This qualitative case study analyzes the phenomenon of misinterpretation of 14 keywords (including "apa," "absensi," and "emotion") in Indonesian. The goal was to identify and analyze the linguistic mechanisms and social factors that cause deviations from the standard definition (KBBI). The results indicate that misinterpretation is a systematic process driven by digital habits and cognitive simplification. Two main mechanisms of meaning destruction were identified: Reverse Antonyms (Acuh, Absensi) and Emotional Specialization (Emosi, Anarkis). This analysis demonstrates Lexical Duality—a tension between formal and social language—where the frequency of informal use overrides the authority of the KBBI. The implication is Semantic Erosion of Accuracy, which complicates critical language teaching and distorts public understanding of policy issues (e.g., "Subsi" is equated with "Discount"). A limitation of this study is the small sample size (14 words), so further studies using mixed methods to quantitatively measure the frequency of misinterpretation are recommended.
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