English words and how they they are understood/misundestood 1. Compelled What they think it means: To do something voluntarily by choice. What it actually means: To be forced or obligated to doing something. To be compelled is to be forced to do something, regardless of whether you actually want to do it or not. 2. Bemused What they think it means: Amused. What it actually means: Confused. While it sounds similar to Amused, its meaning is completely different. It originally comes from the middle-English words Be, which is an intensifier, and Muse, which is to contemplate. 3. Irony What they think it means: Something that is funny. What it actually means: Contrary to what you are expecting. From the Greek word “eirōneia” - meaning “to simulate ignorance”. There are different kinds of irony but they generally are the expression of ones meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite. 4. Redundant What they think it means:Repetitive. What it actually means:Unnecessarily excessive. Not all repetition is redundant. Only when there’s too much of something – it becomes redundant. 5. Effect What you may think it means: To cause something to change. What it actually means: An event that causes a change. If an individual wants to change another’s opinion, the individual will need to affect it somehow. The action taken was the effect that caused the change of opinion. 6. Travesty What they think it means: A tragedy or something unfortunate. What it actually means: A mockery or parody. The death of Robin Williams was atragedy.When some individuals made jokes about it – it was atravesty. 7. i.e. What they think it means: For example. What it actually means: In other words. From the Latin “Id Est” (meaning: in that), i.e. is used when you want repeat something in a different manner – i.e. to say something again in another way. 8. Plethora What they think it means: A lot of something. What it actually means: More than is needed. From the Greek “plēthōrē”, meaning “Be full”. 10,000 people in a stadium are not a plethora of people, but put them in a small house and they suddenly become a plethora. 9. Disinterested What they think it means: Bored. What it actually means: Neutral. If you are bored – you are uninterested (it doesn’t interest you). But if you are disinterested – you simply don’t care either way. 10. Obsolete What they think it means: Old, out of date. What it actually means: Not produced, used, or needed. You might think that your old cellphone is obsolete, but cellphones are still produced, used and needed. A good example of something that is obsolete will be a steam engine – they’re so inefficient compared to today’s combustion & electric engines, that no one produces it, uses it or needs it.
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 05:16:29 +0000
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