The word absolutely is defined as without restrictions or limitations, totally or completely.
Over the years, I have learned to accept this definition as complete, or absolute bullshit. 😛
The word absolutely is, in my experience, a most insincere word.
Nothing good has ever come from that word whenever someone in my vicinity uttered it, either toward me or within context of a conversation with me.
The word absolutely therefore not only implies, to me, insincerity, but an outright lie.
Absolutely means ‘I have no intention of following through with this’.
I have learned never to trust people who say absolutely. But that’s me.
Thoughts? Comments?
Try to convince me of this word’s original meaning if you feel I’m wrong.
I have more to say on this, but let’s wait for the comments to come in.
Writer of Words etc 
I understand what you mean. It’s kind of like here people say “inshaAllah” which in origin is a beautiful word that means “if God is willing”, but many Muslims, unfortunately, use it with an insincere tone and a phony smile and mean “when hell freezes”.
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LOL, this post (currently) shows up as a top result when I search for “bullshit” (minus quotes) — no, not on the GOOG (only ABSOLUTE noobs search there)… on WP reader’s search.
I would say (having just uttered the VERBOTEN word) it means 100% — just my gut feeling, IDK.
I’m a big fan of Wittgenstein (the later Wittgenstein), who said that words are sort of defined by the contexts in which they are uttered (I would go beyond utterances, though — e.g. I would also include interpretations and similar activities).
IMHO language is anything but clear-cut. Linguistic communities overlap. You say tomayto, I say tomahto … that’s no reason to call the whole thing off.
🙂 Norbert
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Well this was fun to read! Thank you for your comment, Norbert! 😀
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I feel the same about the word “interesting.” It can mean so many other things, and I hate having to rely on the tone of the user to interpret what s/he/they mean.
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I think of this on the list of verbal crutches we too often fall back on in our every day speech. Language is contagious; so is slang. Have you ever read (or better yet heard the audio) of David Sedaris’s essay, Me Talk Pretty One Day? about his dislike for the word “Awesome” as it is too frequently used today? It’s hilarious. “Everything’s awesome all the time. I was in Boulder, Colorado.–‘the ‘awesome’ capital’— “and someone said, ‘I’ll have a double espresso, awesome,’ and the other person said, ‘Awesome.’”
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Oh my, yes, I hear awesome all the time too and catch myself saying it! 😄 And because of this article I wrote I found myself saying absolutely when I’ve rarely used this word in the past. 🙄🤷♀️
Thank you for commenting. I’m going to check out David Sedaris. 😀
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I tend not to rely on the word of others for much at all. I’ve been let down too many times.
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It is because it has become a cliche, a popular slang. So, people use the word without thinking, as a substitute for thinking. It did not used to be this way. And someday, I do not know if it is 10 or 20 or more years, it will change back again, losing its popularity, and return to a word which actually has meaning.
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Yes, there is something me of this, as well.
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One of the things that happens in my classes is that students often answer “Of course”. If someone asks them if they like something obscure, they answer “Of course.” This is the moment when I teach them to say “absolutely” as the phrase “of course” might have a negative effect on the person they are talking to.
So, I do use the word “Absolutely”. I don’t use it for promises, but I do use it when I want to explain something.
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If the term or any of its derivatives are used inauthentically by most people then we have a problem. But with what? The term itself? The original definition? Or the many people who have no intention of following through?
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Err…I use “absolutely” all the time, and have never given second thought to the fact that some people might find it insincere. Rest assured that I am absolutely sincere every time I say it!
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I was wondering what your reaction might be to this post.
And although I have not met you IRL your “tone” in your comments on my blog, as well as in your own blog, indicates to me that your “absolutely” would be authentic. (Right? Would you say it and not mean it?)
But do me a favour. Keep your ears peeled and observe the use of that word in your business life.
I’d be interested what you might find out.
I had an experience with a Marketing manager in St. Louis who first made me aware of this insincerity connection I’m referring to. It was later reinforced in the La Guardia office and again at some conference in Florida. Insincere and outright lying… They never meant it and left some of us hanging time and again. Made me a bit of a cynic. 🤷♀️
Never mind the personal relationship connection, that’s a whole other can of words. 😀
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Just a couple of days ago, somebody asked me if I’d be willing to do something, and I said, “Absolutely!” And, of course, I meant it. I’ll pay attention in the future to see if it comes across as insincere from others.
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Yeah…not a fan of the word
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I absolutely feel you are absolutely right to think like you think, I myself have absolutely met people who feel the need to be absolute about everything. Especially at the job, absolutely 100% absolutely pathetic.
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Sorry not sorry to quote a good friend of mine…just adding some levity 🤪
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Ha ha! 😛🇨🇦
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😂
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Absolutely word is like very common to use..
Nothing wrong with.but i put focus on understanding of facial expressions with their words .if don’t match then its actuate me to more focus on😀
Atleast your thoughts help me to check out my words usage 🙂
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Made me laugh! Very true and yet I do use it, mainly as an expression of vehement agreement 😄
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There may have been the odd time when I considered the word in its authentic meaning. However, most men I’ve met in personal and especially professional settings, who have used this word in my presence, were insincere. 🤷♀️
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To me, absolutely is like definitely, really, very, literally, super, amazing, and, further, all of the corporate jargon I am subjected to at work. Circling back, dialing back, synergizing, deep diving, following up, reaching out, hitting the ground running, moving the needle, and the worst — plucking that low hanging fruit.
Yikes! I think you’ve “struck a chord” in me. 🙂
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I’m tiggered by it too. 🙃
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I think of the word absolute in much the same way I do the word always. I learned long ago that when you see a statement (or question- say on an exam) that uses the word “always” you know it’s false/untrue. Didn’t some now famous, or infamous maybe, once say “there are no absolutes”?
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Are there absolutes? I don’t even know. I just know if someone says absolutely, they probably don’t mean it and it probably won’t happen.
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As Mark Twain says, “I am dead to adverbs; they cannot excite me. To misplace an adverb is a thing which I am able to do with frozen indifference; it can never give me a pang. There are subtleties which I cannot master at all – they confuse me, they mean absolutely nothing to me – and this adverb plague is one of them.” I mean what is the difference between: He is dead. He is absolutely dead. Still dead, regardlessly! Bahaha, hugs, C
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It’s an interesting quite, isn’t it… 😀
I will need to think about this further.
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Absolutely an overused word, for sure 😀
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More men have spoken this word in my experience than women.
In a professional setting, I have rarely heard the word absolutely used by women except in sales or marketing negotiations. The female use of the word ‘absolutely’ is different than the male use, likewise, professional use of the word is somewhat different than personal. Meanwhile, men say absolutely all the time, or did when I was working in Marketing, and they were 99% of the time insincere.
The personal use of the word is a whole other can of worms.
The comments have been interesting!
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That’s really interesting. I must admit, I use it all the time. I probably overuse the word ‘awesome’ as well.
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The older I get, the more I come to understand that one should rarely speak in absolutes. 😉
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Same. 🙃
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I absolutely prefer the word totally, or maybe the word definitely.
I don’t think I really use absolutely 🤔 hmmmm… now I’ll be watching my words.
I also like to make up words or spell words in a weird way. Gotta keep myself entertained, right?!🤪
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Yeah, I don’t use absolutely much. Totally and definitely plus a sprinkle of “for sure!” are more my bag…
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If you ask someone whether they can do you a favour and the response is absolutely, I find it’s meaning less “follow-through-able” than definitely. Totally to me in that context is similar to absolutely.
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Totally in my view is kind of adolescent, but this could be a regional or cultural thing… 🤷♀️
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Its totally a SoCal thing too. 😂😂
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I think it can fit the definition if it’s used to agree with an opinion rather than agree to get off one’s ass and do something, as in:
“American politics are fucked up.” “Absolutely.”
rather than:
“Will you help me do [x] next week?” “Absolutely.”
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Yup. This!
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This is a great comparison. Add another part regarding personal relationships and it’s a whole new ballgame.
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