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Derisory, Derisive, Abusive, Nauseous: The Words To Be Used

This document discusses the proper usage of certain words, particularly adjectives that describe human attitudes versus the objects of those attitudes. It gives examples of words like "pathetical", "derisory", "derisive", "abusive", and "nauseous" that are often misused to modify objects rather than attitudes. The document laments that some new dictionaries seem to sanction these misuses even though they contradict longstanding linguistic traditions and can change the meaning.

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15 views

Derisory, Derisive, Abusive, Nauseous: The Words To Be Used

This document discusses the proper usage of certain words, particularly adjectives that describe human attitudes versus the objects of those attitudes. It gives examples of words like "pathetical", "derisory", "derisive", "abusive", and "nauseous" that are often misused to modify objects rather than attitudes. The document laments that some new dictionaries seem to sanction these misuses even though they contradict longstanding linguistic traditions and can change the meaning.

Uploaded by

Ilias
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Words to be Used

Like the w ord pathetical in Shakespeare, it was applied to persons or


things w hich evoked or expressed genuine sympathy. In his Life of Samuel
Johnson Boswell quotes a poetic tribute paid by Johnson on the death o f
his old friend, Robert Levett. Boswell declares that Johnson had such an
affectionate regard for Levett that he honoured his m em ory w ith the
following pathetic verses. Thus at that time one m ight have praised an
actresss sympathetic and moving performance in a tragedy by declaring
it pathetic. If that were said today, it w ould be m ore likely to mean that
the acting was pitiably bad.
derisory, derisive, abusive, nauseous
Sad to say, there are cases o f misuse o f words w hich we find sanctioned
by new dictionaries. W here there are adjectives w hich define hum an
attitudes we generally distinguish between the attitude and the object at
w hich it is directed. That is to say, a m an may be described as being
desirous of something and the object o f his desire as desirable. Similarly
a person may be described as contem ptuous and, if the object o f the
contem pt merits the attitude, we say it is contem ptible. If I developed
a bad habit of mixing up these two w ords and describing a thing as
contem ptuous w hen I m eant that it was contem ptible, the pedants
w ould rightly be unwilling to give me their support. But in fact that is
exactly w hat has happened in connection w ith the verb to deride. By
all reasonable linguistic tradition, a person w ho derides is being derisory
or derisive and the object o f the derision is derisible. My Shorter Oxford
English Dictionary (1933 edition, reprinted w ith corrections 1947) presents
all this clearly. Yet I find a new dictionary accepting the assumption that
w hat is to be derided is derisory.
Adjectives such as derisive and decisive are descriptive in the first
place o f hum an attitudes. So is the adjective abusive. An abusive speech
is a speech full o f abuse. Yet a speaker on BBC Radio 4, reporting on
child-abuse, declared that people have been making their abusive claims
for years. Clearly a claim that there has been abuse cannot be called an
abusive claim, any m ore than a protest against indecency could be called
an indecent protest.
A w ord misused in the same way as derisory is the w ord nauseous.
W hat is nauseous is nauseating. It causes nausea; it is repulsive and
distasteful. Indeed the w ord has the connotative strength o f loathsom e.
Yet journalists regularly misuse the word.

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