ameliorate AIBU?

[LightTheFlameThrower]

Is this really a standard word that most people know? (I thought it was a typo)

I wouldn't even have guessed it could be a tricky word, so it's pretty standard to me.

I haven't got a great vocabulary either.

I would agree it has a ‘make something less bad’ vibe about it in English rather than purely improve.

I am a lawyer and would use it when talking to another lawyer or (certain) clients but not all clients (and not all lawyers either). But I frequently work with the MC law firms so they are all pretty nerdy.

I would expect all my lawyer friends to know (even those who have English as a second language). And most degree educated friends in their 30/40/50/60. Others not so much and I would probably not use it outside of work context.

Not a common word but I know if yes. To improve.

However as a French speaker part of the reason I know what it means is that it’s very similar to its French cousin (améliorer) which is common in French

It’s a standard word that I know. But in fairness I learnt French and Latin. I also think it’s fairly commonly used in certain workplaces but not necessarily on a day to day conversational level.

@EmilySpinach

Whereas I only talked to Mathmos.

I honestly don't know how you managed this unless you actively shunned everybody else in your college.

Late to the party (I know the word but wouldn't use it regularly.

I more or less only talked to Mathmos. Not entirely, but we understood each other and the scientists who would also have understood us weren't ever around as always in the labs. There were a couple of classicists on my corridor who we chatted to, but didn't actively socialise with.

I love to read and have done since I was young but I don't recognise the word at all.
I have never heard anyone use it and I can't remember ever seeing it written down either.

English is my second language and I'm familiar enough with the word that I occasionally use it and encounter it.

I wouldn't consider it an obscure or unusual word to use.

I’m not a scientist. I don’t write academic papers. It’s a word that is on TV news or in newspapers when they talk about all sorts of things - ameliorate the effects of something. I am astonished that people don’t know it.

@Smileyaxolotl1

It’s not common at all. I have an English degree and teach English and while I have heard of it have never used it and don’t know what it means. Pretty sure none of my friends, 2 of whom went to Cambridge use it either.

That shocks me too!

It's not a word I use every day but it's not uncommon.

I had to look up what 'copacetic' meant today - that's a word I'd describe as uncommon.

@RightOnTheEdge So glad it isn’t just me

Yes, it’s a common word

Didn't learn French or Latin, didn't go to university, but it's a word I use fairly regularly. Agree with PPs that it's more a cultural thing than an educational one. I love it, because it has a subtler meaning than 'improve'.

Defenestrate is another word I love. And apotropaic. And assuage.

plantsitter
But I would only google it if you read it and wanted to know what it means.
I don’t remember seeing it in anything I’ve ever read and it rather defeats the purpose of a thread about whether you know a word if you google it in order to be able to say ‘yes’ when a number of people have already stated the definition anyway.

I still maintain that it is not a common word at all and that the vast majority of people would not be familiar with it even many people who are well read with a solid vocabulary.

I think copacetic a perfectly cromulent word, Thickhead.

What is this mathmos?

And no, had not heard of ameliorate either!

It's a perfectly normal word. I have been known to use it.

I suppose I take your point on the Googling Smileyaxolotl but I just don't agree with this

I still maintain that it is not a common word at all and that the vast majority of people would not be familiar with it even many people who are well read with a solid vocabulary.

I would think it unusual for an English teacher with a degree in English (literature?) to have never read it. But I guess there's no way of proving it one way or another!

On the scale of words, from 'everyone knows' to 'only lexicographers know', it would definitely be on the side of 'everyone knows', but I wouldn't say it's in common use.

It's fairly common and I'm surprised you e not heard of it at all. I wouldn't be surprised if someone had heard of it but didn't know what it meant.

Oh for goodness sake. I despair! Does no one read any literature anymore?!

It is a relatively common word but I admit you hardly hear it now. I use it just to keep it going. I suspect there are hundreds of words that will vanish because we are all told to write in plain and simple English now

I consider it to be not uncommon.Thinking about it more though, I mostly use it in a work context (I work in healthcare). Don’t think I’d drop it into everyday conversation.

Uncommon IMO as a languages teacher. I would tell students it’s a cognate when we come across it in French.

It is a relatively common word but I admit you hardly hear it now

Surely, by definition, if you hardly hear it then it's no longer relatively common?

It seems to me such an ordinary sort of word and used very widely in all sorts of moderately formal contexts. I can imagine lots of people not knowing it if they didn't read a lot but I find it really strange that an English teacher or someone with an English degree wouldn't know it.

It's used a fair bit in medical speak. I use it now and again.