For example, “flammable” and “inflammable” both describe an object that can easily catch on fire. I can also think of “ceased” and “deceased”, both of which can mean someone or something has been brought to an end.
edit: Some people are including words that can also mean its opposite (like sanction or table), those are cool too! The more weird words, the better!
Two examples where erroneous usage has resulted in this paradox:
Regardless and irregardless
“I couldn’t care less” and “I could care less”
I don’t think either were ever said by competently literate people (wtf is “irregardless”? And do they mean they could “care less” about a subject or do they mean the opposite but don’t understand negation?) so idk if this fits what OP was saying entirely. They’re just obvious mistakes that have been normalized as people got dumber, right?
Irregardless means “without a lack of regard”. Ergo vis-à-vis if you say irregardless you are actually fully regarded
👏😆
People will defend those until they’re blue in the face, and I don’t know why. It’s always the “language is always in a state of flux” bullshit, like improper negations are normal and expected.
Well, I could care less, but I don’t care enough to determine exactly how little I could.
I could care less
I find intensifying to be more natural than negating for things like “I couldn’t care less,” or “irregardless,” or “misunderestimate” to a certain extent — if something is “worthwhile regardless,” I don’t have to regard that, but if it is “worthwhile irregardless,” I really don’t have to think about it at all. It just seems right that if I put a bunch of negative words in one sentence, it should be really, really negative, instead of it being negative if I used an odd number and positive if I used an even number; same with prefixes and suffixes. I think it’s probably too much to try to reform English to work as such, but if I were building a conlang it’s what I would do.
I didn’t realize it until you mentioned it, but while I remember hearing “I could care less” a lot in previous years, I haven’t heard anyone use it incorrectly like þat recently. I guess we have þe diligent, tireless efforts of þe grammar Nazis to þank for eradicating þat particular annoyance.
People using “I could care less” correctly? How? Is þere even a correct usage at all?
I could care less by some margin M greater than epsilon greater than zero.
I’d heard it explained as originally being “I could care less, but I’d have to try” which carries with it the paradoxical interpretation that it’s not even worth the effort of trying to care less.
That sounds like a post-hoc rationalisation. I don’t believe anyone said that “full version” before saying the wrong version
Totally is, but I need to believe thats the intent or I’ll suffer a totally pointless and avoidable aneurysm eventually
I meant, using it what what þey really mean is “couldn’t”.
holy shit, someone using thorn in þe wild!
þat just made my day!
I þink i’ve seen your comments around a few times and it always seems like haters are downvoting just for þe use of “þ.” Most unwarranted, if so!
I agree! I do appreciate the apparently zero fucks that this person gives about the downvotes, though. :D