Words Used For Not So Sincere Ends

As much as I love words, whether reading or writing them, especially in the form of fiction, I recognize that they are tools, that language is a tool, and it can be used in variety of ways. Just like, say, a knife, which can be used to either cut food in preparation for cooking or as a weapon to commit a crime, words can be used also for something useful, or entertaining, or as a means to lie and manipulate. It thus becomes a matter of having a critical mind in gauging whatever we read to discern just how the words are being used.

So, here are six subtle ways that words can be used to disguise facts and the truth. Being subtle, they can slip quite easily through our critical filters, but if we're a bit more aware of them, we can know when what we're reading isn't entirely on the level.