# Words whose definition is clearly wrong. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 15, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944 "2004-08-15T14:48:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944/1 "2004-08-15T14:48:28Z")
**crepuscular:** This word should obviously describe one of the more embarassing symptoms of an unfortunate skin condition, but for some reason the dictionary definition is: “of, relating to, or resembling twilight.” Indubitably, this is some sort of clerical oversight. I could never use _crepuscular_ in a sentence, because it’s just so terribly _wrong_. There have been similar threads before, with words that describe disgusting things but which are, taken simply on their own merits, rather pretty, but let’s just make a general list words that simply don’t match their meaning. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2004, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944/2 "2004-08-15T15:44:45Z")
**crapulent** : over-refreshed. Clearly should mean covered with crap. ---
**Author:** ![monsterbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@monsterbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monsterbob)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944/3 "2004-08-16T14:05:13Z")
dipthong- why doesn’t it mean the sounds made by a bunch of consonents together rather than consecutive vowel sounds as in Hawaii? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944/4 "2004-08-16T14:16:49Z")
Inflammable. ---
**Author:** ![beltbuckle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@beltbuckle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beltbuckle)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944/5 "2004-08-16T16:51:29Z")
dongle. it just sounds wrong. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944/6 "2004-08-17T00:38:08Z")
\*_ideopathic_: It’s doctorese for “I’m stumped.” **idiotpathetic** would fit the bill a whole lot better (as long as it’s clear that it applies to the doctor not the patient). That “ideo” prefix just suggests something far more sophisticated. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944/7 "2004-08-17T01:23:01Z")
I’ve always been of the opinion that “opaque” should mean “see-through.” Also, “hazel” really ought to be a shade of brown, not green. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944/8 "2004-08-17T01:40:02Z")
**_Homicide_ bomber?** (Apologies for verging on the political) ---
**Author:** ![jttm80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@jttm80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jttm80)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944/9 "2004-08-17T02:08:13Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Also, “hazel” really ought to be a shade of brown, not green. Umm… I was under the impression that it was brown. I did a Google define on it. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944/10 "2004-08-17T02:09:39Z")
> [@jttm80](#): > > Umm… I was under the impression that it was brown. I did a Google define on it. Well, in that case, it should clearly be green, and not brown. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944/11 "2004-08-17T02:11:18Z")
_Congenial_ sounds like the opposite of _genial_. Or maybe like somebody who was born happy. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944/12 "2004-08-17T02:30:49Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Well, in that case, it should clearly be green, and not brown. Why do you feel that way? Hazelnuts are brown… ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944/13 "2004-08-17T03:10:37Z")
And then there is the word “cleave” which means to stick together, or to cut apart. To be technical, these are actually two different words. The “stick together” version comes from the old high German _kleben_, to split, while the cut apart comes from the Greek _glyphein_, to carve. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944/14 "2004-08-17T03:38:20Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I’ve always been of the opinion that “opaque” should mean “see-through.” > > Also, “hazel” really ought to be a shade of brown, not green. Defining what is hazel is more complicated than you ever could have imagined. I always thought that it was just a shade of brown too until people started responding to [question in GQ.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=250653&highlight=hazel) ---
**Author:** ![fighting\_ignorant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ac8455/32.png) [@fighting\_ignorant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fighting_ignorant)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944/15 "2004-08-17T03:56:40Z")
You can really use it in public! Honest! [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=niggardly&r=67](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=niggardly&r=67) ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944/16 "2004-08-17T04:56:25Z")
Scabiosa Scrophularia One sounds like what happens if you don’t get enough vitamin C. The other sounds like some disease that makes your testicles swell up. And they are both the names of pretty flowers. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944/17 "2004-08-17T16:03:07Z")
I have a couple more: **copse:** Folks, we need to find a better word for a bunch of trees. To me, _copse_ is a word desperately searching for an _r_. Corpse, cropse, copser . . . any of these would be better than copse. Whenever I see it, my mind tries to make it into a sturdy wooden fortress, or a box made of gleaming, polished wood, near-seamless, constructed by a master joiner. I guess, whatever its flaws, copse at least has a healthy “I have something to do with wood” vibe going for it. **redoubt:** I have to admit I’ve only come across this word in literature once or twice, so I don’t really have a good handle on it, but the dictionary says it is a “small, often temporary defensive fortification.” It seems like it sould be something intangible to me. In an ideal world, it would be a verb: “I was dubious about your plan on Monday. On Tuesday, though, I thought there might be something to it. However, on Wednseday I redoubted it.” ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944/18 "2004-08-17T17:11:59Z")
**Adultery**. It sounds like it should mean something to do with the wise, judicious conduct expected of an adult. Instead, it means… “cheating on one’s spouse”. I am insulted. To add to the insult, the word was imported into Esperanto as the verb _adolti_ with the single meaning of “to cheat on one’s spouse”. “Adult” is _plenkreskulo_, “fully-grown person” or “grownup”. A little further digging at [YourDictionary](http://www.yourdictionary.com/) reveals that the “cheating” meaning is the [original](http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/a/a0101300.html). “Adult” comes from [another](http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/a/a0100600.html) source. Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![KarlWinslow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@KarlWinslow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlWinslow)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944/19 "2004-08-17T18:34:18Z")
**misdoubt**. From [m-w.com](http://m-w.com): > [@](#): > > Main Entry: mis·doubt > Pronunciation: "mis-'daut > Function: transitive verb > 1 : DOUBT > 2 : SUSPECT, FEAR Huh? 😕 It sounds like it should mean “not doubt”. It’s kind of like “irregardless”: it means the same thing as the root word, but with a meaningless negative prefix. American **football**. Who named this sport? Given the proportion of game time in which a player’s foot contacts the ball, by their logic, soccer could reasonably have been named headball. ---
**Author:** ![MaleBox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MaleBox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaleBox)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944/20 "2004-08-17T19:01:08Z")
**noisome**. It clearly should have to do with hearing, rather than smell. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-whose-definition-is-clearly-wrong/259944.md?page=2)