What is another example of nauseous vs nauseated?
November 11, 2017 1:11 AM Subscribe
In conversation this evening we were talking about the use of nauseous vs nauseated. Often I hear “I am nauseous” when from my understanding the correct usage is “I am nauseated.” However, the former is so prevelant that it has become an acceptable usage. (**Not here to argue about what is technically correct or incorrect,**) This reminded me of another example that’s been on the tip of my tongue the whole night but I can’t quite recall. It is a similar situation in which a different form of the word is used incorrectly but it is done so often that it has become an acceptable usage of such. The example I am thinking of is very similar in that “I am....” Can you think of any examples?
bemused is often misused as a synonym for amused, and nonplussed is often misused as a synonym for unperturbed. Both words actually mean confused or puzzled.
posted by the return of the thin white sock at 1:27 AM on November 11, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by the return of the thin white sock at 1:27 AM on November 11, 2017 [14 favorites]
Healthy and healthful (in relation to food)?
posted by theseldomseenkid at 1:37 AM on November 11, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by theseldomseenkid at 1:37 AM on November 11, 2017 [5 favorites]
disinterested and uninterested?
posted by TheRaven at 1:38 AM on November 11, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by TheRaven at 1:38 AM on November 11, 2017 [17 favorites]
venomous vs poisonous?
posted by lesser weasel at 2:35 AM on November 11, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by lesser weasel at 2:35 AM on November 11, 2017 [7 favorites]
The example I am thinking of is very similar in that “I am....”
Whoops, well, I suppose a context exists somewhere for "I am venomous"
Otherwise I would've gone with bemused and nonplussed for examples as well; I see those often
posted by lesser weasel at 2:43 AM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
Whoops, well, I suppose a context exists somewhere for "I am venomous"
Otherwise I would've gone with bemused and nonplussed for examples as well; I see those often
posted by lesser weasel at 2:43 AM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
I think it might be "hopefully".
Apparently, one is not really supposed to begin a sentence with the word "hopefully". People do it all the time, though.
posted by amtho at 2:52 AM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
Apparently, one is not really supposed to begin a sentence with the word "hopefully". People do it all the time, though.
posted by amtho at 2:52 AM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
Ambivalent. Its original definition is to be torn between two things but people use it to mean they don’t really care about either. “Do you want pizza or pasta?” “Meh, I’m ambivalent.”
Technically that means you really want both pizza and pasta and don’t know what to do. But now the emphasis is on the “meh.”
posted by whitewall at 2:57 AM on November 11, 2017 [2 favorites]
Technically that means you really want both pizza and pasta and don’t know what to do. But now the emphasis is on the “meh.”
posted by whitewall at 2:57 AM on November 11, 2017 [2 favorites]
Ravished and ravishing?
posted by raccoon409 at 3:17 AM on November 11, 2017
posted by raccoon409 at 3:17 AM on November 11, 2017
peak and pique (as in "pique one's interest")?
posted by Calvin and the Duplicators at 3:25 AM on November 11, 2017
posted by Calvin and the Duplicators at 3:25 AM on November 11, 2017
Reticent vs reluctant/resistant.
You can be reticent or you can be reluctant to speak, but you can't be reticent to speak.
posted by embrangled at 3:29 AM on November 11, 2017 [5 favorites]
You can be reticent or you can be reluctant to speak, but you can't be reticent to speak.
posted by embrangled at 3:29 AM on November 11, 2017 [5 favorites]
Continuous and continually
posted by sciencegeek at 3:56 AM on November 11, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by sciencegeek at 3:56 AM on November 11, 2017 [2 favorites]
"comprised" and "comprise" and "comprised of" are a hopeless tangle of confusion.
posted by thelonius at 4:13 AM on November 11, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 4:13 AM on November 11, 2017 [8 favorites]
Apparently, one is not really supposed to begin a sentence with the word "hopefully". People do it all the time, though.
It doesn't matter where you put "hopefully" in a sentence. The issue is that it means "in a hopeful manner," not "I hope." You can say, "Hopefully, he will run the marathon" if you mean that he will be feeling hopeful when he runs the marathon. A number of dictionaries now say it can be used to mean "I hope," but people really get in a tizzy about this one, so I wouldn't use it for that.
"Begs the question" gets used to mean "raises the question." The podcaster Rich Roll does this all the time. "Begging the question" is actually a specific logical fallacy.
When I'm feeling obnoxious about people using grammar/word usage issues to make themselves feel superior, I'll claim that my pet peeve is when people use "compared with" and "compared to" as if they mean the same thing just to see whether people who are snooty about grammar will admit that they don't know the difference. "Compared with" should be used for differences and "compared to" for similarities, but it doesn't matter if you're not a professional copy editor (which I am).
The only usage change that really bothers me is "literally" and that's because we don't have another simple way to get that meaning across.
posted by FencingGal at 4:32 AM on November 11, 2017 [6 favorites]
It doesn't matter where you put "hopefully" in a sentence. The issue is that it means "in a hopeful manner," not "I hope." You can say, "Hopefully, he will run the marathon" if you mean that he will be feeling hopeful when he runs the marathon. A number of dictionaries now say it can be used to mean "I hope," but people really get in a tizzy about this one, so I wouldn't use it for that.
"Begs the question" gets used to mean "raises the question." The podcaster Rich Roll does this all the time. "Begging the question" is actually a specific logical fallacy.
When I'm feeling obnoxious about people using grammar/word usage issues to make themselves feel superior, I'll claim that my pet peeve is when people use "compared with" and "compared to" as if they mean the same thing just to see whether people who are snooty about grammar will admit that they don't know the difference. "Compared with" should be used for differences and "compared to" for similarities, but it doesn't matter if you're not a professional copy editor (which I am).
The only usage change that really bothers me is "literally" and that's because we don't have another simple way to get that meaning across.
posted by FencingGal at 4:32 AM on November 11, 2017 [6 favorites]
Here is one discussion of things akin to this, although they are not all parallel, to me.
posted by BibiRose at 4:33 AM on November 11, 2017
posted by BibiRose at 4:33 AM on November 11, 2017
Laying and lying?
posted by brilliantine at 4:44 AM on November 11, 2017
posted by brilliantine at 4:44 AM on November 11, 2017
Peruse means "to read carefully" and "to skim"? How?
posted by glibhamdreck at 4:50 AM on November 11, 2017
posted by glibhamdreck at 4:50 AM on November 11, 2017
Enormity -- people use it to mean the hugeness of something in a value neutral sense, "The sheer enormity of my shoe collection!" instead of what it really means, the enormous gravity or terribleness of a situation.
posted by flourpot at 5:09 AM on November 11, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by flourpot at 5:09 AM on November 11, 2017 [3 favorites]
Queen Victoria reigned in the 19th Century.
posted by flabdablet at 5:14 AM on November 11, 2017
posted by flabdablet at 5:14 AM on November 11, 2017
"I could care less" is often used to express that I could not care less; i.e. that I do not care at all.
posted by flabdablet at 5:30 AM on November 11, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by flabdablet at 5:30 AM on November 11, 2017 [3 favorites]
Fulsome is often misemployed to mean full or complete rather than fawning and insincere.
posted by flabdablet at 5:34 AM on November 11, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by flabdablet at 5:34 AM on November 11, 2017 [2 favorites]
"Aggravate"? I remember being told not to use that to mean "exasperate" as a kid. I think I may also have been told not to use "anxious to" when I meant "eager to." Also, I think I may have been meant to use "might have been" instead of "may have been" just then. All rubbish, anyway.
posted by Perodicticus potto at 5:35 AM on November 11, 2017
posted by Perodicticus potto at 5:35 AM on November 11, 2017
I'm on team Language Evolves, and I'm still not comfortable with the new-ish usage of "impacted," which, to my mind, has a specific (and uncomfortable!) medical meaning. "I've been affected by..." vs. "I've been impacted by..."--nope, sorry, still opting for affected.
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:37 AM on November 11, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:37 AM on November 11, 2017 [8 favorites]
Also - "notoriety" is frequently used to mean "fame," despite resistance from some quarters.
I know none of these actually involve two forms of the same word, but they're all prohibitions I was taught around the same time as the nauseous/nauseated thing.
posted by Perodicticus potto at 5:41 AM on November 11, 2017
I know none of these actually involve two forms of the same word, but they're all prohibitions I was taught around the same time as the nauseous/nauseated thing.
posted by Perodicticus potto at 5:41 AM on November 11, 2017
Came here to suggest enervated (means to make tired, people sometimes use it to mean energized) but also think about nonplussed and reticent in this context.
I hear people who seem to confuse (to my ear) imply and infer enough so I wonder if it's becoming normalized.
And not fitting your phrasing but fitting your topic I often think of bannister in this context. People think its the thing you put your hand on but that's actually the balustrade. The bannister is the upright thing holding it up.
posted by jessamyn at 6:09 AM on November 11, 2017 [3 favorites]
I hear people who seem to confuse (to my ear) imply and infer enough so I wonder if it's becoming normalized.
And not fitting your phrasing but fitting your topic I often think of bannister in this context. People think its the thing you put your hand on but that's actually the balustrade. The bannister is the upright thing holding it up.
posted by jessamyn at 6:09 AM on November 11, 2017 [3 favorites]
A lot of my students use "popular" to mean "common"; e.g. "Mandarin Chinese is a very popular language"--but not when they're talking about what people choose to learn as a second language, when they're talking about how many native speakers! It seems like preference or agency is just getting removed from the meaning.
I suspect that this shift is because so many things that are popular are also common, and they're reanalyzing the meaning in this way.
I'm a linguist so I am pretty firmly on the "change is cool, get over it you crotchety old fucks" team, but this one still trips me up when I'm reading papers. A "popular advertisement" for example--do they mean that it's popular among viewers, that it's popular among the people who sell advertising space, or just that they see it all the time? Hmmm...
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 6:13 AM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
I suspect that this shift is because so many things that are popular are also common, and they're reanalyzing the meaning in this way.
I'm a linguist so I am pretty firmly on the "change is cool, get over it you crotchety old fucks" team, but this one still trips me up when I'm reading papers. A "popular advertisement" for example--do they mean that it's popular among viewers, that it's popular among the people who sell advertising space, or just that they see it all the time? Hmmm...
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 6:13 AM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
A similar peeve of mine is the construct "substituted for." When I read comments about a recipe online, people seem to frequently use it thusly: "I substituted lemon curd for axle grease," to mean that they USED axle grease in place of the lemon curd the recipe called for. It really irks me. (Lovers of online recipes will know that the ingredient choices in this example are hyperbolic, but only just.)
posted by thebrokedown at 6:20 AM on November 11, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by thebrokedown at 6:20 AM on November 11, 2017 [6 favorites]
Along the lines of impacted, Evacuated. “Six hundred people had to be evacuated today.”
No. Six hundred people were not....evacuated. Gross. The building was evacuated.
But as a descriptivist, I must acknowledge that the word now means...removed from a building and not relieved of their insides.
posted by bilabial at 6:23 AM on November 11, 2017 [10 favorites]
No. Six hundred people were not....evacuated. Gross. The building was evacuated.
But as a descriptivist, I must acknowledge that the word now means...removed from a building and not relieved of their insides.
posted by bilabial at 6:23 AM on November 11, 2017 [10 favorites]
I have heard multiple people use "mortified" when they mean "terrified".
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 6:34 AM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 6:34 AM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
I’ve also heard people use “mortified” when they mean “disgusted.”
posted by holborne at 7:14 AM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by holborne at 7:14 AM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
"Decimate" is a classic example, in that it used to mean "destroy or remove 1/10th" and now it basically means "destroy/remove all or nearly all." I'm a copy editor and find this all fascinating. Language is a living thing.
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:43 AM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:43 AM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
Though the dictionary definition changed not long ago to reflect popular usage, it still drives me crazy. Biweekly/Semi-weekly.
posted by munchingzombie at 8:19 AM on November 11, 2017
posted by munchingzombie at 8:19 AM on November 11, 2017
Sensuous/sensual--cue Mrs. Dean Wermer
posted by lemonade at 8:41 AM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by lemonade at 8:41 AM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
Addictive vs. Addicting.
posted by mireille at 8:57 AM on November 11, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by mireille at 8:57 AM on November 11, 2017 [2 favorites]
Flammable and inflammable?
posted by A Terrible Llama at 9:15 AM on November 11, 2017
posted by A Terrible Llama at 9:15 AM on November 11, 2017
"At present" versus "presently" - the latter actually means soon, or shortly. As with many of these distinctions, that one's a losing battle, but once you notice it...
posted by desert outpost at 9:21 AM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by desert outpost at 9:21 AM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
Were you thinking of someone declaring "I am antisocial" when they really mean "I am asocial/unsociable"?
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 9:30 AM on November 11, 2017
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 9:30 AM on November 11, 2017
What an interesting thread! This does not actually fit with "I am" but I'm reminded of functionality vs function.
posted by ezust at 9:51 AM on November 11, 2017
posted by ezust at 9:51 AM on November 11, 2017
affect:
v. to have an effect on; make a difference to.
n. Emotion or desire as influencing behavior
vs
effect:
v. cause (something) to happen; bring about
n. a change that is a result or consequence of an action or other cause
(And screw you 6th grade English teacher, affect IS TOO a word, and I knew both the noun and verb forms of the meaning at that tender age. Why would you lie and tell kids a word doesn't exist?)
(Yes, I'm sure I was insufferable at that age, but really?)
Oh yeah, there are insufferable and unsufferable people.
posted by BlueHorse at 9:56 AM on November 11, 2017 [3 favorites]
v. to have an effect on; make a difference to.
n. Emotion or desire as influencing behavior
vs
effect:
v. cause (something) to happen; bring about
n. a change that is a result or consequence of an action or other cause
(And screw you 6th grade English teacher, affect IS TOO a word, and I knew both the noun and verb forms of the meaning at that tender age. Why would you lie and tell kids a word doesn't exist?)
(Yes, I'm sure I was insufferable at that age, but really?)
Oh yeah, there are insufferable and unsufferable people.
posted by BlueHorse at 9:56 AM on November 11, 2017 [3 favorites]
Yeah, substitute. And trade. It drives me crazy:
"did they get you to trayayayade/
your heroes for ghosts"
(I'm with you, Pink Floyd: that is a terrible trade. They got me to give up my heroes in a negotiation and all I got back was these ghosts. Bummer)
"hot ashes for trees"
(Huh? that would be a great trade. I give up hot ashes and get back trees? I win)
"hot air for a cool breeze"
(What are you talking about? I offload some hot air, I get a cool breeze: I win)
"cold comfort for change"
(GDI! Arriving at a rhyme or a near rhyme doesn't mean you're done! Why didn't you keep working on this verse 'til you got it right? You've fucked up the grammar and the song now makes no sense and I am changing the channel while screaming at the radio and driving too fast!)
posted by Don Pepino at 10:46 AM on November 11, 2017 [3 favorites]
"did they get you to trayayayade/
your heroes for ghosts"
(I'm with you, Pink Floyd: that is a terrible trade. They got me to give up my heroes in a negotiation and all I got back was these ghosts. Bummer)
"hot ashes for trees"
(Huh? that would be a great trade. I give up hot ashes and get back trees? I win)
"hot air for a cool breeze"
(What are you talking about? I offload some hot air, I get a cool breeze: I win)
"cold comfort for change"
(GDI! Arriving at a rhyme or a near rhyme doesn't mean you're done! Why didn't you keep working on this verse 'til you got it right? You've fucked up the grammar and the song now makes no sense and I am changing the channel while screaming at the radio and driving too fast!)
posted by Don Pepino at 10:46 AM on November 11, 2017 [3 favorites]
Oriented and orientated.
posted by SemiSalt at 11:08 AM on November 11, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by SemiSalt at 11:08 AM on November 11, 2017 [2 favorites]
The one that makes me the craziest is also one of the simplest:
"well" vs. "good"
When people say, "I hope all is well," they're using an adverb where they need an adjective.
It's the same with saying "I am well," which is *incorrect* (unless they mean that they have recovered from a recent sickness, which is the only sense that "well" makes sense as an adjective.)
posted by yellowcandy at 12:31 PM on November 11, 2017
"well" vs. "good"
When people say, "I hope all is well," they're using an adverb where they need an adjective.
It's the same with saying "I am well," which is *incorrect* (unless they mean that they have recovered from a recent sickness, which is the only sense that "well" makes sense as an adjective.)
posted by yellowcandy at 12:31 PM on November 11, 2017
Nonplussed? While it previously meant surprised/confused/baffled, people often use it to mean unimpressed or unperturbed, practically its opposite.
posted by reren at 1:14 PM on November 11, 2017
posted by reren at 1:14 PM on November 11, 2017
Your initial example of nauseous/nauseated makes me think of the management-speak use of "visibility" - "I have visibility of that process." Surely, visibility means that you can be seen, not that you can see!
posted by Cheese Monster at 2:30 PM on November 11, 2017
posted by Cheese Monster at 2:30 PM on November 11, 2017
None of these are the example you're looking for, but in keeping with the spirit of the thread:
Momentarily is synonymous with briefly, not with soon. So, if you're waiting to meet with someone important and the receptionist tells you said person will meet with you momentarily, they aren't rushing to meet with you—rather, they intend to spend very little time with you.
Simple coincidences referred to as ironic. Several often cited examples in that Alanis Morissette song, Ironic, which is ironic, don't you think?
And in the impacted/impactful category: incentivize. I accept that language evolves, i.e., that formerly incorrect usage can come to be accepted. Nonetheless, I propose that impacted and incentivize remain classified as "incorrect" for the foreseeable future.
posted by she's not there at 2:57 PM on November 11, 2017
Momentarily is synonymous with briefly, not with soon. So, if you're waiting to meet with someone important and the receptionist tells you said person will meet with you momentarily, they aren't rushing to meet with you—rather, they intend to spend very little time with you.
Simple coincidences referred to as ironic. Several often cited examples in that Alanis Morissette song, Ironic, which is ironic, don't you think?
And in the impacted/impactful category: incentivize. I accept that language evolves, i.e., that formerly incorrect usage can come to be accepted. Nonetheless, I propose that impacted and incentivize remain classified as "incorrect" for the foreseeable future.
posted by she's not there at 2:57 PM on November 11, 2017
Jealous versus envious?
posted by easy, lucky, free at 3:40 PM on November 11, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by easy, lucky, free at 3:40 PM on November 11, 2017 [5 favorites]
When I saw your question, the answer was on the tip of my tongue, too. I do believe that Mireille has it with Addicted, addictive, addicting.
None of the others are quite the same sort of mis-use.
posted by hydra77 at 3:42 PM on November 11, 2017
None of the others are quite the same sort of mis-use.
posted by hydra77 at 3:42 PM on November 11, 2017
For me the pair that immediately came to mind was fortuitous/fortunate. The "proper" meaning of fortuitous is just random, accidental, coincidental, etc. But it's so commonly used to mean fortunate or lucky that you'll even hear people saying "that was a fortuitous coincidence", which in theory is completely redundant...
posted by equalpants at 5:38 PM on November 11, 2017
posted by equalpants at 5:38 PM on November 11, 2017
"I'm very interested" vs. "I'm very interesting"
"I'm so excited" vs. "I'm so exciting"
I hear ESL speakers do these a lot.
posted by danceswithlight at 8:16 AM on November 12, 2017
"I'm so excited" vs. "I'm so exciting"
I hear ESL speakers do these a lot.
posted by danceswithlight at 8:16 AM on November 12, 2017
There's also "terrific," which used mean causing terror, and now more or less means causing delight. So the phrase "That's terrific!" in the 17th century would have meant the opposite of what it means now. ("Horrific" stayed constant, though.)
posted by danceswithlight at 8:21 AM on November 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by danceswithlight at 8:21 AM on November 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
"Incredulous" used in place of "incredible"
posted by newmoistness at 8:25 AM on November 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by newmoistness at 8:25 AM on November 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
Is this where I express my irritation at people using "utilize" in place of "use," to the point where they'll say "use" and immediately correct themselves to say "utilize", as though "use" is somehow wrong or impolite? (They're almost never using "utilize" correctly, anyway.)
posted by asperity at 11:54 AM on November 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by asperity at 11:54 AM on November 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
People often say they are "weary" of something when they mean either "leery" or "wary."
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 1:52 PM on November 13, 2017
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 1:52 PM on November 13, 2017
I've way too often heard people use "exaggerate" when they mean "exacerbate." Corollary: people often use "overexaggerate," which doesn't really exist, when they simply mean "exaggerate."
posted by holborne at 2:00 PM on November 13, 2017
posted by holborne at 2:00 PM on November 13, 2017
People say "in light of" when they mean "in lieu of" and vice versa.
posted by Don Pepino at 2:51 PM on November 13, 2017
posted by Don Pepino at 2:51 PM on November 13, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by missmagenta at 1:19 AM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]