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Comment by gnicholas | Hacker News Reader

> Most of us have to make a concerted effort to be mindful and open to the unfamiliar

Growing up, I came to believe that the word "concerted" means something like "effortful" or "work hard to do something". I later learned that it actually refers to a group of people working together (in concert) to accomplish something [1]. So technically, a person cannot make a concerted effort to do something alone.

Seeing the word used here in this technically incorrect way leads me to wonder how uncommon my experience is. Are we on our way to redefining this word with a more relaxed definition?

1: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/concerted

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I've had the same experience with the word as yourself. It's interesting to note that the word "concert" itself has seen a similar shift: it wouldn't be at all strange to refer to someone performing a "solo concert."

You think it's technically incorrect usage because you didn't know other uses of it nor its root. Technically the quoted sentence is 100% correct, concerted also means something you tried hard, struggled with, strived to get done. The musical concert actually derives its meaning from that, but done by a group put together: https://www.etymonline.com/word/concert

I have looked for but never found a definition of "concerted" like the one you described. Can you provide one?

Have you actually clicked on the link I put at the end of my comment?

Yep. It talks about the noun and verb "concert". It doesn't mention "concerted" though, which is the word I'm interested in. These words are obviously related, but in determining the definition of a word, one typically looks to the explicit definition — not to the definitions of related words.

If "concerted" can also have the meaning that you describe (and that I grew up believing in), then why isn't this meaning/usage included in any definition for "concerted"?

> It doesn't mention "concerted" though

Yes, it does. Here is the entire verb entry from that link:

1690s, "to contrive, adjust;" 1707, "to contrive and arrange mutually," from French concerter and directly from Italian concertare "to bring into agreement" (see concert (n.)). Related: Concerted; concerting

See it?

Yeah, I meant that it doesn't mention it anywhere near where it talks about striving (which was what caio1982 had asserted was the meaning). That only appears in the discussion of the noun "concert". I should have worded that more clearly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participle

If you can't provide any direct support for your position (which is contradicted by dictionary definitions [1-3] and a forum discussion on the topic [4]), I won't continue to engage. Good day!

1: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/concerted

2: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/concerted

3: https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/c...

4: https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2011/04/concerted.html

Here are two dictionary entries that do support using "concerted" to apply to a single person:

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/concerted (entry 1.1)

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/conce...

Note also that your link #4 references the Oxford English Dictionary, which is where the first link I give above comes from. The argument given in your link #4 seems plausible, but given the fact that there are reputable sources leaning both ways, I don't think you can say the single person usage is simply wrong. Perhaps "uncommon" might be a better term.

Thanks for adding these to the discussion. This was the sort of thing that I was hoping others would contribute.

It's an interesting question as to what a word means when dictionaries differ. In some cases, the differences might exist on a spectrum (e.g., is "furious" more upset than "livid"). But in this case, we have a completely separate meaning that some dictionaries bless but others do not hint at.

I would be curious to see whether there are historical trends here, which might hint if we're headed in one direction or the other.

Dictionaries are, can only be, historical records of word definitions.

Words mean what people intend them to mean when they use them.

At least one dictionary I have lists a definition:

'done with great effort or determination: you must make a concerted effort to curb this.'

Also, when I think of myself doing a concerted effort I think of all my faculties working together, if that helps.

https://www.etymonline.com/word/concerted says it is a past participle of "concern". Not sure if it is correct, but it makes some sense if viewed with this in mind?

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