A word that is similar to another word, but longer, is not necessarily an intensified version of the shorter word. For example, “penultimate” does not mean the absolutely completely most important pinnacle, the ultimates of ultimates.
Nor is it an esoteric sexual technique.
It means “next to last.”
Similarly, a center is a single point. It’s hard to imagine something more precise than a single point, and yet writers and commentators will try to emphasize the focus of an event by calling it the “epicenter.”
(Some experts approve of using “epicenter” this way. I’m holding out for using it only to refer to the place on the earth’s surface above the focus of an earthquake.)
Enormity, problematic, and singular are other words commonly misused. If you don’t know what they mean, look them up. If you aren’t certain what a word means, look it up. Every so often, look up a word you think you know the meaning of. You might be surprised. (I sometimes am.)
President Obama used both enormity and singular correctly in his election night speech. (He can also pronounce “nuclear.”)
There’s hope for us yet.