Just heard Bill Gates use "incented" on TV. Not in the dictionary on my Mac. Maybe he invented it this morning. Most people would have said "incentivized."
torpeau said:
Just heard Bill Gates use "incented" on TV. Not in the dictionary on my Mac. Maybe he invented it this morning. Most people would have said "incentivized."
I love that your question is inherently contradictory -- Bill Gates's words were not on your MAC. That said, I think he meant "incentivized", which is itself some bastard form of the idea of "made incentive of", right?
tunawrites said: which is itself some bastard form of the idea of "made incentive of", right?
The dictionary on my Mac includes "incentivize." I think it has become common usage.
Gates is not the first to use a variation on "incent." For earlier peeves, see here: https://waywordradio.org/discussion/topics/bite-the-wax-tadpole-1/
The OED has an example of "incent" from 1977.
I am incensed by this thread! Jk, I'm not upset by the thread but that the word 'incentive' has been warped and wrangled and twisted like a pretzel into a really wanky use. What's so hard about saying 'the program provides incentive to... blah, blah blah?'