Imagine you are writing an important email to a colleague. You want to describe a spreadsheet you’ve attached to the message. You type: “I have perused the data, and I think we have a problem.”
You hit send. But then, a moment of panic sets in. Did you just say that you studied the data with intense, thorough attention to detail? Or did you just tell your colleague that you casually skimmed over it while drinking your morning coffee?
Welcome to the treacherous world of skunked terms. These are words that exist in a state of linguistic purgatory. They are currently midway through a shift in meaning, creating a scenario where using them is dangerous regardless of your intention. If you use the traditional definition, half your audience won’t understand you. If you use the modern definition, the other half will judge your intelligence. Like a skunk at a garden party, their presence simply clears the room.
The Anatomy of a Skunking
The term “skunked term” was coined by the lexicographer and usage expert Bryan Garner. In his Modern American Usage, Garner describes a specific evolutionary process that turns a perfectly good word into a communication hazard.
Language is always evolving. Words shift meanings constantly (a process known as semantic drift). “Awful” used to mean “full of awe”, and “silly” used to mean “blessed.” These changes usually happen over centuries. Skunking occurs when that change happens rapidly and divisively within a generation or two.
The process usually looks like this:
- Stage One: A word has a specific, traditional meaning established by elite usage and dictionaries.
- Stage Two: A new, loose, or erroneous usage emerges and gains popularity, often due to a misunderstanding of the word’s etymology or sound.
- Stage Three (The Skunking): The transition creates a fierce battleground. Purists (prescriptivists) cling to the old meaning and aggressively correct the “error.” Meanwhile, the general populace (and descriptivists) adopts the new meaning.
During Stage Three, the word becomes unusable. It ceases to be a tool for communication and becomes a distraction. The reader stops thinking about your message and starts thinking about your word choice.
The Usual Suspects: Case Studies in Confusion
You likely encounter skunked terms weekly without realizing the danger you are in. Here are four of the most volatile examples currently circulating in the English language.
1. Enormity
The Traditional Meaning: Extreme evil, wickedness, or a terrible crime.
The Modern Meaning: Huge size; immense scale.
When a newscaster mentions “the enormity of the refugee crisis”, are they referring to the sheer number of people involved (size), or are they commenting on the moral horror of the situation (wickedness)? While the meanings often overlap in tragic situations, they are distinct.
If you say, “I was overwhelmed by the enormity of the concert venue”, a language purist might chuckle, envisioning a stadium made of pure evil. Because the distinction between “enormousness” (size) and “enormity” (evil) is a favorite shibboleth for grammar snobs, this word remains heavily skunked.
2. Nonplussed
The Traditional Meaning: So surprised and confused that one is unsure how to react; bewildered.
The Modern Meaning: Unbothered, unimpressed, or unfazed.
This is perhaps the most dangerous skunked term because the new meaning is the exact opposite of the old one (an auto-antonym). In standard usage, being nonplussed means you are flustered. in widespread North American colloquialism, it implies you are cool as a cucumber.
If you write, “The CEO appeared nonplussed by the allegations”, half your readers will think the CEO was panic-stricken, and the other half will think the CEO didn’t care at all. That is a catastrophic failure of communication.
3. Peruse
The Traditional Meaning: To read or examine something with great care and attention to detail.
The Modern Meaning: To skim widely or read casually.
This shift likely occurred because “peruse” sounds relaxed. It sounds like “cruise.” However, in legal and academic circles, perusing a document implies a deep dive. If a lawyer bills you for three hours to “peruse a contract”, and you think the word means “glance over”, you are going to be very upset when the invoice arrives.
4. Disinterested
The Traditional Meaning: Impartial; unbiased; having no stake in the outcome (e.g., a judge).
The Modern Meaning: Bored; not interested.
We already have a word for being bored: uninterested. However, people frequently swap in “disinterested” to sound more formal. The result is a loss of nuance. A “disinterested judge” is exactly what you want in a courtroom (someone fair). An “uninterested judge” is a nightmare (someone playing on their phone during your trial). Because this distinction is so useful, language purists fight hard to keep this word from sliding into total synonymy with boredom, inadvertently skunking it for everyone.
The Psychology of Correction
Why do these words cause such heated debates? Why can’t we just let meanings slide?
Using skunked terms often triggers a social phenomenon known as “correction signaling.” When someone corrects your use of decimate (reminding you that it historically meant killing one in every ten soldiers, not total destruction), they aren’t usually confused by your meaning. They understood you perfectly. They are correcting you to signal their own education and adherence to tradition.
Conversely, those who use the modern definitions often view the traditionalists as pedantic fossils who refuse to accept that language is a living, breathing democracy. This friction is what keeps the “skunk” smell lingering. Until one side admits defeat, the word remains a battlefield.
The Writer’s Strategy: Avoidance and Clarity
So, what should a writer or speaker do when faced with a skunked term? If you are a linguistics enthusiast, you might feel compelled to take a stand. You might shout, “I will use enormity to mean evil because that is its heritage!”
But if your goal is clear communication, the best move is usually a tactical retreat. The goal of writing is to move an idea from your brain to the reader’s brain with as little friction as possible. Skunked terms are high-friction words.
Here is a survival guide for navigating these treacherous waters:
- Know Your Audience: If you are writing for an academic journal or a legal review, stick to the traditional definitions. If you are texting friends, the modern usage reigns supreme.
- The “Recast” Rule: If there is a 50% chance your reader will misunderstand you, rewrite the sentence. Instead of saying “peruse”, use “study” or “skim” depending on your actual meaning. Instead of “disinterested”, use “unbiased.”
- Context Clues: If you must use a skunked term, build context around it to force the definition. “He was nonplussed, sweating and stuttering in his confusion.” The context clues remove the ambiguity.
Conclusion: The cycle of Acceptance
Eventually, the skunk smell fades. The “wrong” meaning usually wins by sheer force of numbers, and the dictionaries update their entries to reflect usage rather than history. Words like “host” (which used to be skunked when used as a verb) and “contact” (historically frowned upon as a verb) have largely graduated from the skunk list.
Until enormity, peruse, and nonplussed reach that finish line, however, handle them with care. Language is a tool, but these specific tools currently have sharp edges on both ends.