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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Vocabulary
electrocute
Is it true that you can’t say someone's been electrocuted if they've lived to tell the tale?
Top answer
Dictionaries do not seem consistent on this. Some define it as "kill by electric shock", others as "kill or injure by electric shock". Wiktionary marks the non-fatal sense as informal, and says: "Formally, the words electrocute and electrocution always imply fatality.
- Dictionaries do not seem consistent on this.
- Some define it as "kill by electric shock", others as "kill or injure by electric shock".
- Wiktionary marks the non-fatal sense as informal, and says: "Formally, the words electrocute and electrocution always imply fatality.
- Informally, however, these terms are rather often used to refer to serious but nonfatal electric shocks.
- " Be aware that Wiktionary content is user-generated, though I have no reason to disbelieve this particular usage note.
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1 Answers
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Dictionaries do not seem consistent on this. Some define it as "kill by electric shock", others as "kill or injure by electric shock". Wiktionary marks the non-fatal sense as informal, and says:
"Formally, the words electrocute and electrocution always imply fatality. Informally, however, these terms are rather often used to refer to serious but nonfatal electric shocks. Str
"Formally, the words electrocute and electrocution always imply fatality. Informally, however, these terms are rather often used to refer to serious but nonfatal electric shocks. Str
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