CS 3.2 Strong and Weak Language

Subjective Words

Words with personal interpretation or unclear standards

Useful, Important

At least some value

Sometimes, Often, Occasionally

At least once

Some, Many, Several, Numerous, A lot, Much, A Few

At least one

Significant, Substantial

At least enough to be noticed or matter

Easy, Difficult

Subjective

Permissive Words

Allow something to happen, but do not guarantee it happens

can, may, could, able to, eligible, available

Permissive language

permit, allow, right

Permission to do something

consistent, compatible

No definitive conflict

Positive 51% Words

At least 51% chance or occurrence

probably, likely

At least 51% chance

most, majority, tends to, tendency, usually

At least 51% of the time

Preponderance

At least 51% of the evidence or weight

Negative 51% Words

Less than 50% chance or occurrence

unlikely

0-49% chance

minority, rarely, seldom, few

0-49% of the time

99.5% Phrases

Very strong language, nearly always true

almost all, almost always, almost exclusively

99.5%+

nearly all, nearly always

99.5%+

0.5% Phrases

Almost never true

almost never, almost none

0-0.5%

little

Very small amount or reason

100% Terms

Absolute language indicating certainty

all, always, inevitably

100%

eventually, gradually

Guaranteed over time

confirm, affirm, demonstrate, prove

Absolute proof

is, are, was, will, did

Absolute assertion

entails, consists of, composed of

Complete composition

If-Then Statements

Absolute conditional statements

only, only if, unless

Conditional certainty

each, any, every, all

Universal statements

definitions

If something meets the definition, it qualifies

0% Terms

Absolute negatives

none, no

0%

never

0%

disprove

Show false completely

Necessary Terms

Required conditions

critical, crucial, underlies

Necessary elements

guarantee

Ensures outcome

Inherently Strong Language

Words carrying strong meaning inherently

inherent, intrinsic, by nature, fundamentally

Permanent characteristics

steal

Take property intending permanent deprivation

lie

Intentionally present falsehood as truth

revolutionize

Be first and inspire followers

modeled upon

Attempt to copy another work

indefinitely

Forever

eventually

Guaranteed future occurrence

Causality

Cause-and-effect relationships

results in, results from, affect, effect, effective, influence, cause, causes, causal, produce, leads to

Direct causation

promotes, benefits, induces, boost, raise, solve, solution

Change-producing verbs

genetic predisposition, predisposes, responsible for, successful, explains, explanation, enable, determines

Responsibility or influence

Comparisons

Compare two or more things

more, less, higher, lower, taller, shorter, faster, slower, worse, better, similar

Comparison terms

should, ought, need to

Recommendations

profit, total, sum, overall

Net effect terms

primary, best, worst, highest, lowest, the most, foremost, chief, main, at the heart, the key, first, last, earliest, latest, original, invented, discover

Superlatives

identical, equal, the same, indistinguishable

Exact equality

shall, duty, obligation

Strong recommendations or mandates

Representation

Comparing subgroups to general populations

overrepresent

Greater percentage than general population

underrepresent

Smaller percentage than general population

Similar vs Same

Important distinction

same

Identical, no difference

similar

At least one thing in common

Thought vs Reality Words

Distinguishing belief from truth

actual, actuality, truth, demonstrated, observed, observation, show, shown

Reality terms

belief, think, claim, consider, purport, concern, value, prejudice, bias, ideology, judgement, objective

Belief terms

intend, want, hope, wish, goal, objective, plan, purpose, agenda, intent, motive, in order to, attempt, try, disguise, hide, conceal

Intent terms

know, knowledge, ignorance, admit, acknowledge, recognize, realize, confirm, affirm, grant, concede

Knowledge terms

Personality or Character Traits and Emotions

Thought-realm concepts

generosity, kindness, morals, ethics, virtues, values, anger, happiness, fear, anxiety, deference, respect, concern, in principle, in theory

Mental or emotional concepts

Thought + Other Concepts

Mixed concepts

encourage, discourage, motivate, threaten

Intent plus causality

underestimate, underrate

Reality greater than belief

overestimate, overrate, exaggerate

Belief greater than reality

Classic Percentage Terms

Likelihood or frequency language

probably, likely, tends to, usually, probability, more likely

Likelihood terms

Rate Terms

Frequency or risk language

prone, safety, danger, accident rate, fatality rate, fractions

Rate-related terms

Raw Number Terms

Countable amounts

fewer, more than, frequency, number, specific numbers

Count-based terms

Degrees

Relative intensity or scale

better or worse, higher or lower, faster or slower, more important or less important, older or younger

Degree comparisons

Dichotomy

Only two mutually exclusive options

good or evil, good or bad, high or low, fast or not fast, required or not required, yes or no

Binary opposites

Concept of "Other"

Distinction between self and others

my thoughts vs someone else's thoughts

Other-focused distinctions

how many options total vs how many other options

Option comparisons

Words with Multiple Meanings

Terms with ambiguous definitions

fairness, equality, justice

Multiple possible meanings

environment

Could mean natural, physical, social, or political environment

~100%

0-99%

~99.5% or more

0-99.4%

~51%

0-49%

~0-49%

51% or more

~1% or more

0%

~0%

1-100%