Words that have lost their meaning ...

It seems like a lot of people use "frankly" when they mean "basically."
Also, many people use "inferred" to mean "implied."

 

And seeing "niggardly" reminds me of another word that clearly hasn't lost its meaning and, thus, shouldn't be used by anyone, even those attempting to "steal its power."

 

Some people also use infrared . . . but that's a whole 'nuther spectrum.

 

How about 'virtually'?

 

Those words haven't lost their meaning.

People just don't know how to use them properly.

 

That's semantics. Every word on this list still MEANS the same thing, but people THINK it means something else.

 

To be more precise, Okie, it isn't semantics. Words only mean what people THINK they mean. They have no inherent meaning. It's a reactive process. But JR is ultimately correct that the definition of those particular words is not likely to change based on incorrect usage -- and if it does, it will be a very, very long process.

The only thing that actually "loses" meaning is figurative language which has become so rote that it no longer conjures a picture and becomes a cliche. Once the metaphor is lost, the phrase becomes empty.

 

surge

 

I still say that's semantics. Words mean what people say they mean. I agree. But I think the majority of people now think inferred means implied. Thus that is what it means, at least for many people.
I guess the only disagreement I have with what you're saying is how long it takes for the meaning of a word to change. I think it happens quickly if the majority of people misunderstand it.

 

I Love You. (Haven't said it anyone in years, haven't had it said to me in years).

So maybe they're just nonexistent and not lost of meaning.

 

The thread title suggests that through overuse words such as "irony"--the perfect example--have lost their original meaning. It's not just simply a case of mistaken use.

"Diva" would be another one. It originally referred to great female opera singers.

Now it just means any female singer with a little bit of talent who's also a pain in the ass.

And I can assure you, HC is the ultimate Undiva.

"Imply" and "infer" are not the case. They are simply used incorrectly

 

I have no problem admitting if I've made a mistake, but I wonder at what point words that are used incorrectly more often than correctly (such as irony or even the phrase "Immaculate Conception," which our Catholic friends will remind us refers to the birth of Mary, not Jesus) actually have their meaning changed.
Perhaps I have misunderstood the meaning of the word "meaning."