Why Do Supposedly Educated People Use The Word Anxious When They Mean The

[DemocratSinceBirth]

Word Eager?

[ET Awful]

1. I don't know. Why do supposedly educated people use the word wnen

when they mean the word when? :evilgrin:

[chenGOD]

2. Because anxious is a synonym for the word eager?

From the M-W Online dictionary:

Main Entry: anx·ious
Pronunciation: 'a(k)-sh&s
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin anxius; akin to Latin angere to strangle, distress -- more at ANGER
1 : characterized by extreme uneasiness of mind or brooding fear about some contingency : WORRIED
2 : characterized by, resulting from, or causing anxiety : WORRYING
3 : ardently or earnestly wishing
synonym see EAGER

[DemocratSinceBirth]

4. There Is A Difference...

Eager denotes a positive form of excitement...



I am eager to watch the NFL playoffs...



Anxious denotes a negative form of excitement...


I am anxious about Bush*'s second term...

[chenGOD]

9. I have heard and read "anxious" used positively for many of my short years

Being as I'm only 30, perhaps I may not have been on this earth as long as you, but I've heard anxious used to denote positive excitement since I could understand the concept of positive/negative excitement.
M-W's 3rd entry would seem to support my position...
It's a colloquialism, and since the English language is an evolving organism...
I dunno, it doesn't stress me much. I don't use it much myself. But I don't fret about it. What about "i'm dying to see your new baby"?

[kick-ass-bob]

18. If my team was playing in the playoffs , I would be awaiting anxiously

[HereSince1628]

3. because they are only "supposedly educated?"

The overuse of "numerous" instead of "many" is another. But during the 2nd reign I expect both to be relaced by multiferous.

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. Why do supposedly educated people capitalize every word in a sentence

when it is neither a title of something nor a headline?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

6. Because It's The Headline...

and what's in this box is the rest of the story...


and some times I am too lazy to hit the cap key and some times I feel like capitalizing everything...

[LDS Jock]

7. that is one of the great mysteries of life

you hear that on TV too, including the news.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

8. I'm Not Saying My English Is Perfect...

but anxious is akin to being nervous not eager....


I stopped using the word forte because I refuse to pronounce it wrong and if I pronounce it right people will think I'm pronouncing it wrong...

[NYC]

12. Anxious is akin to anxiety.

[fishwax]

16. As long as you're not using it in the musical sense

you can pronounce it however you want and it will be correct. Well, you can't pronounce it like "dachsund," I suppose, but either "fort" or "fortay" is considered standard these days, and neither prnunciation is etymologically "pure."

I know a few people who still like to say "fort," and I never hold it against them :) (I use either, depending on my mood.)

[Ellen Forradalom]

10. Let's ponder that one only after

we get the English-speaking world on the same page on apostrophe usage.

[SOteric]

11. -And the spelling of the word 'definitely.'

:hi:

[Patiod]

13. And after we eliminate the use of quotation marks for emphasis

"Fresh" fish indeed.

[DS1]

15. Yeah, everyone who's not a looser know's that's what the tilde "~" is for

:7

/not really that dense

[DemocratSinceBirth]

23. the quotation marks is meant to denote irony...

like bush* is a "good" president...

[fishwax]

14. It denotes both positive and negative expectations

the primary definition is considered negative (nervous, etc.), but it is also standard as a synonym of eager. According to my office dictionary (Webster's II) the 2nd definition is "eagerly or earnestly desirous."

Aside from those specifics, I always think of anxious as a slight modification of eager. Eager to me seems without reserve, whereas anxious allows for the possibility of negative results. I'm eager to watch the NFL playoffs, but I'm also anxious, because I think the Broncos have a great shot at knocking off the Colts.

[arwalden]

17. Are These The Same Folks Who Use "Hopefully"... As In...

"Hopefully we will have good weather for the picnic."

[fishwax]

19. That is a perfectly acceptable use of the word hopefully

It is a sentence adverb, just like "frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" or "thankfully, the Trojans pulled some of their starters in the fourth quarter so the Sooners wouldn't lose by 50."

The disapproval of "hopefully" is a cause celebre among conservative linguists, but it is a useful expression and there is nothing wrong with it from a practical sense (it is usually not ambiguous) or from a grammatical sense (no other sentence adverb is greeted with such derision).

[arwalden]

20. Heh heh heh.

Hey! I'm a conservative liguist with a cause! :eyes:

As long as the meaning is conveyed, there's no need for pesky grammar rules, eh? Language is a living thing that changes over time... yeah.

[fishwax]

21. well, I didn't mean you were a conservative linguist

:hi:

but "hopefully" doesn't violate any grammar rules, and yes, theoretically, (another sentence adverb ;)), language does change over time, to the chagrin of some. And among those who are linguistically conservative, hopefully was seen as objectionable when it first came into widespread use in the 50s and 60s. (I think it's a word that actually has a pretty interesting history, but most people don't get off on the history of words :))

[liontamer]

22. don't get me started

abnegation is the most pretentious possible way of saying self denial, yet all the writers who use it do so incorrectly. Why use a big word that you don't even know the meaning of? Especially when most people don't know the meaning of it.

Someone who really knows what the word means will look at you like you're an idiot, and someone who doesn't know what it means will look it up and then look at you like you're an idiot.