History CommonlyMisusedWords / LessPedantic

* '''Millennials''' are a generation ('''Generation Y''', in fact) born somewhere between the early '80s and the mid-'90s[[note]]The exact dates vary based on the source, but general consensus is that Millennials/Generation Y are those born between 1981 and 1996[[/note]]. It is not a slang term for "young adult." If anything, most Millenials are approaching middle age and the youngest ones are in their late twenties. The terms most people who misuse the word in this way are probably looking for are '''Generation Z'''[[note]]Those born between 1997 and 2012[[/note]] and/or '''Zoomers''', most of whom are in their teens or early-to-mid-20s.

** In animation, CGI is used to mean "anything rendered in 3D software". 2D animation using computer rendering software (UsefulNotes/{{Adobe Flash}}/Animate, UsefulNotes/ToonBoom) are typically referred to by what program they were rendered in, despite being just as computer-generated as the 3D kind. Website/ThisVeryWiki's own AllCGICartoon page tends to list 3D works over computer-made 2D ones.

* '''AsymmetricMultiplayer''', as originally defined by Creator/{{Nintendo}} in reference to certain UsefulNotes/WiiU games, is a multiplayer mode in which the different players have totally different roles and capabilities, unlike most multiplayer games, where all the players are generally doing the same thing and playing the game the same way. This does ''not'' include games where players can be different characters (e.g., a magic user and a sword user) with slightly different abilities but carry out essentially the same goal in the same way. This instead refers to games where the roles, abilities and gameplay experience are drastically different. Misuse of the term became an issue with ''VideoGame/StarTrekTheVideoGame'' and several other games revealed and/or discussed in the period during/after [=E3=] 2012, when the development teams for the games claimed that their CoOpMultiplayer counted as Asymmetric Multiplayer (probably stemming from a desire to [[FollowTheLeader ride on the coattails of the initial Wii U hype]]).

* A "'''Flash game'''" specifically refers to a game programmed in UsefulNotes/AdobeFlash. Most of the time, these will include vector graphics and programming in the [=ActionScript=] language. Don't go around calling any game playable in your browser a "Flash game" unless it actually is; a broader, and more often correct, term would be "web game." There are game programs such as Shockwave and Unity that are playable in browsers -- these aren't Flash either. Starting in the 2010s was the rise of [=HTML5=] programs, which run in the browser primarily using UsefulNotes/JavaScript, and are more widely compatible. With Flash's death in 2020, most WebGames you'll play nowadays will be [=HTML5=].

* '''Millennials''' are a generation (Generation Y, in fact) born somewhere between the early '80s and the mid-'90s. It is not a slang term for "young adult." If anything, most Millenials are approaching middle age and the youngest ones are in their late twenties. The terms most people who misuse the word in this way are probably looking for are '''Generation Z''' and/or '''Zoomers''', most of whom are in their teens or early 20s.

** Also, "'''socialist'''" and "'''communist'''" aren't synonyms. While socialists and communists both believe that CapitalismIsBad and that the means of production should be owned by the people instead of private corporations, some of their views vary. Communists advocate for a moneyless, classless, stateless society in which all goods and services (houses, cars, food, clothing, etc.) would be provided free of charge and shared among the community, whereas socialists still support the idea of earning money (and socioeconomic classes would still exist) and using that money to buy personal property.

* '''Millennials''' are a generation born somewhere between the early '80s and the mid-'90s. It is not a slang term for "young adult." If anything, Millenials are approaching middle age and the youngest ones are in their late twenties. The terms most people who misuse the word in this way are probably looking for are '''Generation Z''' and/or '''Zoomers''', most of whom are in their teens or early 20s.

* '''Millennials''' are a generation born somewhere between the early '80s and the mid-'90s. It is not a slang term for "young adult." If anything, Millenials are approaching middle age and the youngest ones are in their late twenties. The terms most people who misuse the word in this way are probably '''Generation Z''' or '''Zoomers''', most of whom are in their teens or early 20s.

* '''Millennials''' are a generation born somewhere between the early '80s and the mid-'90s. It is not a slang term for "young adult." If anything, Millenials are approaching middle age. The terms most people who misuse the word in this way are probably '''Generation Z''' or '''Zoomers''', most of whom are in their teens or early 20s.

* '''Millennials''' are a generation born somewhere between the early '80s and the mid-'90s. It is not a slang term for "young adult." If anything, Millenials approaching middle age. The terms most people who misuse the word in this way are probably '''Generation Z''' or '''Zoomers''', most of whom are in their teens or low 20s.
* '''Prehistoric''' is often misused to mean "when dinosaurs roamed the Earth" or, worse, just vaguely "a long time ago". It actually means before ''recorded'' history, i.e. before writing was invented, which was about 5,200 years ago. While the dinosaurs would count as prehistoric, so would cavemen 10,000 years ago (which is a pretty big TimeSkip).

* Crazy as it sounds, "I be X" is ''not'' the same as "I ''am'' X" (Although it is non-standard English). "I be" is ''habitual aspect'': "I be playing basketball" means "I play basketball [on and off, and I might or might not be playing right now]."

** Also, "'''socialist'''" and "'''communist'''" aren't synonyms. A socialist is somebody who believes that CapitalismIsBad and that the means of production should be owned by the workers instead of private corporations. A communist is also anti-capitalism, but they advocate for a moneyless, classless, stateless society (while socialists still support the idea of earning money and using that money to buy personal property such as houses, cars, food, clothing, etc.) in which all goods would be provided free of charge and shared among the community.

* '''Beneficiary''' and '''benefactor''' tend to get confused a lot. The two are roughly reciprocals: A beneficiary is someone who receives help (especially financial help) from another person, while a benefactor is someone who ''gives'' help (again, especially financial help) to another.

* A '''desert''' is any place with low rainfall and vegetation. It does not have to be warm. Thus, Antarctica is a desert, as is much of Colorado (including UsefulNotes/{{Denver}}.

* '''Beneficiary''' and '''benefactor''' tend to get confused a lot. The two are roughly reciprocals: A Beneficiary is someone who receives help (especially financial help) from another person, while a benefactor is someone who ''gives'' help (again, especially financial help) to another.

* '''Beneficiary''' and ''benefactory''' tend to get confused a lot. The two are roughly reciprocals: A Beneficiary is someone who receives help (especially financial help) from another person, while a benefactor is someone who ''gives'' help (again, especially financial help) to another.

* A '''cadet''' is a student enrolled in a military or law enforcement training academy, derived from an archaic term for a younger heir to a noble family. But thanks to the longtime ubiquity of the term "SpaceCadet", which evolved into a generic term for a science-fiction character involved with an outer space-based military or law enforcement agency, many people assume that it refers to any officer or soldier in the armed forces. For what it's worth, the term SpaceCadet can be traced back to the Creator/RobertAHeinlein's [[Literature/SpaceCadet 1948 novel of the same name]], which uses it correctly: it's called that because the main character is a trainee in the Interplanetary Patrol.

** Also, "'''socialist'''" and "'''communist'''" aren't synonyms. A socialist is somebody who believes that CapitalismIsBad and that the means of production should be owned by the workers instead of private corporations. A communist is also anti-capitalism, but they advocate for a moneyless, classless, stateless society in which all goods would be provided free of charge and shared among the community.

** Also, "'''socialist'''" and "'''communist'''" aren't synonyms. A socialist is somebody who believes that CapitalismIsBad and that the means of production should be owned by the workers instead of private corporations. A communist is also anti-capitalism, but they want to take things further than socialists do. Socialists, for the most part, are okay with people using money to purchase goods and services for personal use and recognize that some degree of income inequality will always exist (without business tycoons hoarding most of the wealth for themselves, this income gap would, at least in theory, be much smaller under socialism than under capitalism), while communists want to establish a moneyless, classless, stateless society in which all goods would be provided free of charge and shared among the community.

** Also, "'''socialist'''" and "'''communist'''" aren't synonyms. A socialist is somebody who believes that CapitalismIsBad and that the means of production should be owned by the workers instead of private corporations. A communist is also anti-capitalism, but they want to take things further than socialists do. Socialists, for the most part, are okay with people being able to purchase goods and services for personal use and recognize that some degree of income inequality will always exist (without business tycoons hoarding most of the wealth for themselves, this income gap would, at least in theory, be much smaller under socialism than under capitalism), while communists want to establish a moneyless, classless, stateless society in which all goods would be provided 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 more extreme in their views. The main difference between socialists and communists is their views on personal property (houses, cars, clothes, food etc.). 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. 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.

* A '''fedora''' isn't any brimmed hat: it's a specific type of brimmed hat with a indented "pinched" crown and a wide, soft brim that can be angled (or "snapped") up or down in the front. The smaller variant of brimmed hat, which became associated with young adult hipsters (and nerdy misogynists) in the 2010s, is actually a '''trilby'''.

* '''Infinitesimal''' means really small ''not'' really big. (think "infinitely small").

* '''CGI''': In VideoGames, the term is often misused to describe '''pre-rendered cutscenes'''. '''All''' videogames (except ones done entirely with FullMotionVideo) use CGI, which means "computer-generated imagery". Even ''VideoGame/PacMan'' and ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' use CGI; their graphics were created by computer images. When a cutscene is debated on whether it shows real gameplay, there's no question whether it has CGI (unless it features live-action video). The question is whether the video was pre-rendered and recorded beforehand or if it features the actual game assets.

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

* '''Cojones''' is Spanish for balls. '''Cajones''' is Spanish for drawers.
** Although, saying ''cajones'' in English could be a [[BilingualBonus bilingual pun]].

* '''Entitled''' means that someone is given a title, authority or ''rightful'' ownership of something. Some people however use it as if it meant the opposite, "someone is claiming to deserve something, although he doesn't". Even on Website/TVTropes - see EntitledBastard, EntitledToHaveYou. The usage here refers to an unearned ''subjective feeling'' of entitlement, hence the common expression "sense of entitlement" - the person in question ''feels'' they deserve something, even though they don't. The correct way to use "entitled" would be saying the person feels or acts like they are entitled to something, not that they are "being" entitled. "Entitled" also doesn't mean "with the title of"-- that word is "'''titled'''".

* '''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. It's similar to how one's stomach contents aren't considered "vomit" unless they actually throw up 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.

* '''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. It's similar to how one's stomach contents are considered "vomit" unless they actually throw up 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.