The words politicians misuse (and how they should actually be using them)

Donald Trump has never been known for his command of the English language, but when he said that the Republican party were going to “win bigly”, he was resoundingly mocked on social media.

His detractors were quick to point out that bigly isn’t a real word (actually it is), while his supporters were quick to point out that he was actually saying “big league” (which isn’t an adverb and so makes even less sense).

Then there was the time he said that Hillary Clinton was going to get “schlonged”—a word presumably of his own invention and apparently based on the Yiddish word for “penis”…

Trump by no means alone in his misuse of language, of course, although the words our politicians tend to misuse aren’t always as glaring as his.

10 words you might hear misused in political speak—and how you should be using them—are explained here.

ENORMITY

When UKIP won Rochester from the Conservatives in 2014, Nigel Farage took the opportunity to point out the “enormity of what UKIP is beginning to achieve”. The problem with that, however, is that strictly speaking enormity means “extreme severity” or “seriousness”, not “vastness” or “significance”. But then again maybe that’s the meaning he was going for?

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DISINTERESTED

Talk of voters being “disinterested” in politics and the outcome of the referendum thrived in the aftermath of Brexit—but voters were actually anything but. Disinterested means “neutral”, “impartial” or “unprejudiced”. If you’re just not that interested in things, then you’re uninterested.

The use of one to mean the other here is a contentious style issue, but is now so widespread that many dictionaries allow both words to be used with both meanings, despite the views of the traditionalists. Not everyone is quite so accommodating, however—in the words of the Guardian Style Guide, this distinction “is one we should strive to maintain because it is not helpful to readers if we use disinterested and uninterested to mean the same thing.”

REFUTE

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“I completely refute the suggestion that the Government are saying it is the customer’s fault,” said Andrea Leadsom earlier this month. When challenged on their political record or impact, politicians often claim to refute their opposition’s allegations—except what they really mean is reject.

Strictly speaking, refute means “to prove to be false or factually incorrect”. The weaker sense of refute to mean just “deny” or “reject” is, according to Oxford Dictionaries, a more recent development that many traditionalists object to. Then again, you could always follow Sarah Palin’s lead, and just refudiate things…

PRACTICABLE

If something is practicable–a long term economic plan, for instance—then it’s merely capable of being put into practice. Put another way, practicable just means “doable” or “feasible”. Using it mean “useful”, “attainable “or “advantageous” encroaches on the meaning of practical, which might be related etymologically but has different very implications. Although the two words are frequently used interchangeably, there is a subtle distinction here that it is easy to fall foul of.

FORTUITOUS

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Was the timing of Chilcot so soon after the referendum result fortuitous or just fortunate? It all depends on how you saw it. Strictly speaking, fortuitous just means “coincidental”, or “occurring by chance or luck”, regardless of whether that’s good or bad. So if you thought that the Brexit outcome was a welcome distraction from the Chilcot outcome, then the word you really want is fortunate, not fortuitous.

RETICENT

It is no use accusing anyone in politics of reticence in pursuing Article 50, because reticence and reluctance are not the same thing. If someone is reticent, then they’re shy or restrained. If they’re reluctant, then they’re unwilling or hesitant in doing something.

BARTER

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Did the UK, as Boris Johnson claimed, risk “bartering away our freedom and our democracy” by remaining in the EU? That really depends what you mean by bartering. To barter is strictly to exchange things quid pro quo, rather than through a commercial transaction. It is not, despite how many people use it, a synonym of negotiate—instead, it’s really rather a consequence of it.

EXPEDIENT

Would an expedient or an expeditious Brexit be best? Brussels might want an expedient one—namely, one that is swift and immediately for the best, perhaps regardless of the implications. We, however, might prefer an expeditious one—namely, one that is quick, but efficient.

HONE

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George Bush Sr. might one have committed himself to “honing in on the issues”, but honing really means “sharpening” or “refining”, not “focusing” or “concentrating on”. The word that President Bush (and countless others) actually wanted was the word’s soundalike—because honing in and homing in aren’t the same thing.

INVARIABLY

Because of confusion with words like variously and varyingly, invariably is often mistakenly used to mean “every so often” or “on occasion”. Instead it actually means “always” or “habitually”—think of it as just another way of saying “unvaryingly” and it’s true meaning comes through. As a result, invariably should really only be used to describe something that is all be assured to happen.