10 smart words we use wrong

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Why "ambitious" is not a compliment, but "impartial" - very much even.

1. Gestalt

Not right: I finally closed the gestalt and watched Game of Thrones!

Right: For three years I was haunted by our ugly parting. But yesterday we finally apologized to each other and I closed the gestalt.

At some point, the phrase "close / complete the gestalt" became quite fashionable. And they began to use it to the point and not very much. "Uh, I did a general cleaning at home, closed the gestalt!" But this is not entirely true.

Gestalt is a psychological and philosophical term that is translated from German as "image, form, structure." And the concept of unfinished gestalts came from gestalt therapy. Psychotherapists talk this way about affairs, relationships or processes that we could not finish correctly, and now they haunt us. Breakups, quarrels, losses, problems in relations with parents, disappointments and unfulfilled hopes - these are what can be attributed to unclosed gestalts.

That is, it is something deeper and more serious than an unfinished book or unwashed windows. Although the line is quite thin here. If the overlooked "Game of Thrones" has not gone out of your head for a long time and poisons your existence, perhaps it can also be considered your unfinished gestalt.

2. Impartial

Not right: I quarreled with my boss, the situation turned out to be very impartial.

Right: I do not know which of you is right: you are both dear to me and I cannot judge impartially.

A very insidious word. At first glance, everything is obvious: we are talking about something or someone unpleasant. But in order to understand how things really are, you have to remember the forgotten word "partiality", which means bias, partial attitude towards someone. Accordingly, impartial - "impartial, impartial." This can be a judgment. Or, for example, a portrait - if it shows how a person really looks and does not embellish anything.

3. Ambitious

Not right: She's so ambitious! She graduated with honors from the institute, got a good job and will probably quickly make a career.

Right: He is very ambitious, looks down on others, painfully perceives any failure.

The word "ambitious" is almost a compliment on the lips of many people. So they say about someone determined, purposeful, hardworking - about someone who wants to achieve a lot. But if we look in the dictionary for the word "ambition", we will see that its meaning is slightly different - "pride, arrogance, arrogance, a heightened sense of honor." There is one more interpretation - "soliciting a place, striving for mercy and promotion." Perhaps it was because of him that the word "ambitious" began to describe hard workers and careerists. Only the subtext of this adjective is negative in any case. You might say, “He's so ambitious! For the sake of promotion, everything will go."

4. Odious

Not right: This singer is so odious! He is very charismatic and always looks extravagant.

Right: The odious singer hit the journalist again during an interview.

For some reason, "odious" has become synonymous with the adjectives "charismatic", "extravagant", "famous", "shocking". This is what they often say about creative people - fashion designers, musicians, poets. Only this word can inadvertently offend someone. After all, its real meaning is "unpleasant, disgusting, hateful." In general, the shade is negative, and a person does not become odious just from the fact that he put on a red beret and tied a boa around his neck. Unless, of course, these accessories make you hate.

5. Sociophobe

Not right: He posts creepy pictures and is silent all the time. Better to stay away from him - suddenly he is a social phobia.

Right: I am a social phobia, it is very difficult for me to leave the house and communicate with people.

Sociophobes already have a difficult time: they are afraid to contact other people - to communicate, to speak in public, and so on. And, as if this were not enough, they are periodically labeled as aggressive, cruel and potentially dangerous individuals. And the thing is that people often confuse the concepts of "social phobia" and "sociopath" - that is, one who has a dissocial personality disorder. It is for him that cruelty, aggression, heartlessness and disregard for social norms are characteristic.

6. Frustration

Not right: After this tragedy, he fell into complete frustration - he does not get out of bed, is silent all day, does not eat anything.

Right: I feel frustrated because I know that my dreams are impossible.

Another buzzword. It is clear that it is somehow connected with sadness, fatigue and negative experiences. Therefore, I just want to say something like "I'm so tired of working seven days a week that I sit in complete frustration and do not know what to do." However, for such a case, the word "prostration" is more suitable - exhaustion, apathetic and oppressed state that can occur after an illness or shock. And frustration is rather dissatisfaction, discomfort and disappointment due to the fact that the desired does not correspond to reality.

7. Appeal

Not right: To appeal to complex concepts, you first need to understand their meaning.

Right: The author of the book appeals to the results of scientific research and the opinion of authoritative experts.

The original meaning of the word "appeal" is familiar to everyone - to appeal. But sometimes it is confused with the verb "to operate", that is, to manage. Expressions like “appeal with terms”, “appeal with concepts” are especially common. But it's not worth saying that. "To appeal" means "to seek someone's opinion, to appeal to someone or something." In other words, you can appeal to dictionaries, but you cannot appeal with complex words.

8. Under the auspices

Not right: The government raised taxes due to the lack of money for pensions.

Right: Under the auspices of the government, she launched a new social program.

Periodically, "under the auspices" is used in the meaning of "under the pretext." Only here is the "aegis" - a magic cape of the ancient Greek god Zeus. According to legend, she had protective properties, therefore, to be "under the auspices" means "to be protected, under the patronage, to act in someone's interests."

9. Authentic

Not right: A new authentic cafe with handmade furniture and paintings by contemporary artists has opened in the center of the capital.

Right: Recently opened a restaurant with authentic Asian cuisine based on recipes from the villages of Thailand and Cambodia.

Another buzzword. Collections of clothes, cafes and restaurants, music, paintings are called authentic when they want to emphasize their originality and exclusivity. Only the dictionary meaning of the word "authentic" is "authentic, coming from the original source." So they say, for example, about historical documents and legal papers. So a restaurant can be called authentic if it preserves the traditions of cooking, and uses folk ornaments and some specific decor in the interior. Although the meanings of words sometimes change, they acquire new shades. And if “authentic” will continue to be used as a synonym for the concepts “unique”, “creating a special atmosphere”, perhaps the former meaning will fade into the background.

10. Functionality

Not right: This application has a very diverse functionality.

Right: The latest update affected the capabilities of the application: now it can no longer cope with all tasks.

They love to flaunt the word "functional" when they talk about gadgets or programs. Usually they mean that a service or device has many different capabilities. But "functional" does not fit here at all: this is a concept from mathematics. Instead, you can use the word "functionality", it means the ability to perform a specific function. But it is better to be more careful with it: it is often used solely for the sake of a "smart" term. It is much better to list and describe the functions than to insert vague and meaningless phrases in the spirit of "the application has rich and varied functionality."