As an English teacher, I have a lot of thoughts about words that I hear that have no place in our lexicon. One word I think is entirely overused is “gaslighting,” maybe because most people don’t know what it really means. Another is “narcissist” for the same reason. If everyone knew what it truly meant to be gaslit or what a narcissist really was, that would be one thing. But it’s just too easy to throw the terms around at will with complete inaccuracy.
But the word this year that I have hated more than any other is “demure.” A TikTok creator apparently repurposed the word to be “mindful,” and there’s no basis in the definition other than the desire of the TikTokker to make something mean what they want it to mean. If you look at Collins Dictionary, they say, “If you describe someone, usually a young woman, as demure, you mean they are quiet and rather shy, usually in a way that you like and find appealing, and behave very correctly.” That seems to be the exact opposite of the new definition. The original (and correct) definition is a wonderful word that can provide context in the right situation. But in the hands of the ignorant, it’s just silly. Until people can use it correctly, let’s stop using the word altogether.
As a fellow English teacher, I concur 🙂