163:
originally referred to anything associated with the east or orient, including the Middle East, and including people. More recently, the term has come to refer to East Asia exclusively, and use of the word to describe people has become
134:" was used in psychology from the 1920s to describe the quick and easy acquisition of skill; it was adopted more widely in the 1970s with the opposite meaning, describing a difficult and arduous process.
812:
440:
724:
640:
592:
463:
820:
491:
259:
s former meaning of "cheerful and carefree" has largely been lost due to its more recent equivalence to the term to "homosexual".
411:
145:
367:
759:
104:"It's all downhill from here" originally meant to become easier but is widely used to mean becoming worse or more difficult.
519:
204:
has come to mean either "occurring every two weeks" or "occurring twice a week". The same ambiguity exists for the word
55:
149:
means "miserly" or "parsimonious", but is rarely used in modern
English because it is easily confused with the slur
131:
346:
244:
can mean both pharmaceutical medicines and illegal recreational psychoactive substances like cocaine or heroin.
273:
means "prone to catching fire", but is sometimes interpreted to mean "not flammable" due to the fact that the
71:
Garner recommends avoiding such terms if their use may distract readers from the intended meaning of a text.
250:
used to mean "horror" but has come to mean "great size", likely due to confusion with the word "enormous".
842:
436:
716:
492:"The meaning of 'moot' is a moot point – whichever variety of English you speak | Mind your language"
123:
has historically meant a point that is worth debating, but the meaning is shifting towards that in
389:
31:, usage, or a word that becomes difficult to use due to other controversy surrounding the word.
36:
614:
584:
222:
have come to ambiguously describe both singular and plural entities, with the singular forms
546:
267:
used to mean "in a hopeful manner" but has come to mean "it is hoped" since the early 1960s.
39:
may be more open to newer usages. Readers may not know which sense is meant especially when
8:
873:
770:
739:
468:
78:", may become skunked, and then eventually revert to their original meaning over time.
665:
339:
How to Not Write Bad: The Most Common
Writing Problems and the Best Ways to Avoid Them
755:
555:
342:
32:
765:
747:
120:
50:
24:
751:
236:
is widely used to mean "uninterested" whereas the primary meaning is "unbiased".
786:
274:
40:
691:
108:
867:
559:
169:
496:
47:
75:
298:
212:
60:
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usually suggests "not". Due to potential dangers of the word confusion,
188:
124:
218:
263:
92:
43:
insist on a meaning that accords with interests that often conflict.
28:
101:
originally meant "brought low" but is often used to mean "honored".
284:
has seen a decrease in usage in the last decades, while the word
175:
159:
151:
240:
412:"'I feel so humble' – the common cry of heroes and villains"
813:"Hopefully, this is the last we'll write about 'hopefully'"
27:
from one meaning to another, perhaps inconsistent or even
254:
368:"The Politics of Writing: Should You Use Skunked Terms?"
112:
is widely used with metaphorical language for emphasis.
23:
is a word that becomes difficult to use because it is
464:"Uproar as OED includes erroneous use of 'literally'"
187:
being a cigarette) but in the United States they are
179:
have various meanings in
British English (such as a
545:
138:
865:
690:Cinemassacre (6 May 2020). Pavlou, Chris (ed.).
183:being a meat dish or a bundle of sticks, and a
86:
520:"A "Steep Learning Curve" for "Downton Abbey""
641:"Man banned from Facebook for liking faggots"
689:
744:The Science and Business of Drug Discovery
585:"How common descriptors fall out of favor"
578:
576:
361:
359:
127:of a point that is irrelevant or academic.
769:
692:"You Know What's BS!? The Word Bimonthly"
59:and has since been adopted by some other
16:Word avoided due to inconsistent meanings
784:
740:"Introduction to Drugs and Drug Targets"
333:
331:
301:, some of which may become skunked terms
288:is used instead to mean "not flammable".
810:
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632:
582:
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409:
387:
365:
356:
866:
717:"Disinterested definition and meaning"
638:
517:
461:
595:from the original on 22 November 2015
489:
443:from the original on 20 December 2022
328:
155:, despite their separate etymologies.
583:Perlman, Merrill (20 October 2014).
639:Prynne, Miranda (1 November 2013).
35:may insist on the old usage, while
13:
388:Brenner, Erin (22 February 2012).
14:
885:
811:Beaujon, Andrew (19 April 2012).
727:from the original on 20 May 2023.
490:Marsh, David (16 January 2015).
462:Hawkes, Steve (13 August 2013).
439:. Cambridge English Dictionary.
835:
804:
778:
731:
709:
683:
658:
607:
538:
518:Zimmer, Ben (8 February 2013).
410:Baggini, Julian (18 May 2013).
366:Brenner, Erin (13 March 2014).
785:Liberman, Mark (27 May 2012).
511:
483:
455:
437:"Be (all) downhill definition"
429:
403:
381:
320:Garner's Modern American Usage
312:
195:
139:Terms with potential to offend
56:Garner's Modern American Usage
1:
305:
390:"The Story Behind "Fulsome""
87:Terms with opposite meanings
7:
843:"Flammable vs. Inflammable"
752:10.1007/978-1-4419-9902-3_2
292:
81:
46:The term was coined by the
10:
890:
721:Collins English Dictionary
589:Columbia Journalism Review
90:
666:"Definition of biweekly"
66:
547:"Opinion | In a Word"
74:Some terms, such as "
823:on 27 September 2015
132:steep learning curve
738:Zanders ED (2011).
554:. 30 January 1999.
619:Collins Dictionary
552:The New York Times
349:, 2013, p. 82 and
761:978-1-4419-9901-6
318:Bryan A. Garner,
230:declining in use.
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48:lexicographer
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22:
850:. Retrieved
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837:
825:. Retrieved
821:the original
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794:. Retrieved
791:Language Log
790:
787:"The H-word"
780:
743:
733:
720:
711:
699:. Retrieved
695:
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673:. Retrieved
669:
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648:. Retrieved
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622:. Retrieved
618:
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597:. Retrieved
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563:. Retrieved
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528:. Retrieved
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501:. Retrieved
497:The Guardian
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473:. Retrieved
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445:. Retrieved
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419:. Retrieved
416:The Guardian
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393:. Retrieved
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371:. Retrieved
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337:Ben Yagoda,
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299:Malapropisms
286:nonflammable
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61:style guides
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21:skunked term
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18:
827:6 September
796:6 September
675:14 February
599:6 September
524:Word Routes
475:6 September
395:6 September
373:6 September
282:inflammable
271:Inflammable
196:Other terms
874:Lexicology
650:5 December
624:5 December
347:1594488487
306:References
189:homophobic
167:The words
164:offensive.
125:US English
117:moot point
91:See also:
746:: 11–27.
560:0362-4331
264:Hopefully
206:bimonthly
146:Niggardly
109:Literally
93:Contronym
868:Category
725:Archived
701:16 April
593:Archived
441:Archived
293:See also
248:Enormity
202:Biweekly
160:Oriental
82:Examples
29:opposite
25:evolving
852:30 June
817:Poynter
771:7120710
696:YouTube
565:12 July
530:6 April
503:27 July
421:1 April
99:Humbled
76:fulsome
33:Purists
768:
758:
558:
447:31 May
351:passim
345:
228:medium
216:, and
191:slurs.
181:faggot
170:faggot
152:nigger
224:datum
219:media
67:Usage
854:2023
829:2015
798:2015
756:ISBN
703:2021
677:2021
652:2023
626:2023
601:2015
567:2020
556:ISSN
532:2023
505:2018
477:2015
449:2022
423:2022
397:2015
375:2015
343:ISBN
241:Drug
226:and
213:Data
173:and
766:PMC
748:doi
278:in-
255:Gay
185:fag
176:fag
130:A "
119:in
53:in
870::
845:.
815:.
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764:.
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742:.
723:.
719:.
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668:.
643:.
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575:^
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358:^
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