Impactful: NOT A WORD!

In the last year, I've heard the word (not-word) "impactful" used, mostly by social workers. Lately I've noticed it's use becoming more prevalent in other areas. I've seen it in PUBLICATIONS.

Impactful is NOT a word!!! It may have become the "orientated" (I still cringe) of the last decade, but at present it is not in the OED. As a language purist who enjoys coinage, I cannot get on board with "impactful." Why? It ignores the logic of suffixes. The addition of "-ful" to "impact" does not create the meaning that "impactful" has developed colloquially.

As noted by Grammarist, an online resource for simple English language grammar, spelling, idioms, and linguistic paraphernalia, "the suffix –ful means full of, and impact is not a quantity and hence can’t fill anything." Grammarist mistakenly argues "–ful also means having the quality of,"and "impact bears the secondary sense the power to make an impression, [sic] and such power can be a quantity." This argument falls flat because the suffix "-ful" is not, as asserted, limited to quantity or quality. In fairness, Grammarist is attempting to counter arguments against the use of "impactful" on the basis of the meaning of "-ful;" however, the argument fails to examine the breadth of meanings of "-ful." The argument is not fully formed and therefore an insufficient dismissal of "impactful" on the basis of the meaning of the added suffix. (A quick Google search offers many more meanings for "-ful," all of which ought to be explored before dismissing the dismissal of "impactful" as a word on the grounds of suffix.)

Grammarist resigns itself to "impactful" entering our cultural lexicon, like it or not, without offering an argument of its own against the improper construction and use of the word. Though implicitly agreeing with detractors like myself, arguments against "impactful" are reviewed and debunked, albeit poorly, landing, as previously mentioned, with a shoulder shrug, an acquiescence.

As I mentioned, I enjoy coinage. New words delight me. They must, though, adhere to the rules of  the language in which they appear, notwithstanding the adoption of words from other languages- a murkier area into which I will not wade right now.

Impact is a noun. Impacted is an adjective. Impact is not a verb; colloquially it is used as one, yet that usage seems less offensive to many than "impactful" as an adjective.

Impact, the noun, is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as: 
a. The act of impinging; the striking of one body against another; collision. Chiefly in Dynamics, in reference to momentum.
b. fig. Now commonly the effective action of one thing or person upon another; the effect of such action; influence; impression. Esp. in phr. to make an impact (on).

Impacted, the adjective, is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as:
1. a. Pressed closely in, firmly fixed.
 b. Applied spec. to fæces lodged in the intestine (cf. impaction n. 2); also transf., applied to (a part of) the intestine when so blocked.
c. Applied to a bone fracture in which the broken parts are driven together so as to become locked.
d. Applied to a tooth which, owing to obstruction by another tooth or by bone, fails to erupt properly and remains partly or wholly within the jaw-bone.
2. a. That has impinged upon or struck something.
b. That has been struck by an impacting body; also fig. (U.S.) of an area: affected by a larger demand than usual on public services, esp. schools.

Impactful is not an entry in the Oxford English Dictionary, a living, breathing dictionary that adds new words regularly, purporting to be descriptive not prescriptive. Yet "impactful" is not an addition.

Impactful, the sometimes adjective, sometimes adverb, as used colloquially and as defined by online sources (not appearing in legitimate dictionaries,) is defined as: having a lot of power and influence.

The word does not adhere to the meaning of its root. Why does this matter?

In a nutshell, "impactful" is not an acceptable coinage because it defies the rules of English.

For anyone who prefers pop culture answers to those more snootily studious (I don't deny the snobbery of my objection to "impactful," "orientated," "irregardless"; I do assert the correctness of my objections,) the fabulous Urban Dictionary offers these top two excellent anti-definitions:
impactful
A non-existent word coined by corporate advertising, marketing and business drones to make their work sound far more useful, exciting and beneficial to humanity than it really is. This term is most frequently used in "team building" seminars and conferences in which said drones discuss the most effective ways to convince consumer zombies to purchase crap they clearly do not need or even want.

impactful
Something that conveys significance. 
I.e. utter marketing gash, its [sic] words like this that make society bad and help meaningless marketing plebians [sic] ascend the rungs of their pointless evil careers and step on anyone creative in their path. For shame marketing ... for shame.

Oh, Urban Dictionary, I want to kiss you hard on the mouth for the exquisite impact of your definitions!

CORRUPT

Erdoğan is the President of Turkey. This is NOT like being President of the United States. It is a nominal title. He is illegally running the country. The Prime Minister is the country's political leader.

Erdoğan is corrupt. He was party of the Islamist Welfare Party, declared illegal, because Turkey is supposed to be secular; the party espoused openly religious, conservative views and laws. It was declared illegal and he was BANNED FROM POLITICS.

He created a new party, AKP, same shit, different name, and same agenda.

He will and has killed so many people. At the same time as the attacks on İstanbul Atatürk Havalimanı, he banned Pride celebrations for the 2nd year in a row and imprisoned 47 people for speaking against the ban.

He tear gases non-violent protesters.

And he, a nominal figurehead, declares a coup failed and the world accepts it.

Don't be complicit. Demand he be removed for HIS crimes against Turkishness, real crimes, the murder of political opponents (helicopters being shot down is far from a new occurrence,) the bribing of desperately poverty-stricken people, the institutional abuse of people with disabilities (abuse beyond what a Westerner who has not been beyond North America, Western Europe, tourist Asia-- locking up in orphanages, no medical assistance, no education, prisoners.) I've seen people crawl the streets of Istanbul missing limbs, invisible to the general public who've been informed of the sub-human status of the disabled.
He kills. He will do anything for power. He has taken a nominal position and removed the Prime Minister, the actual leader...

This man is evil. Question anything that is reported via Turkish media. He controls it. He shuts down the internet if he thinks he can't. 

Anıtkabir

Scary. Shit. This. World. France. Turkey.

24 hours.

One country in which I lived has had another mass casualty attack. (France)

One country, in which I lived many more years, is undergoing a coup. (Turkey)

I can't say much more. I'm near tears.

Starving people everywhere, all over the planet. Dying people everywhere.

The blood. The pain. The hate.


Here, the rain just fell so hard we could barely see across the street. The thunder shook the house; the lightning forked in unison.

The tears I am crying are heavier. This world. This world.

I want the world to stop. ~ Belle & Sebastian

Wrong Response

As people of colour grapple with increasing fatal violence directed at them, we have an MLA, a person of colour, who said on the radio, "I'm not an American black person; I decided to be more appropriate."

Is there any response but to reel in horror from a comment like that, whatever your colour, if you believe the violence against people of colour is wrong and disproportionate? (It is.)

He went on to say he'd never experienced racism and speculated that it was he can pass as white.

David Shepherd, you don't pass as white. You have done a massive disservice to people of colour north and south of the border with your comments. The live, on air gasp from Portia Clark (also Canadian, also black) is edited out of the podcast of the show.

Reakash Walters commentary on racism that followed Shepherd's dismissal of it was infinitely more intelligent, informed, and not whitewashed.

That she did not win the political nomination and he did is astonishing.

I'm proud to have campaigned for and voted for her. Him? Glad I did neither. (I couldn't vote for him; I don't live in his riding.)

Yes, I am a white person commenting. I admit my privilege in being able to do so. I see a man who has more privilege than he recognizes by a long shot, a man who failed every person of colour in his constituency with his thoughtless comment.

Racism is real.

Bubble Tube...

Anyone have a spare $1500 so we can get this for J?

http://www.flaghouse.ca/Sensory-Solutions/Snoezelen-MSE/Bubble-Tubes/Portable-Bubble-Tube.axd

If you know...

If you have my contact info, you know how to find me.

If you don't?