3 ms·

To be fair, it seems like most people lie - so incredibly honest means more honest than you would believe a person could be. I don’t see the issue.

• ncmncm 5y ago
  The person saying it did not, in fact, mean that. And, in almost every use, as in that one, the word is what linguists call a "generic intensifier". People say "exponentially" in the same way, referring to processes that have no exponential component at all. People cycle through adverbs, using them until they lose their intensifying quality--once everything is incredible, nothing is--and move on to the next. But "incredibly" has hung on longer than normal, for reasons that are not clear.
  • zepto 5y ago
    Interesting - I don’t have that experience. Yes, people use generic intensifiers, yes, ‘incredibly’ is one of them, but I haven’t noticed it be used any more judiciously than any other such word.
    • ncmncm 5y ago
      I have to guess you are using a meaning for "judiciously" that is unfamiliar to me. It is a fact that "incredibly" has had a longer run as a generic intensifier than is usual.
      • zepto 5y ago
        > I have to guess you are using a meaning for "judiciously" that is unfamiliar to me. My mistake. I meant any less judiciously. > It is a fact that "incredibly" has had a longer run as a generic intensifier than is usual. No it isn’t. If it was, you’d have some evidence to show.
        • ncmncm 5y ago
          If it wasn't, you would have evidence to show that.
          • zepto 5y ago
            Silly. That’s not how facts work. We don’t need evidence to prove something isn’t a fact. It’s only when you claim something is a fact that you need to provide evidence. It’s ok to admit it’s just your perception.