History CommonlyMisusedWords / LessPedantic

* '''Lava''' and '''magma''', while related, are not one and the same. Lava is molten liquid rock that has been expelled from a volcano and is flowing on the surface whereas magma is the same substance that's inside the volcano and has not ejected to the surface. Due to lava being used to describe magma in most video games and films, lava is used as the catch all term for liquid rock no matter where it's situated.

* '''Psychotic''': It does not mean [[InsaneEqualsViolent "going around and killing people for no reason"]]; someone who does that is just homicidal. Psychosis is a loss of touch with reality, characterized by disorganised thinking, delusions, and sometimes (but not always) auditory, visual, and tactile hallucinations. While people with psychosis can be homicidal, it is extremely rare (violence by psychotics is more usually related to paranoid or other delusions). Psychosis is also often confused with psychopathy, which is an entirely different concept altogether (as detailed immediately below).
* '''[[TheSociopath Psychopath / Sociopath]]''': They are usually not murderers; in fact, many successful [[CorruptCorporateExecutive CEOs]], [[AmoralAttorney lawyers]], and [[SleazyPolitician politicians]] are psychopaths or sociopaths. Psychopathy and sociopathy both mean lack of a conscience, a limited emotional range, and difficulty in forming significant relationships. They also often lack impulse control. Both psychopaths and sociopaths can be classed as having antisocial personality disorder, though not all people with the disorder are psychopaths or sociopaths. Psychopathy and sociopathy are typically held to be synonyms under the umbrella of antisocial personality disorder (which is the term the DSM-IV uses that includes psychopaths and sociopaths), and when a distinction is made it has nothing to do with the origins of the disorder, since the origins are not definitely known. The typical distinction is that sociopaths have a more normal temperament and are better able to adapt to societal norms. While statistically speaking murderers are likely to be psychopaths or sociopaths, psychopaths and sociopaths are not very likely to be murderers.
* '''Antisocial''': Sometimes used to mean someone who dislikes or fears socializing. In the psychological sense, it doesn't mean that at all. Antisocial attitudes or behaviors are against society, from extreme acts like murder to more minor transgressions like simply being a manipulative, self-centered {{Jerkass}}. Someone who fears interacting with other people should be said to be '''asocial''' or suffering from social phobia, not "antisocial" tendencies. As a matter of fact, ''social phobia'' is an outdated term, and is usually now called "social anxiety disorder." In other words, people who are antisocial are ''hostile'' -- not merely indifferent -- towards society.
** "Antisocial" is also used to denote "rebellious" individuals actively fighting (not necessarily by violence, also by dissent or passive-aggressive behavior) any authority and are incapable of operating under external influence.
** An increasingly more popular and accurate term for the above disorder is ''agoraphobia'', from the ancient Greek term for "fear of the marketplace" (though they were referring more to a political forum than a retail market). More specifically, a fear of being unable to ''escape'' from whatever situation you're in (sometimes amended to include 'without severe embarrassment'), rather than the situation itself. Being in a busy place (e.g. a football crowd) could count if you couldn't leave your set without making a huge scene.
* On a related note, '''introversion''' is not being antisocial or even asocial; being introverted is simply ''being most comfortable'' solitary activities to social activities. An introvert can still wish to socialize when the mood strikes, but they are most at home in their own company.
* '''Manic-depression''' is more properly known as '''bipolar disorder''', and ''does not'' mean "severe depression" or "wild mood swings;" the highs and lows last for days or weeks at a time. Neither one is a catch-all for "crazy ex." (See '''borderline''', '''histrionic''', and '''narcissistic''' disorders for what most people think of as "crazy ex syndrome.")
** [[Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy Marvin the Paranoid Android]] is a ''manically'' depressed robot, ''not'' a manic-depressive robot, which is true - he's enthusiastically depressed.
** Also, bipolar is an ''adjective'', not a noun. It's either "my friend is bipolar" or "my friend has bipolar disorder," ''not'' "my friend has bipolar."
** And it doesn't have anything to do with {{tsundere}}s, no matter what certain fansubs say.
* On the subject of '''borderline''', saying someone is borderline does not mean they're on the cusp of having a personality disorder; it means they ''do'' have one. ''Borderline'' is a name for a very specific pattern of behaviour involving emotional instability, poor self-image, impulsiveness, and [[BlackAndWhiteInsanity black-and-white thinking]] (what psychologists call "splitting"), as well as a fear of abandonment. The name is only used because of historical reasons which are too complex to get into here, and the existence of the disorder has been questioned, with some seeing it as a variant of post-traumatic stress disorder (specifically, one that the profession slaps on female PTSD sufferers, as the overwhelming majority of borderline personality disorder diagnoses are of women).
* '''Depression''' is yet another psychological term (seeing a trend here?) that's casually thrown around but has a different meaning in a medical or therapeutic context. Depression is not just sadness, but much more persistent and disabling, and includes many other mood changes and physical symptoms like: anhedonia (loss of the ability to feel pleasure), changes in sleep and eating habits (either much less or much more than usual), and a lack of energy and motivation.
* '''OCD''' is [[ObsessivelyOrganized often thought of]] as the concept of a NeatFreak taken to the extreme. That's because the most visible sign of it is the rituals that people who have OCD do (counting, checking, hand-washing, climbing stairs and so on). The reason it's called ''obsessive''-compulsive disorder is because people with it have certain obsessive thoughts that are highly distressing and which they cannot get rid of (things like fears of their entire family dying, or their house burning down, or accidentally harming a baby). The compulsions they have are a coping mechanism of sorts - performing these rituals helps the obsessions go away, but only temporarily. To describe someone as "kind of OCD (adj.)" because they like order and cleanliness is not even close to reality.
* '''Chronic''' does not mean "severe". It means "recurring/habitual" and/or "happening for a long time;" it comes from a Greek root meaning "time" (same as "chronological" or "chronicle"), so you should think "over time." Contrast '''acute''', which means "rapid onset". Too many people associate "acute" with "small" due to its meaning in geometry (they should be associating it with "sharp" for the same reason). An illness being acute does not necessarily mean that it is serious, it only means that full set of symptoms display themselves quickly (a papercut is acute).
** '''Terminal''' means fatal. Thus, the phrase "terminally online" is probably supposed to mean "chronically online", unless being online somehow kills the people.
* '''Paranoia''' and '''paranoid''' are a particularly egregious case. '''Paranoia''' is a full-blown psychosis, not just thinking people are out to get you. However, someone who really was diagnosed with paranoia would be '''paranoiac''' (literally '''out of his mind'''), not '''paranoid''', which denotes a neurotic '''paranoid state'''.
** This is lampshaded in the movie version of ''Film/TheCaineMutiny'', where Maryk admits that until Keefer talked to him, "I didn't even know the difference between paranoid and paranoia."
* '''Schizophrenia''' does not involve multiple personalities. Multiple personalities are a form of dissociation known as Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). It is an extremely rare diagnosis, so rare that its existence is very hotly debated. In addition, one of the major prerequisites is that the separate personalities are [[http://www.nami.org/Content/ContentGroups/Helpline1/Dissociative_Identity_Disorder_(formerly_Multiple_Personality_Disorder).htm usually]] not aware of each other--something that is often overlooked in both real life and the media, as the protagonist in ''Series/UnitedStatesOfTara'' was quick to point out.
** Especially confusing for those who like their Greek roots, because 'Schizophrenia' literally means "split mind".
*** The full etymology for schizophrenia is ''skhizein'' (σχίζειν, "to split") and ''phrēn'', phren- (φρήν, φρεν-; "mind, intelligence") not the same thing as personality.
** If we wanted to do right by the etymologists we should switch from Schneider's 'schizophrenia' name for schizophrenia back to Emil Kraepelin's 'dementia praecox'.
*** ''Dementia praecox'' wouldn't work though because it means "precocious madness", so a degenerative disease of young people. However, schizophrenia isn't degenerative like dementia is, and it's treatable, whereas Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia aren't really and treatments for them are mostly palliative. Also, schizophrenia does most often manifest for the first time in young adulthood (late teens to early twenties) but it can develop at any age, including in the elderly.
** The confusion is likely from some schizophrenics having auditory/visual hallucinations and sometimes speaking back to them, giving the [[IncrediblyLamePun illusion]] to some people that another "personality" is speaking to the schizophrenic.
*** If psychology texts are reliable, the confusion is the above misinterpretation of "intelligence" as "personality", plus failure to understand that "divided" in this instance means something closer to "shattered" than it does to "split".
** The "split" portion of the word actually refers to a divergence of the mind from reality, not that it's split internally.
** The word '''schizoid''', which is a personality disorder, does use this root to mean "cut off (from other people)". But this is a very different thing than schizophrenia.
* If a person has '''anorexia''', that does not mean they are skinny or even necessarily underweight. In strict medical terms, '''anorexia''' refers to loss of appetite as a symptom. The psychiatric disorder involving distorted body image and fear of weight gain is '''anorexia nervosa''', and it strikes men (especially athletes and gay men) more than one might think. Also, a person with the disorder is '''an anorectic''' or they are '''anorexic'''. They would not be "an anorexic." "Anorectic" is a noun; "anorexic" is an adjective.
* The words '''psychologist''' and '''psychiatrist''' are often confused. A psychologist is someone who has an advanced degree in psychology (normally a doctorate or at least a master's) and does psychotherapy and psychological testing. They can diagnose people, but can't prescribe medication (except in a few jurisdictions) or order medical imaging. A psychiatrist, on the other hand, is a medical doctor who specializes in psychological disorders and they can do these things because of their broader scope of practice. Psychologists study nothing but psychology in their training; psychiatrists have to learn about other branches of medicine first before specializing in it.
* A '''{{Narcissist}}''' is not someone who's extremely vain. Vanity is simply taking excessive pride in one's appearance. It might not be the most ''positive'' personality trait, but you can be vain and still be a decent person. A narcissist prioritizes their self-image above all else. This ''can'' include their appearance but it doesn't have to. In fact, a narcissist who's not obsessed with their looks will often look down on those who are and use that as a SuspiciouslySpecificDenial of their disorder ("I'm not shallow like ''those'' bitches!"). Let's say Alice shares a selfie on Instagram of herself doing charity work. She might genuinely care about others and use her platform to spread awareness; vanity would be making sure she looks as good as possible in the process. But if she's a narcissist, then she's primarily doing it for the recognition and is sharing the picture to say "Look how awesome I am!" The posts can be completely identical; the difference isn't what they do, but ''why'' they do it.

'''Terri:''' Implying.

'''Terri:''' No, I didn't... and [[IKnowYouKnowIKnow you know I didn't]].

* A '''50-50 chance''' means that there are two outcomes (such as that something will either happen or it won't), ''and'' that both outcomes are equally likely. Simply stating two possible outcomes doesn't mean there's a 50-50 chance, especially not when one outcome is in fact unlikely or impossible. If you have four pairs of shoes you wear equally often, and two of them are brown, then there's a 50-50 chance you'll wear brown shoes on any given day. But if only one is brown, then you'll either wear brown shoes or you won't, but it's not a 50-50 chance. ''Series/TheDailyShow'' had fun with this when a man claimed that the Large Hadron Collider would either destroy the world or not, and therefore there was a 50-50 chance that it would. John Oliver responded that after the apocalypse, he and the teacher [[HomosexualReproduction could try to repopulate the world]], because it'd either work or it wouldn't.

* A '''50-50 chance''' means there are exactly two possible outcomes ''and'' both are equally likely, not "It'll either happen or it won't," and especially not when one outcome is in fact unlikely or impossible. To clarify, "two possible outcomes" still applies if you lump together multiple ultimate outcomes into ones where a specific event occurs and ones where it doesn't. If you have four pairs of shoes you wear equally often, and two of them are brown, then there are four possible ultimate outcomes ''and'' a 50-50 chance you'll wear brown shoes, but if only one is brown, then you'll either wear brown shoes or you won't, but it's not a 50-50 chance.

** Also, "'''socialist'''" and "'''communist'''" aren't synonyms. A socialist is basically somebody who believes that CapitalismIsBad and that the means of production should be owned by the community instead of private corporations. A communist is also a socialist, but they're a specific type of socialist. The main difference between socialists and communists is that socialists want to do away with private ownership of production, but are still fine with people being able to purchase goods for their own personal use (houses, cars, clothes, food, etc.), while communists not only want to do away with private ownership, but personal ownership as well, with all goods being distributed free of charge and shared among the community.

* '''Prone''' specifically means lying on one's stomach, while '''supine''' means lying on one's back. People often get the two confused, or think that prone just means lying down in general.

** Also, "'''socialist'''" and "'''communist'''" aren't synonyms. A socialist is basically somebody who believes that CapitalismIsBad and that the means of production should be owned by the community instead of private corporations. A communist is also a socialist, but they're a specific type of socialist. The main difference between socialists and communists is that socialists want to do away with private ownership of production, but are still fine with people purchasing goods for their own personal use (houses, cars, clothes, food, etc.), while communists not only want to do away with private ownership, but personal ownership as well, with all goods being distributed free of charge and shared among the community.

** Also, "'''socialist'''" and "'''communist'''" aren't synonyms. A socialist is basically somebody who believes that CapitalismIsBad and that the means of production should be owned by the community instead of private corporations. A communist is also a socialist, but they're a specific type of socialist. Basically, communism is socialism taken to its ultimate conclusion. Socialists want to do away with private ownership of production, but are still fine with people purchasing goods for their own personal use (houses, cars, clothes, food, etc.). Communists not only want to do away with private ownership, but personal ownership as well, with all goods being distributed free of charge and shared among the community.

** Also, "'''socialist'''" and "'''communist'''" aren't synonyms. A socialist is basically somebody who believes that CapitalismIsBad and that the means of production should be owned by the community instead of private corporations. A communist is also a socialist, but they're a specific type of socialist. Basically, communism is socialism taken to its ultimate conclusion. Socialists want to do away with private ownership of production, but are still fine with people purchasing goods for their own personal use (houses, cars, clothes, food, etc.). Communists not only want to do away with private ownership, but personal ownership as well, with all goods being distributed and shared among the community.

** Also, "'''socialist'''" and "'''communist'''" aren't synonyms. A socialist is basically somebody who believes that CapitalismIsBad and that production should be based on the community instead of private ownership. A communist is also a socialist, but they're a specific type of socialist.

** {{Lampshaded}} and PlayedWith in ''Series/TheDresdenFiles'' TV series:
--->'''Harry''': [[OurDragonsAreDifferent These drakes]], right, they can change shape? They're magical, immortal and all that. But you can change your appearance and you're magical and [stutters] you've been around a long, long time.
--->'''Ancient Mai''': Are you inferring something?
--->'''Harry''': Technically, I'm implying. You're inferring.
--->'''Mai''': Well, it's dangerous either way.
--->'''Harry''': You didn't answer my question.
--->'''Mai''': You didn't ask one. Which, at least, shows some common sense.
** {{Lampshaded}} in ''Series/TheThickOfIt'' Series Two, Episode Three:
--->'''Hugh''': Just tell me, truthfully, did you send that email?
--->'''Terri''': No I didn't... and [[IKnowYouKnowIKnow you know I didn't.]]
--->'''Hugh''': Sorry, are you inferring...?
--->'''Terri''': Implying.
--->'''Hugh''': You're implying that... it was me?
** One of Adam Warren's ''ComicBook/DirtyPair'' short stories has this as its main plot.

* '''Atheism''' is lack of belief in a god or gods, while '''agnostic''' means being unsure whether there are any god(s). '''Nontheism''' usually refers to religions which don't have any gods, such as Buddhism.

* '''Prone''' specifically means lying on one's stomach, while '''supine''' means lying on ones back. People often get the two confused, or think that prone just means lying down in general.

* '''Psychotic''': It does not mean [[InsaneEqualsViolent "going around and killing people for no reason"]]; someone who does that is just homicidal. Psychosis is a loss of touch with reality, characterized by disorganised thinking, delusions, and sometimes (but not always) auditory, visual, and tactile hallucinations. While people with psychosis can be homicidal, it is extremely rare (violence by psychotics is more usually related to paranoid or other delusions).

* A '''50-50 chance''' means there are exactly two possible outcomes ''and'' both are equally likely, not "It'll either happen or it won't," and especially not when one outcome is in fact unlikely or impossible.

* '''Prone''' specifically means lying on one's stomach, while '''supine''' means lying on ones back. People often get the two confused, or think that Prone just means lying down in general.

* '''Prodigal''' is the opposite of "thrifty" or "frugal", meaning "wasteful", "frivolous", "Given to reckless or irresponsible spending" or "Living beyond one's means". But the most famous use of the word--by far--is in "The Parable of the Prodigal Son" from [[Literature/TheFourGospels the Gospel of Luke]], a story about an irresponsible young man who returns home to his parents after carelessly spending all of his money and winding up destitute. Because of this, it's often assumed to mean "Making a much-anticipated return after a long absence". But the Prodigal Son was "prodigal" because he spent all of his money, not because he was welcomed home by his parents afterwards.

** In the pilot of ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'', Holmes objects to being called a psychopath, preferring to be recognized as a "highly functional sociopath."
*** "High-functioning sociopath." "Highly functional" is a very common misquote; the actual line follows the same pattern as high-functioning autism or high-functioning alcoholism, etc., denoting a person who might have some disorder but is more capable than is common among those who have that disorder. It is not clear what Sherlock actually meant by that statement, since sociopaths follow a "normal" (as in, not distinct from the wider population) distribution curve. All subsequent evidence points to Sherlock just being a (high-functioning) autistic person in denial.

* Strictly speaking, there is no single period in prehistory called '''[[OneMillionBC the Stone Age]]'''. The term originates from a listing of the three stages of a prehistoric society: Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. In the most literal sense of the term, cowboys fought members of the Stone Age in the Wild Wild West; heck, there were still "Stone Age" people living in isolated parts of the world by the time ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'' first went on air. The term is usually limited to Eurasian cultures, which complicates things.

* '''[[UsefulNotes/HighFunctioningAutism Autistic]]''', at least on the Internet, gets used to mean "'retarded' only less so" more and more often in recent years - while less for perceived stupidity and more for social awkwardness (so you'll never find someone calling an inanimate object autistic even online), the general effect is the same. "Autistic" can also be used to refer to someone who has an exceptional focus on a particular activity, even if the person being described does not have an autism spectrum disorder at all. This is most likely due to the [[ForumSpeak G.I.F.T]]; anonymity means both that people feel freer to use "autistic" to mean "asshole" despite the UnfortunateImplications, and that people feel freer to use autism as an excuse for ''being'' an asshole (whether they're actually diagnosed or not), which only perpetuates the stereotype.

* In the Wiki/SCPFoundation notably, you will very often see the word '''amnesiac''' referring to substances that cause loss of memory. An amnesiac is actually a ''person'' suffering from amnesia. A substance causing amnesia would be an '''amnestic'''. However the word is so deeply rooted in SCP terminology that it's all but impossible to do anything about it. The Wiki only told newer authors that they prefer using "amnestic" instead of "amnesiac", but would forgive any uses of the latter.

* People sometimes confuse '''breed''' and '''species'''. While "breed" is a term of art rather than a scientifically-defined one, it always refers to a variety within a domesticated species.[[note]]Albeit sometimes this variety is developed by interbreeding with another species.[[/note]] Anyone who, for instance, calls a Pallas' cat a breed of cat or a warthog a breed of pig is making this mistake, as these are entire species (and non-domesticated ones at that).Similarily, all dog breeds are the same species (Canis Familiaris.)
* There is ''nothing wrong'' with the term '''Drive Slow'''. "Slow" is what's called a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_adverb flat adverb]] - an adjective whose adverb form is the same - and it was actually the common form for a lot of adjectives up until roughly the 18th century when some grammarians in a form of hyper-correctness insisted adverbs must end in "-ly".

* '''Enervate''' means "to weaken", ''not'' "to energize", despite sounding similar. ''TabletopGames/DungeonsAndDragons'' uses it correctly in the name of it's LevelDrain spell "enervation"