I think this is a difficult thing because one of the two words being used is completely made-up and the distinction between their definitions is extremely fuzzy

I think this is a difficult thing because one of the two words being used is completely made-up and the distinction between their definitions is extremely fuzzy. I realize that all words are made up at some point, but there are still a lot we end up calling synonyms. In the bedpan example given, I believe it's a bedpan but I have to trust that it's been sterilized. In this case, it's not alief that keeps me from drinking but rather distrust. The sad movie example is a classic example of "Suspension of Disbelief" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_of_disbelief http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_of_disbelief). As an aside, did anyone else notice that their spell checker marked the word alief? I guess my vote is that it shouldn't be a separate word.