People communicate using words and frequently have to define what they mean by those words in the context of their message because words are imperfect, and don’t convey all possible meanings that a person might want to convey.

So language evolves and definitions constantly change (or are added upon) but we have to continually compare and make sure that when we use a word, we are actually understanding each other. (That is if you are actually trying to understand one another or make a convincing argument of something real, rather than just win a semantics slap fight, like you seem to be)

Dictionaries can be useful in this, but they are insufficient. If you want to have a real discussion or argument, it’s essential to define your terms and actually try to understand the other person. For the sake of any given argument or conversation that may not be the dictionary definition. It frequently is not.

What is “faith”? What is a “right”? What is “racism”? Everything depends on context of the discussion and it’s meaning depends on how it is being used.

So no. I’m not saying the dictionary definition of a word is wrong. But to pretend that the dictionary definition is the only possible way a word can be used is just stupid.

If that were the case, no word would ever have more than one definition in the sacred dictionary; a new word would have to be created each time. And no definition would ever change over time; a new word would be made for the new nuanced term and the old would just fall into disuse.

But the truth is dictionaries don’t define language. They seek to take a snapshot of meaning in a language as it’s used at any time and help others to get an idea of what that is.

That’s part of the reason legal terms are always defined by law, not dictionaries. Any important term needs it’s definition made clear IN CONTEXT of you want to argue about it.

So either argue semantics or try to actually understand and be understood.

I understand what he means when he says “racism” and so I could talk to him about it and we could understand each other. And he should be able to understand that his use of the word racism makes it very different and much less powerfully evil than others’ more limited definition.