The English language contains over 200,000 words, drawing from Germanic, Latin, Greek, and over 350 other language roots. New words get added to English every year. (For instance, here are 30 words that didn’t exist 30 years ago.)

Given its large size and diverse origins, English can be confusing, filled with ambiguities and words that are easily misused or misunderstood. Like most languages, English evolves over time and word meanings can change.

For example, “nice” used to mean foolish and “awful” meant awe-inspiring. More recently, “hopefully” has come to mean “it is to be hoped,” though it originally meant “with hope.” (These are 36 old words we use today but with new meanings.)

For example, “nice” used to mean foolish and “awful” meant awe-inspiring. More recently, “hopefully” has come to mean “it is to be hoped,” though it originally meant “with hope.”

Click here for 10 words that don’t mean what you think they do