RE: The Real Meaning of the Word Disinterested
July 22, 2015 at 12:14 pm
(This post was last modified: July 22, 2015 at 12:20 pm by Excited Penguin.)
(July 22, 2015 at 11:03 am)Rhondazvous Wrote: Forgive me folks, but I have a degree in English and used to teach basic writing to undergrads and I am really and truly tired of seeing otherwise intelligent people misuse this word.
I often see the word disinterested used when what the person means is indifferent. Disinterested means when someone has nothing to gain from something, to have no interest in it. It has nothing to do with whether he finds the thing interesting. Interest here is used in a totally different way. If a situation or decision does not affect me personally then I'm disinterested, even if I find the situation most intriguing. On the other hand, I could find the situation quite boring, but if I stand to gain financially or in some other way then I'm not disinterested.
Please, if you love me, don't offend my sensibilities by abusing this word.
Teachers: fearless warriors in the never-ending battle against ignorance, spitballs and dangling participles.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/disinterested
What were you again? Some sort of language expert? Well, you're wrong. Isn't it weird, being that I learned english over the internet and apparently know it better than you do? Maybe you should read some literature to ascertain the real meaning of words.
It means both, by the way, if you didn't get that.
I'm not sure why you had the impression it was used only one certain way. Nevertheless, I'll have you know that language is a tool - it evolves and changes with usage. It's not set in stone, far from it. "Pedants", however, seem to miss the point, as usual.
