I’m a poet, so words are important to me; specifically, finding the exact right word for what I want to express. Is it pretentious to care about using the exact word in informal conversations? If other people get what you’re trying to say, is it okay to misuse words?
In high school I learned that disinterested means something different from uninterested. It was in one of the 9 years of American history classes that a teacher told me: George Washington was a disinterested president. As in, he was not ambitious; he was not eager to gain power. He was righteous. Meanwhile, uninterested means, point-blank, not interested.
The point of this spiel is that many people use disinterested and uninterested interchangeably, and it bothers me on a cellular level. I’m seeing a band I love, Why?, in a month for an album anniversary tour and they’re playing the song “Good Friday,” which is a great song, except for the misuse of the word disinterested. I just can’t get past it.
Here’s the turn.
While reading a critique of Infinite Jest for fun because I’m a fucking nerd, I learned a couple of things about words that humbled me. I’m the first to call someone out for misusing words, but it turns out I misuse words all the time without knowing it.
Did you know that nauseous doesn’t mean nauseated? It means causing nausea. As in, the old seafood my roommate’s heating up is nauseous. I’ve apparently never heard someone correctly use nauseous. It sounds bizarre.
And also, presently doesn’t mean at present?? It means ‘soon.’ This just seems dumb to me, but okay.
This realization has got me thinking: maybe I’m too pretentious about words and should chill out. Maybe, since everyone knows what people mean when they misuse disinterested, it doesn’t matter, and I should let it slide.*
*People thinking that ambivalent and indifferent are synonyms also bothers me to no end, and this one I feel justified for since they’re nearly antonyms.
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