The Misunderstood Word

A false definition occurs when a person could have a totally wrong meaning for a word. For example, the student learning mathematics reads the word ‘multiplication’ and thinks it is a ‘cube’. This would be completely wrong. 

Or the person reads the word ‘cat’ and thinks it is a ‘chair’.

An invented definition occurs when a person might make up a wrong meaning for a word or someone may tell them a wrong meaning for a word. 

For example, a student does not understand what a shooting star is, and asks a teacher. The teacher tells them that it is a young person who becomes a celebrity. The student keeps that definition for years to come, and of course, each time he hears or reads ‘shooting star’ in the future, he will be confused.

Another example could be a young person sees advertising about energy drinks and energy food bars, and also hears people talk about energy drinks. Not knowing what energy actually means, the person makes up the meaning that ‘energy’ means ‘healthy’. So when they begin to learn about physics at school, and the word energy is used, they become very confused on the subject as they are using a meaning which is invented and which is wrong. The book or teacher could be discussing how the sun produces a lot of energy, and the person would be confused – they would not understand what ‘healthy’ has to do with the sun.

An incorrect definition occurs when the person has a meaning for a word which is similar to the real meaning but not quite. 

For example, the person reads a sentence containing the word ‘typewriter’ and thinks that it means ‘computer’. A computer and a typewriter do have some similarities, with a keyboard, and typing words, but they are not the same thing. The definition the person has is incorrect.

Another example would be a person is reading the sentence ‘he sat on a stool’ and thinks that the stool is a chair. It is not quite the same meaning, but both words refer to an object which one can sit on.

An unsuitable definition occurs when the person is using one correct meaning of a word, but it is not the meaning that fits the context at that point in time. The meaning the person is using at that moment is not suitable.

For example, the person reads the sentence ‘He received A+ mark for his assignment’. The student knows that the symbol ‘+’ means ‘plus’ used in adding numbers together. But in this case, A+ means that it is a mark even better than A. The student is confused because he doesn’t understand what he is supposed to be adding.

Another example would be ‘he stayed cool under pressure’, the student knows cool means not too hot, cold - which is a correct meaning - but it is not the one which fits in the sentence. In this sentence, cool means ‘calm and relaxed’. 

Many words have more than one meaning! It is important to find out which is the correct one.

An incomplete definition occurs when a person has only part of the meaning. 

For example, the person reads or hears the word ‘science’ and thinks it is ‘a subject to do with experiments’. This is not a complete meaning at all. Although experiments are indeed carried out by scientists, a science is an organised collection of facts and knowledge about something which have been found by individuals or groups of individuals looking into such things as how birds fly, or why different substances react with each other, or what causes the seasons of the year (such as different temperatures or amount of daylight).  

Another example could be a student reading the word ‘moose’ and knows it is an animal. But if he does not know anything more about it, it would not be enough.

Another example would be a student hearing or reading the word ‘mathematics’ and thinking it’s a subject to do with numbers. This is an incomplete definition of mathematics, because mathematics more precisely means ‘the study of numbers, shapes, and space using reason and usually a special system of symbols and rules for organizing them’.

A homonym is each of two or more words having the same spelling or pronunciation but different meanings and origins. The English language is full of homonyms and these can be the source of misunderstandings.

The word ‘homonym’ comes from the Greek homos ‘same’ + onoma ‘name’.

For example, the word ‘beet’ is a root vegetable from which white sugar is made. The word ‘beat’ which is spelled differently but has the same pronunciation (sounds the same) means to strike a person or an animal repeatedly and violently or defeat (someone) in a game or other competitive situation. A beat also means a unit of rhythm in music or poetry. 

Now, if the person were to hear someone say that they purchased some fresh beet at the market, and the person only knows the meanings of the word ‘beat’, you can see how they would become rather confused. 

A substitute definition occurs by using synonyms rather than accurate meanings. A synonym is one of two or more words or expressions of the same language that have the same or nearly the same meaning in some or all senses.

For example, the words ‘quick’, ‘swift’, ‘fast’, and ‘rapid’ are all synonyms. They all relate to the idea of speed. However, they do not exactly mean the same thing. It is useful to know synonyms to increase your vocabulary but you need to know the correct meaning of each word.

For example, a person reads that there is much destitution in a part of the world. They think that destitution means poverty and use the word ‘poverty’ instead. Although these words are very similar in meaning, they do not mean exactly the same thing.

Poverty means the state of being extremely poor, and destitution is the state of having no money or possessions, a state of utter poverty. Destitution is a much stronger word than poverty and suggests extreme poverty and complete lack of possessions including money and food.

You can see that in order to communicate clearly or to understand communications received very clearly, using a synonym for another word can prevent a clear understanding.

An omitted (missing) definition occurs when a person is missing a definition or the definition is missing from a dictionary. 

Small pocket dictionaries are not very useful because very often they miss out definitions, so the user may not be aware that other definitions exist. 

For example, the student reads, ‘He weighs six stones’. The student is not aware that the word ‘stone’ also means a measurement of weight.  He looks in a pocket dictionary and this definition is missing. Therefore, he is confused by the sentence and cannot understand how one person could weigh six rocks.

A no definition occurs when the person just has no meaning for a word at all. 

The student reads the word ‘science’ and just doesn’t know what it is. Or reads the word ‘biology’ and has no clue what it is.

A rejected definition occurs when a person may not want to know what a word means for some reason. They may reject the meaning perhaps due to past bad experiences or for other reasons. This can keep the person from learning what the word actually means! 

For example, the student was hit by the teacher at school when she couldn’t work out additions and subtractions. Because of that experience, the student rejects definitions and meanings relating to mathematics. When a new teacher tries to explain what mathematics means, she just rejects it.