Skunked term

A skunked term is a word that becomes difficult to use because it is transitioning from one meaning to another, perhaps inconsistent or even opposite, usage. Purists may insist on the old usage, while others may accept the new usage. Readers may not know which sense is meant.

The term was coined by lexicographer Bryan A. Garner in his 2008 edition of Garner's Modern American Usage and has since been adopted by some other style guides.

Usage

Garner recommends avoiding such terms if their use may distract from the meaning of a text.

Some terms, such as "fulsome", may become skunked, and then eventually revert to their original meaning over time.

Examples

• "decimate", which used to mean 'to kill one in ten' (from the Roman practice of decimation), but now means 'to destroy' or 'to kill nine of ten'
• "hopefully", which used to mean 'in a hopeful manner', but now means 'it is hoped' since the beginning of the 1960s

Other such examples include "niggardly", "jewfish", "Oriental", "data", and "media".

The 2013 Oxford English Dictionary's definition of "literally" to include "figuratively" and, towards 2014, the conflation of 'deep web' with 'dark web'.