words

What makes a word strong?

  1. Specificity. The closer it is to describing the circumstance/idea, the clearer it is.
  2. Association and usage. It seems to me, that words can become weaker as they become integrated into popular culture. Their definitions become less succinct and more surface-level. As popular culture relies on media to disseminate ideas, the ideas that are shortest and easiest to understand are often the ones that spread. Rendering them weaker. (ex. “wild” as used to describe one’s life. “self-care”– very important, but can be associated with something that is more of a bad reflection of self-care than actual self-care.


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