Abuse of Strong Words

[Caravaggio]

I do not want to be seen as a hypocrite here, so I will state before hand: I believe we all have seen this and all been part of the problem as well.

I have long believed that these days the word Love is throw about haphazardly and abusively. Readers of my last thread have seen first-hand that I perpetrate the same abuse while using the word Hate.

Many words have lost their meaning in the dregs of hyperbole. Words like awesome, fantastic, fabulous, all have denotations high above their current connotations. But at least nigh on to everyone has done this. You search for a descriptive more powerful than just 'good' or 'bad' to emphasize what you are saying, and honestly, the first thing to pop into my head at least is love and hate.

So, people of the escapist, what other words have you seen being abused recently?
Any suggestions for replacements?
Or do you feel that you personally do not abuse words and the power of your speech has merely been trampled upon by those who do?

Edit: Though not specifically stated, swear words can be included under the category of abuse.

 

[Motiv_]

I've "Abused" every word in the book. But I'm not really that worse off for doing so, in my mind as long as you get your point across, you're good. But that's just my opinion.

 

[Rednog]

People on this forum abuse the word boycott way too much. I don't know if people are just ignorant to its definition or what, but many people seem to use it in the context of "I don't like something, I don't buy it, and thus I am boycotting it.
Drives me batty and makes me want to go punch a pillow when I see half a thread with people spewing the fact they are boycotting X popular game, when their reason for boycotting the game is that they don't like that game at all.

 

[Distorted Stu]

The word random, do i need explain?

edit; The new code of conduct made me lol.. I wont be a jerk i promise

 

[Xiorell]

Epic.
Everything is fucking "epic" these days. I think that word needs to be reserved for things of a truely colossal scale.

 

[Sronpop]

The word 'Epic' it has lost all meaning. I used to like that word, but the internet ruined it. You bastards. Its not even that Epic Fail was a bad thing. It was the perfect phrase when used right, ie. for only the most exceptional and hilarious of fails. Instead it got used for everything, even things that weren't fails.

Hell the word 'epic' and 'fail' are both utter examples of extreme loss.

 

[Xpwn3ntial]

When people say, "hate," they usually mean, "do not care for" or "dislike."

In order to hate something you must care about it enough to actively want it lessened, damaged, or destroyed.

Hate-n.: intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger, or sense of injury.

v.: the action of such hostility and aversion.

 

[moretimethansense]

Epic, people use that word so much that it's basically lost all meaning.

Also am I the only one that thought this would be about cursing?

You might want to make your thread titles more clear, you bastard.

 

[Drakmeire]

The word irony. to the point that there are many arguments about what the true definition is.
http://www.cracked.com/funny-1085-irony/

 

[EarthBoundGiygas]

I hate how everybody says epic now a days Oh yea Also the N-word. I find it stupid how people of their own race would insult themselves with a racial slur.

 

[DuctTapeJedi]

I never really thought about it. I usually just try to say whatever it is I'm thinking, while trying (Generally, I'm not perfect) not to be rude to people.
Maybe I abuse strong words, maybe I don't. It's just something I've never paid attention to.

 

[zHellas]

Playful-and-Intentional-but-Possibly-Not-Irony-Snip!

What the fuck are you fucking talking about, you shitty fail-******?

Haha...

I wanted to make that joke 'cause of the title, then I actually read the post.

Serious time:

Though yes, the abuse of certain words does lessen the effects of it being used (like repeating the word **** over and over until it goes from a shocking swear to a normal every-day word), I feel that soon another word will come and take it's place, with the original word slowly regaining it's strength over time.

Note: Whatever is in blue here in my post is a joke.

 

[JoJo Bizzaro 7]

You know, it's threads like this that remind me to get a thesaurus.

Personally, I haven't had that much of a problem with the overuse of words. However, the majority of people around me use the word "beastly" too much. I realize that it was once a popular slang term, but it has long since gone out of style. Now, it is simply a constant grate on my nerves.

 

[zHellas]

Also am I the only one that thought this would be about cursing?

No.

I did too.

That's pretty much why there's a profanity-gorged sentence in my first post here.

 

[adakias]

Egregious. I know... a lot of people who use that word way more than necessary, and rarely in the right situation.
Also: (adjective) as (expletive). This word pattern has been thrown around too often in my social circles. It's cold as fuck. I'm thirsty as shit. I'm confused as hell.

 

[Caravaggio]

People on this forum abuse the word boycott way too much. I don't know if people are just ignorant to its definition or what, but many people seem to use it in the context of "I don't like something, I don't buy it, and thus I am boycotting it.
Drives me batty and makes me want to go punch a pillow when I see half a thread with people spewing the fact they are boycotting X popular game, when their reason for boycotting the game is that they don't like that game at all.

This is interesting to me because that is one word I have never considered. Though I have never said it this way, it is definitely true that if one uses the word it means they are not buying it to harm the product/producers/anyone making money off the game.

Thank you for the insight.

 

[crudus]

"Epic" is a word I hear too much. I hear "cake" and "lie" too much for my liking but that is a different reason. I did notice myself doing things like this so I decided to expand my vocabulary. I use words like good, bad, fantastic, amazing, dislike, like, scorn, hate, decent. Some of those I use sparingly. Rather than saying "I hated it" I say something like "It made my blood boil".

 

[Irony's Acolyte]

*Sheepishly* Well despite the fact that I was the first poster in the OP mentioned "other thread [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.249225-How-come-no-ones-allowed-to-hate-stuff-anymore]" that corrected his use of "Hate", I too have abused words every now and then. While I don't toss around "Love" and "Hate" all that much (take a look at some of my posts that are in the "What do you Love/Hate" threads) I do use "epic" and "awesome" an awful lot. Now I know that being hyperbolic every now and then isn't a bad thing, using these words constantly for something other than their purpose can somewhat cheapen their impact.

Now excuse me while I try to figure out if my situation is indead Ironic.

 

[Caravaggio]

Egregious. I know... a lot of people who use that word way more than necessary, and rarely in the right situation.
Also: (adjective) as (expletive). This word pattern has been thrown around too often in my social circles. It's cold as fuck. I'm thirsty as shit. I'm confused as hell.

Oh yes, the adjectival expletives have been making me cringe since their inception. The one I've heard the most is 'it's cold as balls' which doesn't even make sense! Balls are not cold.

I do like how the word egregious appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean 3 though. It was perfectly timed comically, and I have to wonder in what way it could be mispronounced that would irritate someone so much.

 

[Caravaggio]

*Sheepishly* Well despite the fact that I was the first poster in the OP mentioned "other thread [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.249225-How-come-no-ones-allowed-to-hate-stuff-anymore]", I too have abused words every now and then. While I don't toss around "Love" and "Hate" all that much (take a look at some of posts that are in the "What do you Love/Hate" threads) I do use "epic" and "awesome" an awful lot. Now I know that being hyperbolic every now and then isn't a bad thing, using these words constantly for something other than their purpose can somewhat cheapen their impact.

Now excuse me while I try to figure out if my situation is indead Ironic.

Ah, yes. Epic. Perhaps the most outrageous misuse of wording. I myself have used it erringly several times.

Epic used to be an adjective to describe something that is beyond most vivid imagination, and now we use on things that are obviously not beyond imagination, such as video games which are the spawn of people's imagination. Now the feeling you get from it may be epic, but to describe it as such is most likely an overstatement.