10 more words you’re probably misusing
In a follow-up to a similar post, the author tackles such misapplied terms as ‘refute,’ ‘fortuitous,’ and ‘unique.’
Because one can write only so much in an Internet article before people get distracted, I limited the original piece to 10 words. Luckily, today is a new day, and this is a new post, so behold! Ten more words.
However, after reading a small chunk of the 600 comments on the last piece, I feel a need to preface this sequel by saying a couple of things.
1. A more accurate title for this article might be “10 Words That May Not Mean What You Think They Mean” but I’m keeping the original title simply so that people realize it’s a follow-up to the original.
2. Many of these words have developed new definitions over time. I’m basing my arguments on the original definitions of the words, not the ones we’ve given them. Are denotative definitions more accurate than connotative ones? I don’t know. I’ll let you guys figure that out.
Aaaaannnnd, begin!
1) Plethora
What you may think it means: a lot
What it actually means: superabundance, an excess
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