A Word, Please: Six words that may invite contradiction

Because I’m a grammar columnist, anything I write can become a lightning rod for the Gotcha Squad. If an error appears in this column — no matter if it’s real or perceived — rest assured that I hear about it.

I know that sounds like a pain, but there’s an upside. Unlike most people, I get a chance to defend myself. When someone writes to tell me I made an error that isn’t really an error, for example by starting a sentence with “hopefully,” I can give them what-for in the form of multiple links to dictionary entries and style guides.

You don’t have it so good. Chances are, if a colleague or friend thinks she’s found a mistake in your writing, she won’t say anything at all. She’ll just think less of you, and you’ll never get the chance to set her straight.

This creates a dilemma: Should you bow to the misinformed, avoiding the usages they think are errors? Or should you write boldly, not bothering yourself with such petty questions as whether someone who’s herself wrong thinks you’re wrong?

Context, the target reader and your subject matter all factor into the decision. But ultimately it’s your call. All I can do is point out a few terms you may not realize can make sticklers bristle with misinformed indignation. Here are six to watch out for.

Peruse. In its strictest interpretation, this word means the opposite of what people think it means. People say they perused something to mean that they lightly skimmed or browsed it. But its primary definition, according to Merriam-Webster’s, is “to examine or consider with attention and in detail.” Its second definition, however, lets everyone off the hook: “to look over or through in a casual or cursory manner.”

Acronym. It’s easy to believe that almost everyone uses this word wrong. “Acronym,” according to a number of dictionaries, doesn’t mean initials. So FBI, CIA and AAA are not acronyms. Instead, in its main definition, an acronym is a word formed from the first letters or other parts of a compound term.

So NATO is an acronym because it’s pronounced as a word. HUD is an acronym because it’s pronounced as a word. That makes them different from CIA and FBI, which are spoken as individual letters. But some dictionaries do allow “acronym” to be used as a synonym of “initialism.”

Hopefully. Hardliners will tell you that because “hopefully” is an adverb, it can only describe an action. So when you say, “Hopefully, it will rain tomorrow,” you’re injecting hope into the heart of each little raindrop as it falls from the sky. But to believe that, you’d have to ignore a whole class of words known as sentence adverbs, as well as the dictionary definitions that say “hopefully” can mean “I hope that” or “It is hoped that.” Whatever way this word rolls naturally from your keyboard is probably correct.

Enormity. People use this word to refer to size: the enormity of the planet. But in its strictest sense, that’s wrong. It means a great evil. So when you talk about the enormity of, say, an empire, you’re not saying it’s big. You’re saying it’s bad. Of course, that’s only if you ignore its other definitions.

Decimate. It’s not uncommon to hear that a town was decimated by a flood or storm. Roman history buffs scoff at this. “Decimate” started as a reference to an old Roman army practice of killing one out of every 10 soldiers to discipline the whole group. Today, “decimate” can be used to mean partially destroyed or largely destroyed. Be careful not to use it to mean “wipe out completely.” That can get you into real trouble.

Anxious. Sticklers believe that “anxious” is exclusively negative. That’s an overstatement. Still, it’s probably better to say you’re eagerly awaiting the birth of a grandchild or the arrival of a houseguest than to say you’re anxiously awaiting the (presumably) happy event.

JUNE CASAGRANDE is the author of “The Best Punctuation Book, Period.” She can be reached at [email protected].