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  1. 1. Which of these definitions better defines 'jaded' to you?

    • Tired, bored, or lacking enthusiasm, typically after having had too much of something
      21
    • The end result of having a steady flow of negative experiences, disappointment, and unfulfillment fed into a person where they get to the point where their anger circuits just sort of burn out and they accept disillusionment.
      87


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Posted

For those who are interested, the first one comes from Google, and is similar to the Merriam-Webster definition, the second one is the top result from Urban Dictionary. Personally, I didn't even know the official definition, only knew the Urban Dictionary version. I can see how it's derived from the official one, it just seems to be much more negative than the official.

Posted

Not the first one at all.

 

I think of it as ~cynical as the direct result of negative experiences.

Posted (edited)

The first definition make me think more of the word 'mundane' than Jaded.

 

Jaded to me, is definitely connected to negative experiences.

 

 

ie.....If I ate tasty mashed potatoes for a week with every meal, it would fit the first definition.  But I wouldn't consider myself Jaded by them.   Bored and tired of them, yep, but not jaded.

 

If I was staying at my MILs for a week, had nasty tasting mashed potatoes served with every meal, every single day, I may become jaded by that and think that all mashed potatoes at my MILs will forever be nasty.  It may even taint my idea of what all the food at her house would be like.  That is Jaded to me.

Edited by Tap
  • Like 2
Posted

I still think the first is proper.  Like, being so rich one no longer thinks about how food gets put in front of them, or how one gets from one place to another, or that not everyone has an on-call nanny for spur of the moment shopping sprees.

 

But my brain goes right to Aerosmith anyway, so I voted #2, lol.

  • Like 3
Posted

Just because one definition is in Merriam-Webster, that does not make it more "official" than the definition found elsewhere - and the lexicographers at Merriam-Webster would be the first to tell you that! You don't have to take my word for it either, you can ask Kory Stamper, who really has this job. (Odds of her replying in a timely manner are slim, but have fun reading the blog!) The various English-language dictionaries have the role of describing usage, not prescribing it. Language will, perforce, always change faster than the dictionaries can keep up. And of course, different dictionaries will not agree with each other precisely.

 

For example, compare the Merriam-Webster definition cited above with this one from American Heritage:

 

1. Worn out; wearied: "My father's words had left me jaded and depressed" (William Styron).
2. Dulled by surfeit; sated: "the sickeningly sweet life of the amoral, jaded, bored upper classes" (John Simon).
3. Cynically or pretentiously callous.

 

Number three sounds an awful lot like Urban Dictionary's opinion, doesn't it? (It's possible that the print version of Merriam-Webster has a more complete definition, btw.)

 

  • Like 4
Posted

The first definition sounds more like ennui to me. Boredom at life. Especially a rich person who has everything, yet is still bored.

 

The second one is more like jaded. Jaded is where you started out hopeful, but over time saw your hopes dashed so much that you have given up and don't even care that you've given up anymore. Exactly as the second definition states.

  • Like 5
Posted

The first definition sounds more like ennui to me. Boredom at life. Especially a rich person who has everything, yet is still bored.

 

The second one is more like jaded. Jaded is where you started out hopeful, but over time saw your hopes dashed so much that you have given up and don't even care that you've given up anymore. Exactly as the second definition states.

I responded before reading your post! So, OP, there's some consensus for ya.

  • Like 3
Posted (edited)

Interesting! I've never heard the second definition. Jaded often relates to positive experiences - it's not about disappointment at all. So it might go with wealth and being regularly gifted fabulous jewellery for instance - you get a pretty gold ring and you're not terribly excited because you're "jaded". An example directly from my life, of course :-)

 

ETA: Just checked my Oxford English Dictionary - Tired out or lacking enthusiasm after having too much of something.

Edited by nd293
Posted

The first one has always been my understanding of jaded. 

 

After the Challenger exploded many of us locals agreed we had become jaded regarding the space program. We were bored with it, unenthusiastic, NASA was just another employer in the area, etc. We took another look at our attitude after the accident.

Posted

I'm not impressed with either definition - and I think both miss the mark on the full nuances of the word.   

 

 from the free dictionary:

  1. word out, wearied: "my father's words had left me jaded and depressed".  (William Styron).
  2. dulled by surfeit; sated: "the sickeningly sweet life of the amoral, jaded, bored upper classes" (John Simon)
  3. Cynically or pretentiously callous.​

 

it is definitely very negative.

 

interesting that dictionary.com lists it as of obscure origin from middle english before 1400.

  • Like 1
Posted

The first one has always been my understanding of jaded. 

 

After the Challenger exploded many of us locals agreed we had become jaded regarding the space program. We were bored with it, unenthusiastic, NASA was just another employer in the area, etc. We took another look at our attitude after the accident.

 

that happend during the original apollo program too.  even during gemini.

  • Like 1
Posted

that happend during the original apollo program too.  even during gemini.

 

Yes, but there was still excitement when the Apollo 1 fire happened. By the time of the Challenger disaster we all expected things to go as planned. We forgot the danger involved in human space travel. At least that was how it felt for us who live with KSC in our "back yard".

Posted

 

Just because one definition is in Merriam-Webster, that does not make it more "official" than the definition found elsewhere - and the lexicographers at Merriam-Webster would be the first to tell you that! You don't have to take my word for it either, you can ask Kory Stamper, who really has this job. (Odds of her replying in a timely manner are slim, but have fun reading the blog!) The various English-language dictionaries have the role of describing usage, not prescribing it. Language will, perforce, always change faster than the dictionaries can keep up. And of course, different dictionaries will not agree with each other precisely.

 

For example, compare the Merriam-Webster definition cited above with this one from American Heritage:

 

 

Number three sounds an awful lot like Urban Dictionary's opinion, doesn't it? (It's possible that the print version of Merriam-Webster has a more complete definition, btw.)

 

 

I wasn't saying that Merriam-Webster is more official than another definition. And to be honest, I don't think "cynically or pretentiously callous" is all that similar to Urban Dictionary's version either. But anyway, I was just curious what most people thought of when they hear the word 'jaded'. I probably should've added an option for 'other', but w/e.

Posted (edited)

Yes, but there was still excitement when the Apollo 1 fire happened. By the time of the Challenger disaster we all expected things to go as planned. We forgot the danger involved in human space travel. At least that was how it felt for us who live with KSC in our "back yard".

and as was demonstrated in Apollo 13 - the networks didn't even televise their show, too many "more interesting things".  the explosion happened right afterwards.  then there was lots of network coverage.  it's why subsequent missions engaged in such "entertainment" as a golf game on the moon to attract audiences.

 

I have fond memories of the commercials they aired.  I do remember watching the Apollo 13 landing live.  (and wondering why blackout was taking so long.  I remembered 11 & 12 being much faster.  my mother didn't explain to me the danger they were in of burning up on reentry.)

 

eta: I read lovell's book.  it was very interesting.  (over and over - the "first" missions had attention, subsequent missions had less, sometimes significantly less.)

Edited by gardenmom5

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