A skunked term is a word that becomes difficult to use because it is evolving from one meaning to another, perhaps inconsistent or even opposite, usage,[1] or a word that becomes difficult to use due to other controversy surrounding the word.[2] Purists may insist on the old usage, while descriptivists may be more open to newer usages. Readers may not know which sense is meant especially when prescriptivists insist on a meaning that accords with interests that often conflict.
The term was coined by the lexicographer Bryan A. Garner in Garner's Modern American Usage and has since been adopted by some other style guides.[2]