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Nit, peruse means to read carefully with an attention to detail.
by maroonshifter 7y ago
Nit, peruse means to read carefully with an attention to detail.
- JackFr 7y ago"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 https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/peruse-usage
- maroonshifter 7y agoYes 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.
- JackFr 7y agoTell me about it. I spend tons of karma absorbing downvotes in a losing battle correcting 'enormity' and 'epicenter'
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- davidivadavid 7y agoSo the normative comment should really be: avoid using "peruse" because it's ambiguous.
- nawgszy 7y agoIn a vacuum, perhaps, but to call it "unnecessarily ambiguous" when literally placed beside the word "skimmers" seems... intentionally dense
- BeetleB 7y agoPick to your nit: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/peruse-usage 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.
- nocman 7y agoI 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.
- mcguire 7y ago"When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less." -- Lewis Carroll