I’m concerned about the word concerning. Not worried, really; just concerned.
People keep using that word, and, as Mandy Patinkin said in The Princess Bride, I do not think it means what they think it means.
In my book, concerning is a preposition that means “about” or “having to do with”: We need to have a talk concerning your use of inappropriate language.
But almost every day now, I hear or see concerning used as an adjective to mean “alarming” or “giving cause for concern.”
The other day, right under a front-page headline in the New York Times reading “With Aid Spent, Poverty Traps Millions More,” was this subhead: “ ‘Very Concerning’ Data.” In the body of the article, by Jason DeParle, the University of Chicago economist Bruce D. Meyer describes a new study showing that six million people have fallen into poverty in the past three months. Meyer is quoted saying, “These numbers are very concerning.”
He continued: “They tell us people are having a lot more trouble paying their bills, paying their rent, putting food on the table.”
I know that this column is going to annoy people who are already on my case about acting like the language police. And I do recognize that language evolves, words take on new meanings, and it’s futile to try to arrest that natural evolution.
The usage experts at Merriam-Webster mostly take that point of view about concerning. “We have no reason to criticize use of the present participle concerning as an adjective, as its formation and application are in line with others of its type,” they write. “However, we do recommend avoiding its placement at the end of a sentence, especially in formal writing.”
Hmph. Well, I recommend avoiding the use of however at the beginning of a sentence when it means “but.” Take that.
Old words usefully take on new meanings when there is no good existing word to express what needs to be said. But that’s not true for the adjective concerning. We already have worrisome, distressing, alarming, troubling, upsetting, disturbing, disquieting, unsettling, unnerving, and ominous.
Notably, the word concerning seems milder and more bland than any of those others. I think that’s what bothers me about it. Am I concerned about the fact that the last row of carrots I planted in the garden in late summer appeared briefly as tiny seedlings and then disappeared? Yes. Am I “concerned” that millions of people have run out of money and can’t feed, clothe, or house their children? No. I’m alarmed.
I know. Stress is already way too high this week. We need to stay calm, not go over the edge. Still, I’m worried.
