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0 pointsmaroonshifter6y ago0 comments

Nit, peruse means to read carefully with an attention to detail.

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"Peruse can mean 'to read something in a relaxed way, or skim' and can also mean 'to read something carefully or in detail.' Peruse is thus a contronym because it has multiple definitions that seem contradict each other."

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/peruse-usage

maroonshifterOP6y ago

Yes I realized this, but this makes the word unnecessarily ambiguous and this new definition is the purely the result of enough people using the word incorrectly long enough.

We don't mean "destroy 10%" when we use the word decimate anymore, I get it. Natural language, migration of meaning, subjective denotation etc.

davidivadavid6y ago

So the normative comment should really be: avoid using "peruse" because it's ambiguous.

nawgszy6y ago

In a vacuum, perhaps, but to call it "unnecessarily ambiguous" when literally placed beside the word "skimmers" seems... intentionally dense

JackFr6y ago

Tell me about it. I spend tons of karma absorbing downvotes in a losing battle correcting 'enormity' and 'epicenter'

1 more reply

BeetleB6y ago

Pick to your nit:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/peruse-usage

The casual reading meaning, although not the original one, has been in use since the 1500's.

nocman6y ago

I find this interesting. I've never heard anyone use this word with the meaning that Merriam Webster (and other dictionaries) give as its primary meaning (as in, the one which includes attention to detail).

It always means "just looking around" whenever I hear anyone use it.

Would be interested to hear other's thoughts. Maybe MW should consider changing the order of their definitions.

mcguire6y ago

"When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less." -- Lewis Carroll

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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JackFr6y ago

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/peruse-usage

maroonshifterOP6y ago

Yes I realized this, but this makes the word unnecessarily ambiguous and this new definition is the purely the result of enough people using the word incorrectly long enough.

We don't mean "destroy 10%" when we use the word decimate anymore, I get it. Natural language, migration of meaning, subjective denotation etc.

davidivadavid6y ago

So the normative comment should really be: avoid using "peruse" because it's ambiguous.

nawgszy6y ago

In a vacuum, perhaps, but to call it "unnecessarily ambiguous" when literally placed beside the word "skimmers" seems... intentionally dense

JackFr6y ago

Tell me about it. I spend tons of karma absorbing downvotes in a losing battle correcting 'enormity' and 'epicenter'

1 more reply

BeetleB6y ago

Pick to your nit:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/peruse-usage

The casual reading meaning, although not the original one, has been in use since the 1500's.

nocman6y ago

It always means "just looking around" whenever I hear anyone use it.

Would be interested to hear other's thoughts. Maybe MW should consider changing the order of their definitions.

mcguire6y ago

"When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less." -- Lewis Carroll

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse