--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Usually it is uses of words, not words in…" description: "\"Usually it is uses of words, not words in themselves, that are properly called vague.\" — J. L. Austin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d7/j-l-austin-17560_fake_usually-it-is-uses-of-words-not-words-in_282750.png" --- # Usually it is uses of words, not words in themselves, that… ![“Usually it is uses of words, not words in themselves, that are properly called vague.” quote by J. L. Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d7/j-l-austin-17560_fake_usually-it-is-uses-of-words-not-words-in_282750.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d7/j-l-austin-17560_fake_usually-it-is-uses-of-words-not-words-in_282750.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d7/j-l-austin-17560_fake_usually-it-is-uses-of-words-not-words-in_282750.png) > “Usually it is uses of words, not words in themselves, that are properly called vague.” [J. L. Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-austin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Vagueness arises from the misuse of language rather than the words themselves. **In simple terms:** Misused words cause vagueness. Key Takeaway Choose precise language. Themes language communication precision Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - legal drafting - academic writing - public speaking - media analysis Key Concepts philosophy semantics pragmatics Questions to Reflect On - How does word choice affect clarity? - When is vague language useful? A Different Perspective Vagueness can be intentional for politeness or strategy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fake people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fake-people/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Vague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vague/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [“Being able to use words properly was a great advantage, for the more words you knew the meaning of, the better you could think.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-holms/being-able-to-use-words-properly-was-a-great-advantage-for-the-more/) Anne Holms > [If somebody cannot use his body he uses words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamerlan-kuzgov/if-somebody-cannot-use-his-body-he-uses-words/) [Tamerlan Kuzgov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamerlan-kuzgov/) > [Find something you like, go into a room, close the door and read it aloud. Read it aloud. Everybody in the world who likes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/find-something-you-like-go-into-a-room-close-the-door-and-read-it/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I consider myself kind of a reporter - one who uses words that are more like music and that have a choreography. I never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/i-consider-myself-kind-of-a-reporter-one-who-uses-words-that-are-more/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [He that uses his words loosely and unsteadily will either not be minded or not understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-locke/he-that-uses-his-words-loosely-and-unsteadily-will-either-not-be/) [John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/) > [A multitude of words doth rather obscure than illustrate, they being a burden to the memory, and the first apt to be forgotten, before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ray/a-multitude-of-words-doth-rather-obscure-than-illustrate-they-being-a/) [John Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ray/) > [“Everybody uses words to express themselves. Except me. And I bet most people don’t realize the real power of words. But I do. Thoughts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atheneum-books-for-young-readers/everybody-uses-words-to-express-themselves-except-me-and-i-bet-most/) [Atheneum Books for Young Readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atheneum-books-for-young-readers/) > [He that uses many words for explaining any subject, doth, like the cuttlefish, hide himself for the most part in his own ink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ray/he-that-uses-many-words-for-explaining-any-subject-doth-like-the/) [John Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ray/) > [A learned man is not one who uses complicated and difficult words in spoken and written language, but one who uses words that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/a-learned-man-is-not-one-who-uses-complicated-and-difficult-words-in/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [The best instruction is that which uses the least words sufficient for the task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-best-instruction-is-that-which-uses-the-least-words-sufficient/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [The copywriter uses words as tools to persuade and motivate an audience. You persuade your readers that you have something valuable to offer; you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bayan/the-copywriter-uses-words-as-tools-to-persuade-and-motivate-an/) Richard Bayan > [The poet cannot invent new words every time, of course. He uses the words of the tribe. But the handling of the word, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/the-poet-cannot-invent-new-words-every-time-of-course-he-uses-the/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [Poetry never loses its appeal. Sometimes its audience wanes and sometimes it swells like a wave. But the essential mystery of being human is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/poetry-never-loses-its-appeal-sometimes-its-audience-wanes-and/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [One of the most interesting results was part of a study my students and I conducted dealing with status in email correspondence. Basically, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-w-pennebaker/one-of-the-most-interesting-results-was-part-of-a-study-my-students/) [James W. Pennebaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-w-pennebaker/) > [Seems like EVERYONE complains about fake people, so if everyone is being let down, has anyone stopped to think who really is doing it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/seems-like-everyone-complains-about-fake-people-so-if-everyone-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by J. L. Austin > [We become obsessed with 'truth' when discussing statements, just as we become obsessed with 'freedom' when discussing conduct...Like freedom, truth is a bare minimum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/we-become-obsessed-with-truth-when-discussing-statements-just-as-we/) [J. L. Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-austin/) > [The theory of truth is a series of truisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/the-theory-of-truth-is-a-series-of-truisms/) [J. L. Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-austin/) > [In the one defense, briefly, we accept responsibility but deny that it was bad: in the other, we admit that it was bad but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/in-the-one-defense-briefly-we-accept-responsibility-but-deny-that-it/) [J. L. Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-austin/) > [Are cans constitutionally iffy? Whenever, that is, we say that we can do something, or could do something, or could have done something, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/are-cans-constitutionally-iffy-whenever-that-is-we-say-that-we-can-do/) [J. L. Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-austin/) > [The trouble is that the expression 'material thing' is functioning already, from the very beginning, simply as a foil for 'sense-datum'; it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/the-trouble-is-that-the-expression-material-thing-is-functioning/) [J. L. Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-austin/) > [The beginning of sense, not to say wisdom, is to realize that 'doing an action,' as used in philosophy, is a highly abstract expression--it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/the-beginning-of-sense-not-to-say-wisdom-is-to-realize-that-doing-an/) [J. L. Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-austin/) > [Is it true or false that Belfast is north of London? That the galaxy is the shape of a fried egg? That Beethoven was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/is-it-true-or-false-that-belfast-is-north-of-london-that-the-galaxy/) [J. L. Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-austin/) > [Certainly ordinary language has no claim to be the last word, if there is such a thing. It embodies, indeed, something better than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/certainly-ordinary-language-has-no-claim-to-be-the-last-word-if-there/) [J. L. Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-austin/) > [Our common stock of words embodies all the distinctions men have found worth drawing, and the connexions they have found worth marketing, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/our-common-stock-of-words-embodies-all-the-distinctions-men-have/) [J. L. Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-austin/) > [It should be quite clear, then, that there are no criteria to be laid down in general for distinguishing the real from the not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/it-should-be-quite-clear-then-that-there-are-no-criteria-to-be-laid/) [J. L. Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-austin/) > [In one sense 'there are' both universals and material objects, in another sense there is no such thing as either: statements about each can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/in-one-sense-there-are-both-universals-and-material-objects-in/) [J. L. Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-austin/) > [Certainly ordinary language has no claim to be the last word, if there is such a thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/certainly-ordinary-language-has-no-claim-to-be-the-last-word-if-there-2/) [J. L. Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-austin/) > [I begin, then, with some remarks about 'the meaning of a word.' I think many persons now see all or part of what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/i-begin-then-with-some-remarks-about-the-meaning-of-a-word-i-think/) [J. L. Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-austin/) > [Fact is richer than diction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/fact-is-richer-than-diction/) [J. L. Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-austin/) > [Next, 'real' is what we may call a trouser-word. It is usually thought, and I dare say usually rightly thought, that what one might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/next-real-is-what-we-may-call-a-trouser-word-it-is-usually-thought/) [J. L. Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-austin/) [Explore all 37 J. L. Austin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-austin/) ## More Fake quotes > [I am very sad that some designers are still using real fur when the fake alternatives are so effective and so easily obtainable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twiggy/i-am-very-sad-that-some-designers-are-still-using-real-fur-when-the/) [Twiggy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twiggy/) > [Seems like EVERYONE complains about fake people, so if everyone is being let down, has anyone stopped to think who really is doing it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/seems-like-everyone-complains-about-fake-people-so-if-everyone-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [LIFE is full of fake people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/icold/life-is-full-of-fake-people/) ICold > [“Fake things can't really happen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-munsch/fake-things-can-t-really-happen/) [Robert Munsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-munsch/) > [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. What did people mean, with their simply determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/it-all-had-to-be-squeezed-and-squeezed-again-to-provide-a-thrill-to/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [You can't even tell, but a lot of the time your favourite rappers are wearing a bunch of fake jewellery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vic-mensa/you-can-t-even-tell-but-a-lot-of-the-time-your-favourite-rappers-are/) [Vic Mensa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vic-mensa/) > [If I'm going to make a fake movie, it's going to be a fake hit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/if-i-m-going-to-make-a-fake-movie-it-s-going-to-be-a-fake-hit/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [My heart?gone my life? ruined my smile? fake who did this? you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristian-winkles/my-heart-gone-my-life-ruined-my-smile-fake-who-did-this-you/) Kristian Winkles > [I know a lot of people that have had fake Twitters... actors and musicians that I know. It's sort of a problem. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zooey-deschanel/i-know-a-lot-of-people-that-have-had-fake-twitters-actors-and/) [Zooey Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zooey-deschanel/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [Fuck fake friends!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fuck-fake-friends/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > ["Natural" is a very dangerous word to use about sexuality ... Our society's notions of normality are completely fake and meta-trendy, since they rely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-bright/natural-is-a-very-dangerous-word-to-use-about-sexuality-our-society-s/) [Susie Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-bright/) > [Some people wake & bake, while others wake & fake~](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deangelo-stokes/some-people-wake-bake-while-others-wake-fake/) [DeAngelo Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deangelo-stokes/) > [You can't find any true closeness in Hollywood, because everybody does the fake closeness so well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/you-can-t-find-any-true-closeness-in-hollywood-because-everybody-does/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [You can't fake competence, creativity, or sexual arousal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/you-can-t-fake-competence-creativity-or-sexual-arousal/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) Browse all 3,008 Fake quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Usually it is uses of words, not words in themselves, that are properly called vague.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "J. L. Austin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/usually-it-is-uses-of-words-not-words-in-themselves-that-are-properly/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fake" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/usually-it-is-uses-of-words-not-words-in-themselves-that-are-properly/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d7/j-l-austin-17560_fake_usually-it-is-uses-of-words-not-words-in_282750.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d7/j-l-austin-17560_fake_usually-it-is-uses-of-words-not-words-in_282750.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d7/j-l-austin-17560_fake_usually-it-is-uses-of-words-not-words-in_282750.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Usually it is uses of words, not words in themselves, that are properly called vague.” — J. L. Austin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "J. L. Austin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-austin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Usually it is uses of words,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/usually-it-is-uses-of-words-not-words-in-themselves-that-are-properly/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/usually-it-is-uses-of-words-not-words-in-themselves-that-are-properly/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```