10 Words That Don’t Mean What You Think They Mean

“You keep using that word,” Inigo Montoya infamously said in The Princess Bride so many years ago, “but I do not think it means what you think it means.”

We’ve all been there. Using a word in a way that isn’t technically correct—or, even worse, it’s just straight-up wrong. It can be embarrassing, of course. Nobody wants to get something wrong. But the truth is that many words are used incorrectly by many, many people. Even smart people get things wrong from time to time. Smart people like you! (Is this flattery doing anything for you, dear reader?)

Jokes aside, there are plenty of complicated words in the English language that get misused all the time by vast swaths of society. In this list, we’ll go through a fun and enlightening exploration of ten of those words. Read carefully, learn quickly, and reconfigure the definitions of these words in your head. Your future vocabulary will thank you!

Related: 10 Famous Writers Who Came Up with Everyday Words

10 Pristine

More often than not, people associate the idea of something being “pristine” with that thing being perfectly clean, spotless, or sparkling clear. People describe all kinds of manmade objects—from bedrooms and houses to books, dinner plates, and everything in between—as being “pristine” or existing in “pristine condition” after being cleaned. Certainly, we’ve all used the word in that way. But here’s the thing: we are all incorrect!

In truth, “pristine” specifically refers to something that is not spoiled or altered but is instead in its original state. Most often, then, it refers to a natural habitat somewhere out in the wild that hasn’t been altered in any way by human hands. A mountaintop, then, would be “pristine.” Even though it is covered with dirt, dust, mud, snow, and whatever other grime there may be up there, it is “pristine” if it’s unaltered by human beings or any other unnatural event or force. And it’s not “pristine” because it’s clean. Got it?^[1]

9 Disinterested

Admittedly, this is a tricky one. If we offered to give you a million bucks if you could define the word “disinterested” and took your phone away so you couldn’t cheat, would you walk away with that massive cash prize? Or would you stumble and lose out on a seven-figure payday? If you are like most people in the English-speaking world, we have a feeling that you would stumble. Because we’re going to go ahead and guess that you’d define “disinterested” simply as “not interested” or maybe even “no longer interested.” And you’d be wrong!

In actuality, “disinterested” is specifically meant to refer to a lack of bias in making a decision. You know—the act of being fair and impartial. For example, you would (properly) use the word to explain the importance of having a “disinterested” judge be able to decide a court case without letting their own personal biases come into play. Make sense? Of course, English speakers don’t often use it like that. Rather, most of us incorrectly think the word merely means “not interested.” And so, we wallow in our ignorance. But not for long!^[2]

8 Ironic

You can blame Alanis Morrisette for this one. For decades now, Americans and those from around the rest of the English-speaking world have been misusing “ironic” to the point of leaving copy editors, linguists, and grammar snobs alike all ready to pull their hair out. For too long now, people have chosen to describe things as “ironic” if they involve a coincidence or some other bit of situational randomness. Let’s say you are traveling from the United States to Japan, and you touch down in Tokyo’s airport and see your next-door neighbor there. Surprise! If you’re like many people, you might say it’s “ironic” that the two of you should meet halfway around the world.

But that’s actually the wrong use of the word! As its definition clearly states, “irony” has absolutely nothing to do with coincidence or situational randomness. Instead, it very specifically refers to something happening that is the opposite of what you’d expect to happen. So, perhaps the example with your neighbor could (actually) be ironic if that’s how you meant it. But more often than not, people use “ironic” to describe coincidence. And that’s wrong!

So let’s set you straight. Here’s a proper example of irony: You show up at the DMV to get your driver’s license renewed, there’s no line to wait in, all the tellers are helpful and fast, and the entire process takes less than ten minutes. Now THAT would be ironic!^[3]

7 Irregardless

There are a lot of words on this list that you have probably been using wrong, but this one takes the cake. “Irregardless” is popping up here because it’s used wrong, obviously. But it’s more than that. See, “irregardless” technically isn’t a word at all! What people mean to say when they utter the word “irregardless” is just… “regardless.” You don’t need the prefix on it. For example, just say, “Regardless of what people may believe, irregardless is not a word.” See how simple that was?

But there’s a big twist here that has popped up in the last few years. Because so many people have incorrectly used “irregardless” for so long at this point, Merriam-Webster and other dictionaries have caved and added it to their list of recognized words. Seriously. The English language is always changing and evolving; this is one big example of that happening in real time. A decade or two ago, you would have been made fun of by any intelligent person for using “irregardless” in a sentence. But now? Well, it turns out we’re the ones who are wrong. Carry on using it as before, we guess.^[4]

6 Entitled

Most people know all about the definition of “entitled.” Surely, you’ve heard people derisively call those they don’t like things like “entitled brat.” In short, the word is used to refer to the rights that a person has. Typically, as in that example of the “entitled brat,” it is very often used negatively to refer to somebody feeling like they are owed more than others think they should be getting. That’s why we tell people not to be “entitled” and things of that nature.

But if you’re like millions of English speakers around the world, you probably also use “entitled” to refer to the title of something. For too many people, if they are talking about a book, a movie, or a television show, they’ll tell their friends that it is “entitled” when it’s time to describe the actual title. The only problem? Well, “entitled” isn’t a word in that regard. But “titled” is. So, the next time you feel like telling a friend about a great movie you just watched, all you have to do is tell them what it’s titled… and not “entitled.”^[5]

5 Ambivalent

For whatever reason, many people think that “ambivalent” means that you don’t really care that much about something either way. In common parlance today, people will use the word as a proverbial shoulder shrug. Ask somebody if they want to go to the Mexican restaurant for lunch or the sushi place, and they might literally shrug those shoulders and say, “Ah, I’m ambivalent about it.” But ambivalent doesn’t mean you don’t care about something. In fact, it means quite the opposite—that you care so much, your psyche is deeply conflicted as it wrestles with two contradicting feelings!

To be technical, Merriam-Webster defines ambivalent as “having or showing simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings toward something or someone.” And that’s the key point here: Those contradictory attitudes or feelings are meant to be strong. Ambivalence is not an emotional shoulder shrug cast off by an apathetic person. It’s a deeply held pair of contradictory beliefs meant to tear you up inside!^[6]

4 Grizzly

It’s only natural to hear the word “grizzly” and think we’re talking about the bear. And if you put “grizzly” in front of the word “bear,” that’s exactly what we’re talking about. Congratulations—you got that one right. But there’s an entirely different use of “grizzly” that people seem to always mess up. Without the “bear” add-on, the standalone word “grizzly” actually means gray or gray-haired. So, you might describe an old man with a gray beard as “grizzly.” (Looking at you, Santa Claus.)

Oh, and then there’s a homonym at play here, too. Take the word “grisly,” and you can really throw things out of whack. Spelled like that, “grisly” describes something that inspires fear, terror, or horror. A scary movie might have a “grisly” scene in it, for example. Heck, let’s go one step further and combine the three uses: The grizzly old man being killed by the grizzly bear made for a grisly scene in that movie. Confused yet?^[7]

3 Terrific

We’re sure that you think you know what “terrific” means. Call it “unusually fine,” “magnificent,” or even “extraordinary,” per Merriam-Webster. The word is meant for good things, events, people, moments, and feats. Calling the weather “terrific” means it’s warm and sunny outside; calling a friend’s good news “terrific” means you are happy that something very good happened to them. And on and on and on. But “terrific” is born out of the same root word as a bunch of bad words, the most notable of which are “terrible” and “terror.” Taken that way, it’s only natural to ask: how did “terrific” come to mean something great, when “terrible” and “terror” are reserved for very bad things?

The short answer is a process called amelioration. In that semantic language process, words take on new meanings over decades or even centuries. People start using a word that initially means one thing ironically or sarcastically. Somebody coins a new phrase or perfects a new way of speaking, and it catches on. Before anybody realizes it, what was once a bad word suddenly becomes good. Linguists think this happened to “terrific” at some point in the late 19th century. Up until then, the word was reserved for bad things. But over a few decades, its meaning flipped. And now, here we are. Isn’t that just terrific?!^[8]

2 Bemused

One of the most commonly misused words in the entire English language must undoubtedly be “bemused.” Because of its “mused” root, it’s pretty natural for your brain to make the connection between it and “amused.” That would be easy and straightforward, right? But unluckily for us (and doubly so for people who learn to speak the language later in life), English is neither easy nor straightforward. So, naturally, “bemused” means nothing remotely similar to “amused”—even if everybody thinks they are synonyms!

In truth, “bemused” simply means that you are confused and/or bewildered. It doesn’t mean you are happy, jovial, or laughing in any way, shape, or form. Granted, you could be “bemused” about something and get so confused over it that you eventually become “amused.” But those would be two distinct emotions and two very different definitions. Better to learn the difference now than make the mistake again in the future—and risk leaving your conversation partner “bemused” over your stumble!^[9]

1 Peruse

You probably believe that “peruse” means to read something quickly or to skim it quickly just to grab the gist of the content. And that’s not really true. Merriam-Webster (and every other dictionary worth its salt) lists the actual, primary definition of “peruse” as meaning to read through something “with thoroughness or care.” That’s right—when you “peruse” something, you are supposed to read it in painstaking detail in order to learn everything you can and pick up every single detail.

But that’s not how it’s used in society today. And the whole confusion started in one fateful moment back in 1906. That year, a writer named Frank Vizetelly published A Desk-Book of Errors in English. In it, he demanded that “the former [peruse] implies reading with care and attention and is almost synonymous with scanning, which is to examine with critical care and in detail. A person is more apt to read than to scan or peruse the Bible.” And just like that, a secondary meaning of “peruse” came into popular usage.

Today, Merriam-Webster recognizes both definitions. That is, you can “peruse” something in great detail and “peruse” something by scanning it over very quickly. Confusing, right? We’re with you. Just know that the actual technically correct definition of the word requires you to deeply dive into your reading…^[10]

+ BONUS: Literally

We couldn’t go through this entire list without including “literally” in it, could we? We literally (!) needed to be sure that we got around to listing this oft-misdefined word out among its commonly mistaken pals. And so, here we are! As far as the definition of “literally” is concerned, it’s pretty simple: you use the word when you mean something actually happened. The word is meant to refer to an actuality, a reality, an event, a moment, or a thing without exaggeration or deceit. If something “literally” happened, it happened!

There’s just one problem: That’s not how society has been using the word for the last several decades. In the last twenty-ish years, “literally” has been used so often as a purposely exaggerated qualifier that it has come to mean the opposite of its original definition. You might say, “I’m literally starving,” when you are hungry. Or “I’m literally dying” when you are tired. Of course, you aren’t “literally” starving if you missed a meal, and you’re not “literally” on your deathbed if you haven’t slept well for a few days. But that’s what the word has come to mean in common parlance. The definitional wheel keeps on turning!^[11]