I looked for a word or phrase describing this phenomenon, but couldn't come up with one that quite fit. The closest we have is "Auxesis", which is defined as "a

I looked for a word or phrase describing this phenomenon, but couldn't come up with one that quite fit. The closest we have is "Auxesis", which is defined as "a form of hyperbole that intentionally overstates something or implies that it is greater in significance or size than it really is" - but I don't think that quite covers it. We need a word that indicates "non-cognizant hyperbolic inflation" - when a more powerful word replaces a less powerful one in every day speech (like "awesome" or "amazing" replacing "good"), but the speakers don't do it on purpose - they just use the more powerful word as a matter of course. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_change http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_change