Commonly misunderstood words that get your blood boiling

[Albino Boo]

Decimate, meaning, to reduce by 1/10th ...If I hear one more guy talk about getting decimated on a game and his screen is utterly devoid of troops I will punch a kitten.

Punch a kitten.

I think the meaning of the word has changed. It's become more like keep 1/10 instead of remove 1/10.

Makes sense. Decimation isn't a big deal, especially not in your example:
Woo, I lost 10% of my units! More likely a near flawless victory then.

-10% doen't deserve a special word.

Decimation was a roman military punishment. One man in 10 would be selected by lot and beaten death to by the other 9. So its more like I killed 10% of my units that will teach them not to fail.

 

[Fellwarden]

Decimate, meaning, to reduce by 1/10th ...If I hear one more guy talk about getting decimated on a game and his screen is utterly devoid of troops I will punch a kitten. Also, Irony, good god why can't people use it right any more?

Actually, decimate meaning to reduce by one tenth is obsolete, according to Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com gives two other meanings of the word: decimate, the roman form of punishment (killing one in ten of a legion or other military group), or: to destroy a great number or proportion of: The population was decimated by a plague.

Wiktionary.org gives a few more meanings, including to reduce to one tenth of, or to severely reduce; destroy almost completely.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/decimate
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/decimate

Just thought I would throw that out there.

EDIT: It appears I have been ninja'd several times.

On topic: There are lots of misunderstood words that annoy me, but I can't think of any right now. I make sure to not use words I don't quite know the meaning of.

 

[Ironic Pirate]

Irregardless, especially when the person thinks they're being smart.

It doesn't mean anything you fucking asshole! It's nonsense!

Let me show you something.

Person A: "Rascist Statement."
Person B: "That was an incredibly offensive and rude thing to say Flying space monkeys from the Spaghettios planet of your reason."

That is equally correct as using irregardless you fucking ass.

 

[oppp7]

Normally I'd tear into your grammar nazi argument for being pointless, but from your story you have a legitimate complaint. I guess I'll contribute an actual term...

OT: Furries. They're a gorup that like anthropomorphic animals in art, such as comics, pictures, and videos. It is not a fetish. The fetish people are called furverts.

 

[Necromancer1991]

Aang pronounced Ung (EAT THAT SHAMYLAN!)

 

[SturmDolch]

Literally...

"I literally looked around for five minutes and didn't see you!!!"

As opposed to metaphorically, or say, figuratively? It especially annoys me when people on the news say it. It doesn't make you sound as smart as you think it does.

Redundant. Not that people are using it wrong, really, but more that their overuse of the word is becoming redundant.

Communism/fascism are very misunderstood words and concepts as well.

 

[Hashime]

EMP Pulse.
RPG Game.
What does the acronym stand for ladies and gentlemen? Yes. Good. Now, do you realise you are effectively saying Electro-Magnetic Pulse Pulse?
And Role Playing Game Game?

A pulse is half of a wave, so they could mean a pulse, but they probably do not.
Oh, I see now, was thinking about science not grammar.

 

[GothmogII]

"Same difference."

NO IT IS NOT, YOU STUPID NONCE!

<punches seal, kitten, and innocent puppy>

Not implying you used it incorrectly, but a lot of people I know incorrectly use the word nonce. They think it is a synonym for idiot rather than slang for a child molestor.

Funny that, bugger and buggery are used much the same way, used as a minor oath or swear rather than to mean takes it up the tail-pipe. To put it delicately. I'm actually rather fond of bugger used that way. It's...cute almost.

 

[VicunaBlue]

I find it funny that since the last thread of this nature, and the release of a certain LoadingReadyRun, There's a drastic increase of people referencing the word Decimation as meaning losing one out of ten, despite it being a Roman military punishment in which that took place.

On topic, I would have to say "Ignorant", Which the primary use of these days seems to be an insult used by leftists to criticize anyone who has different views.

 

[zehydra]

sa·pi·ent
?adjective
having or showing great wisdom or sound judgment.

sen·tience
?noun
sentient condition or character; capacity for sensation or feeling.


-According to Dictionary.com

 

[Soxafloppin]

"Generic" has been being abused as of late!

 

[Yokai]

I hate it when people mispronounce the word Manga.

It is pronounced "Mon-guh" not "Main-guh"

It pisses me off to no end.

One of my art teachers pronounced it "mon-juh". I wanted to punch her.

The one I hate is when people write "should of" when they mean "should have". "Should of" makes no goddamn sense; I guess it comes from hearing people say "should've" but never actually reading the word. WHICH MEANS YOU ARE AN ILLITERATE PHILISTINE, DAMMIT.

 

[Samuel Adams]

When people use racist when they should be using prejudiced or sexist.

 

[^=ash=^]

Mate.

I don't know you, thus I am not your mate. Not as in friend, nor as in sexual partner.

 

[oktalist]

My pet peeve is of a taboo word.
******.
Dictionary definition: A rude, immoral, or otherwise ignorant person.

You are wrong.

Less instead of fewer

You are cool.

OT: Mine is "case and point." Not a single word as such, but a horrific eggcorn nonetheless.

 

[JokerCrowe]

Irregardles. (>_<) that word causes spotanious cranial explosions in people who look me in the eye after I've read it somewhere. I also don't like when they use the word "sarcasm" when it's "irony" and vice versa. They aren't the same thing, people!
I bet there are more words like that, (I've read semantics on Univeristy level) but I can't think of any right now. And I'm pretty sure the ones I think of will be mentioned at some point.

EDIT: People who mix up "retired" and "retarded". Again: (>_<).

 

[Skarovich]

"Near miss"
Wouldn't that mean that you hit the target? I've heard far too many people use it to mean that they nearly hit something.

 

[tkioz]

My pet peeve is of a taboo word.
******.
Dictionary definition: A rude, immoral, or otherwise ignorant person.

I've got one similar to that. It annoys me when people say 'Negro' is an offensive word, I had my school cause a fuss over it before calling me a racist once :/

I know, I grew up in a house raised by 3 people born before 1940... oh boy did I get a rude shock when I entered the world... to me "black fallah" isn't an offensive word, neither is Negro (just what you call a bloke with dark skin who isn't aboriginal), and New Australian was a common way of saying immigrant... but oh did I get disabused of those notions quick.

Racism is about the intent of language not the language itself which is why I hate the PC crowd, granted there are some words that are pretty much irredeemable but come-off it.

But back on topic I hate the current tend to call every black person an "African American", there are black people in Australia that aren't of Aboriginal (or TSI) descent and who've never set foot in American nor have their parents, grandparents, or great grandparents but some-how people have assumed it's the only PC term for them... grrr...

We seriously need to come up with proper names for the "races" (another word I hate, it implies there is a difference between us, like sub-species of humans even if it doesn't actually mean it), we've got Caucasian... but try getting people on-board with any objective naming for the others and you're going to be called a racist so damn quick.

 

[Hashime]

Bemuse and irregardless. I also hate how ironic and sarcastic is thrown around so much.

you got it ... fuckin professors using irregardless .... as i'm nearly done at my university, if i hear a prof use it, i'm calling them out.

also mac and apple are two words that are misunderstood as being superior when, in fact, they are overpriced mediocrity.

Thank you, just thank you.

 

[A Pious Cultist]

"Near miss"
Wouldn't that mean that you hit the target? I've heard far too many people use it to mean that they nearly hit something.

Near miss... it missed but came near to the target.


"Near miss" isn't "Nearly missed".