--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Words are so often used in the opposite…" description: "\"Words are so often used in the opposite sense, as a screen of diversion. It's the struggle towards truthfulness which is the same whether one is writin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/john-berger-1590_argument_words-are-so-often-used-in-the-opposite_318398.png" --- # Words are so often used in the opposite sense, as a screen… ![“Words are so often used in the opposite sense, as a screen of diversion. It's the struggle towards truthfulness which is the same whether one is writing a poem, a novel or an argument.” quote by John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/john-berger-1590_argument_words-are-so-often-used-in-the-opposite_318398.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/john-berger-1590_argument_words-are-so-often-used-in-the-opposite_318398.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/john-berger-1590_argument_words-are-so-often-used-in-the-opposite_318398.png) > “Words are so often used in the opposite sense, as a screen of diversion. It's the struggle towards truthfulness which is the same whether one is writing a poem, a novel or an argument.” [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Words often mask reality, but the pursuit of truth remains constant across creative and argumentative writing. **In simple terms:** Words can hide truth; truth‑seeking is universal. Key Takeaway Seek honesty in all expression. Themes truth language creativity argument honesty Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing essays - debates - poetry - novel writing - media analysis Key Concepts semiotics philosophy literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - How do you discern truth behind language? - When does diversion become necessary? A Different Perspective Truth can be subjective, making absolute honesty elusive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Diversion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diversion/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Truthfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truthfulness/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [ There's the artist's intimacy and truthfulness to himself, but an equal intimacy to the Other \[the one drawn\]. 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Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“...much theological discussion is wasted, not because the words used have no possible meaning, but because the people who use them don't mean anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-haughton/much-theological-discussion-is-wasted-not-because-the-words-used-have/) Rosemary Haughton > [Words can sometimes be used to confuse, but it's up to the practitioners of the study of language to apply them for good and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-luntz/words-can-sometimes-be-used-to-confuse-but-it-s-up-to-the/) [Frank Luntz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-luntz/) > [It's no longer possible to simply build English country houses out of words, because they've already been so thoroughly described that all the applicable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/it-s-no-longer-possible-to-simply-build-english-country-houses-out-of/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [Words should be used as tools of communication and not as a substitute for action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/words-should-be-used-as-tools-of-communication-and-not-as-a/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [Language is the principal tool with which we communicate; but when words are used carelessly or mistakenly, what was intended to advance mutual understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-copi/language-is-the-principal-tool-with-which-we-communicate-but-when/) Irving Copi > [Nothing is so indecent that it cannot be said to another person if the proper words are used to convey it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-boccaccio/nothing-is-so-indecent-that-it-cannot-be-said-to-another-person-if/) [Giovanni Boccaccio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-boccaccio/) > [The Nine deadly words used by a Woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-nine-deadly-words-used-by-a-woman/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Choose ur words wisely bfore u say or write it… have some manners... don't just let it out by ignoring others feelings… cz bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/astrianie-essie/choose-ur-words-wisely-bfore-u-say-or-write-it-have-some-manners-don/) Astrianie Essie > [9 Deadly Words Used By Women 1) Fine This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muniir-zero/9-deadly-words-used-by-women-1-fine-this-is-the-word-women-use-to-end/) Muniir Zero > [“But words have been used too often; touched and turned, and left exposed to the dust of the street. The words we seek hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/but-words-have-been-used-too-often-touched-and-turned-and-left/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The reason they call it 'golf' is that all the other 4 letter words were used up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-nielsen/the-reason-they-call-it-golf-is-that-all-the-other-4-letter-words/) [Leslie Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-nielsen/) > [Talking to animals' isn't a matter of words used, it is a matter of your thoughts, your expression, and above all the tone of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-woodhouse/talking-to-animals-isn-t-a-matter-of-words-used-it-is-a-matter-of/) [Barbara Woodhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-woodhouse/) > [The reason they call if 'golf' is that all the other 4 letter words were used up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-nielsen/the-reason-they-call-if-golf-is-that-all-the-other-4-letter-words/) [Leslie Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-nielsen/) ## More by John Berger > [When we read a story, we inhabit it. The covers of the book are like a roof and four walls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/when-we-read-a-story-we-inhabit-it-the-covers-of-the-book-are-like-a/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [The impulse to paint comes neither from observation nor from the soul (which is probably blind) but from an encounter: the encounter between painter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/the-impulse-to-paint-comes-neither-from-observation-nor-from-the-soul/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Oil painting did to appearances what capital did to social relations. It reduced everything to the equality of objects. Everything became exchangeable because everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/oil-painting-did-to-appearances-what-capital-did-to-social-relations/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Landscapes can be deceptive. Sometimes a landscape seems to be less a setting for the life of its inhabitants than a curtain behind which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/landscapes-can-be-deceptive-sometimes-a-landscape-seems-to-be-less-a/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [We live in a dominant culture of ceaseless Departure and Progress that has so far lasted two or three centuries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/we-live-in-a-dominant-culture-of-ceaseless-departure-and-progress/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [My heart born naked was swaddled in lullabies. Later alone it wore poems for clothes. Like a shirt I carried on my back the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/my-heart-born-naked-was-swaddled-in-lullabies-later-alone-it-wore/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [ There's the artist's intimacy and truthfulness to himself, but an equal intimacy to the Other \[the one drawn\]. 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We actually perceive it in a different way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/today-we-see-the-art-of-the-past-as-nobody-saw-it-before-we-actually/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) [Explore all 214 John Berger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) ## More Argument quotes > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [Preaching to the choir actually arms the choir with arguments and elevates the choir's discourse. 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