Amused vs Bemused
Have you ever noticed that quite a lot of people say “bemused” when they really mean “amused”? My theory on why this happens is in my article amused vs bemused; what are your thoughts?
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Have you ever noticed that quite a lot of people say “bemused” when they really mean “amused”? My theory on why this happens is in my article amused vs bemused; what are your thoughts?
2 comments
Permalink1
Laura,
I live in the San
Francisco Bay Area (2 miles from the Stanford Campus) and I like to think that I have
reasonably well educated friends and acquaintances. However, I don’t think I hear the word
“bemused” more than once every 5 years! Americans have a rather limited vocabulary (compared
to the British, for instance) which is a pity but the misuse of the word “bemused” is just not
a factor because the word isn’t used very often. (This makes me wonder – perhaps you live
in a much more erudite world than what I encounter in the Bay Area or perhaps this is a
function of communicating with other language professors/teachers around the country and the
world.)
Regards,
Don DuBois
Permalink2
Hi Don,
Thanks for your response. In fact, I rarely hear anyone say
“bemused” out loud; it’s really in books and articles that I see it (mis)used.