I've had 2 "I do not think that word means what you think it means" moments this week, the first occurring on Tuesday evening and the most recent occurring on Wednesday. During the first, the word ALTRUISTIC was used to describe a friends pursuit of history in the interest of bettering himself. A quick check on dictionary.com reveals that this usage was incorrect. Here's the definition:
al⋅tru⋅is⋅tic
–adjective
1. unselfishly concerned for or devoted to the welfare of others.
The 2nd occurrence was when a friend said he was INTRINSICALLY motivated. So, again to dictionary.com. And, again this time we learn that this usage was incorrect. Here's the definition:
in⋅trin⋅sic
–adjective
1. belonging to a thing by its very nature: the intrinsic value of a gold ring.
Author's Note: I had no idea what these words meant...and in fairness, the people who used these words also thought they may have used the wrong word. So, consider this a public service announcement.
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2 comments:
Inconceivable!
I know the person who "incorrectly" used the word altruistic, and I know that that person knows what altruistic means and knew that it wasn't the right word to use at that time. Perhaps self-betterment or pure enlightenment would have been better words to use, but it was very late at night and it wasn't the time to think of the right word, just the time to convey a message, which was successfully accomplished!
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