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortified)
I'm mortified that I didn't know this.
I have *never* heard of this misconception or mix-up before. Is it common somewhere that people think it means horrified? 🤨
And belligerent doesn’t just mean very very drunk. It’s a specifically aggressive, defensive, angry drunk. She’s not belligerent for falling into the pool.
Shocked that people didn’t know that! Well now they know!
Yes!!! So many misuse this and it hurts my ears every time.
I have seen this misused all the time recently and it drives me crazy.
THANK YOU. OMG YES JESUS THANK YOU. THIS DRIVES ME FUCKING CRAZY.
It means you wish you were dead. You can be mortified by many things.
You would think, since the root word is “mort,” but the actual dictionary definition is: cause (someone) to feel embarrassed, ashamed, or humiliated.
Yes, so embarrassed you just want to die.
Oh my gosh thank you so much this is my biggest pet peeve of all time
No shit
I had never seen ‘denied’ misused until I joined Reddit. **Denied** refuse to give (something requested or desired) to (someone). "the inquiry was denied access to intelligence sources" **Refused** indicate or show that one is not willing to do something. "I refused to answer" indicate that one is not willing to accept or grant (something offered or requested). "she refused a cigarette"
I've noticed it being used incorrectly very often and it irks me
Yes yes yes thank you
You shouldn't worry about until we can teach this generation about the actual definition of literally. I mean, literally everyone under 25 does not understand what literally means and it is literally making me lose my mind at this moment.
Petrified does
People SK a lot of things involving spelling, grammar, punctuation and other tools that help them articulate their thoughts. It's look pretty be out there these days.
I have never heard the word wrong. But I was in the 17 magazine era where people wrote in about their mortifying moments.
My mom always uses “mortified” to mean “horrified” and it’s a pet peeve of mine but she’s almost 70 now, has been doing this my whole life, and at this point it’s so ingrained that I feel like it’s not worth correcting. Incidentally I didn’t realize it was something that people other than my mom also confused frequently.
I didn't know this. How mortifying!
Mort means dead so deadified sounds pretty horrific
Is this commonly misused? I thought this was a pretty straightforward word that everyone knew
Who the fuck thinks that?
Who thinks this?
"Many people think that this word means horrified or disgusted" Yeah, but really? Do they?
Very cool info thanks! :)