struck with worry that I don't know the exact meaning
I believe that is included in "I am not positive what it means".
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I am not positive what it means in the current context
So, i intended "It confuses what the sentence means" to cover that. Or at least something like that. But, it does sound like a different option.
To keep those options together, and to make it look pretty (at least in my current environment) added, "Context might change its meaning". Does that sound right to you?
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True, but my emphasis is on the post-hoc nature of the act. Looking up words before sending the note is so pedestrian; I was trying to succinctly capture the act of looking up the word after it is too late to correct.
I just have to share my favorite malapropism here: At a small social gathering the wife of my friend was trying to find either the word "ravenous" or "famished" but instead went on for some time that she was "ravished, absolutely ravished." She liked to say things in a dramatic way, which really skewed the interpretation of her narrative to the more salacious meanings of the word. It was fun watching her husband, who was torn between correcting her or saying nothing, hoping that the topic would die a natural death.
I learned from her eventual embarassment, so needless to say, I have always used "ravished" correctly in my personal communications since then. :-)
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to succinctly capture the act of looking up the word after it is too late
Good point. Though, would that not lead to every option's bifurcation? Perhaps just one option for "after"? ... I added "I am afraid i used it incorrectly". Does that capture it well?
Nice story. :)
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