It doesn’t mean that

Most people use these 10 words incorrectly

What is the correct word to describe experiencing nausea? What about saying that you have several choices to pick from? If your first choice was to say "nauseous" or "alternative", you are mistaken. Vocabulary is, in great part, learned through copying and imitating others, but this can also lead to incorrect uses of a word becoming widespread. Let us explore some words that you might be using incorrectly!

Many people use "nauseous" to describe feeling sick or experiencing nausea, but this is incorrect. Nauseous primarily means something that causes sickness or nausea, such as spoiled food or foul smells.

The correct term for feeling sick is "nauseated", although some people consider that "feeling nauseous" has become so common that it is acceptable in informal speech.

This word definitely has something to do with size, but not in the way that many would think. Nowadays, we hear "enormity" used to describe huge things, but the better word for that would be "enormousness".

The correct use of "enormity" is related to bad things, wickedness, and evil, such as the "enormity of a crime" or "the enormity of a tragedy".

If you use the word "refute" to mean "opposing an argument", you are not wrong, but you are not necessarily right either. If you are simply opposing or presenting a counter-argument, "deny" or "rebut" would be more appropriate.

To properly refute something, saying it’s incorrect is not enough. You have to prove that the argument or claim is false with logic and supporting evidence.

Have you ever described an encounter or event as "fortuitous"? Maybe a stranger helped you at the right moment, or you found a $100 bill in your pocket. These are indeed fortuitous events, but not because they are beneficial to you.

The word "fortuitous" means that something happens by pure chance or accident, but does not necessarily involve luck or good fortune.

One would think that by adding the prefix dis- (meaning "opposite" or "apart") to the word "interested", the resulting meaning would be "not interested" or "bored". However, the correct term for not being interested is "uninterested".

What does disinterested mean, then? It does convey a lack of interest, in the sense that one does not have any personal gain in the situation and is able to be fair, neutral, and unbiased.

Many people define themselves as a skeptic about certain topics or beliefs, but are they really skeptics or are they mere deniers? The term "denier" carries a negative connotation, so it’s easy to see why someone wouldn’t use it to define themselves, but "skeptic" has a different meaning.

Skeptics question a statement or claim, but they do it based on evidence. They assess the facts and are open to changing their mind if the evidence proves them wrong. On the other hand, deniers flat-out reject the claim or belief, and close themselves to any fact or evidence.

It is common to hear "nonplussed" to describe someone being calm or unfazed by things, but did you know that its proper meaning is the opposite? It actually means that you are so surprised or confused that you don’t know what to say or do.

The word comes from the Latin non plus, meaning "no more" or "no further", and it was initially used for a standstill situation where nothing else could be said or done. Eventually, it shifted to describe being in that standstill state, with no idea what to do.

Is "alternative" synonymous with "choice"? Yes, but only sometimes. Although it is common to hear about having "multiple alternatives", by definition an alternative is a choice between two things.

The word comes from the Latin alter, "the other", traditionally used for choices with two different options. If the choices are multiple, they are simply choices.

It is common to hear problems described as dilemmas, but while all dilemmas are a problem, not all problems are a dilemma. A problem is a difficult situation that needs to be solved. There might be more than one solution, and some problems might be easier than others.

A dilemma, however, is never easy or clear, because it presents two choices, none of them attractive. No matter the choice, the outcome will be negative.

In many words, the prefix in- means "not", which might make one think that words like "inflammable" mean "not flammable". However, many words use the prefix in- to mean "into" or "to cause to be", and inflammable is one of them.

The English vocabulary adopted the term "flammable", meaning something that easily catches fire, from Latin. But Latin also had the term inflammare, meaning "to set on fire", from which we got inflammable, which means that "flammable" and "inflammable" are synonyms, and their opposite is "non-flammable".

Go beyond red, green, and blue

Learn the names of 12 rarely-used but beautiful colors

Image: Adrien Converse

In this day and age, when you can ask for anything online as long as you can express it in words, it is important to be specific about what you are looking for. Colors are no exception. Take a look at the following 12: Did you know that any of these existed?

Image: Simona Sergi

The first entry on our list goes to this mustard-like yellow or yellow-orange color named after a gum resin of similar tone, extracted from a Cambodian tree. The word Gamboge itself comes from the Modern Latin cambogium, which is the Latin version of the place name Cambodia.

Image: Sindy Süßengut

The name itself is very evocative of its nature, as it makes us think of the deep blue seas. But the ultramarine color’s name comes from the Medieval Latin word that means "beyond the sea" because the pigment employed to make this dye, called lapis lazuli, was imported to Europe from Asia.

Image: Taylor Friehl

If you are looking for a purplish-red tone, the Tyrian purple might be just what you need. This particular color was highly valued during the Byzantine Empire, in part because of how difficult it was to obtain. The base to create this shade of purple was in the secretions of a predatory sea snail. Definitely not an easy task if you need a lot of pigment.

Image: Nilendrajyoti Halder

The second unusual blue tone in our list, cerulean, can also be called a "deep blue", but you’ll find it if you look up, as it is described as "sky blue." The word "cerulean" comes from the Latin caeruleus, meaning "dark blue."

Image: irmingham Museums Trust

The word brings to mind a mixture of beige and grey, and that is no mistake. The color is much older than one would expect, with references to it in the English language going back as far as 1925.

Image: Elena Kloppenburg

While citric fruits include other colors, like orange, the word citreous refers specifically to a "greenish-yellow" color associated with lemons and limes.

Image: Sincerely Media

Which word would you use to describe the color of a sunset? Orange? Red? There is a word for such a color, and it is ponceau. It is described as "a vivid reddish-orange color."

Image: Erik Karits

The word puce means "flea" in French. And, yes, the puce color is a dark or brownish purple, not unlike the color of a flea. Perhaps not the most enticing or flattering color name but still, a unique color nonetheless.

Image: Heather Wilde

Another color name that comes from Latin, atrovirens is also the name of a coniferous tree. It refers to a dark green or a deep teal, not unlike the one found in these types of pyramid-shaped trees.

Image: Katelyn Greer

Most people are used to saying "flesh color" when it comes to describing a color that is similar to a pale skin tone, but there is a more accurate word for it: sarcoline.

Image: Daniele Levis Pelusi

A word that is seldom used these days but that describes a much-used color, even if it's named differently. Eburnean is something that is ivory in color. This off-white color is created by adding a touch of yellow to white.

Image: Ronaldo de Oliveira

A color that everybody thought already existed until they saw it, Vantablack is one of the closest colors to black… without being solid black. Vantablack pigment is the darkest man-made substance in the world because it absorbs almost all visible light.