You should not feel sorry for someone who busts a forehead vein over the word hopefully; he or she is so anal-retentive as to deserve it.
The word that arguably attracts most persnickitors’ attention and usually ire is hopefully, as in, “Hopefully you’re still awake after reading this.” When I write that quoted material, I mean to communicate that “I am hopeful that you’re still awake,” as opposed to “With hope in your ever-lovin’ heart, you are still awake.”
But, if those same persnickitors were to read the first ten words of the above paragraph, would they have decried the floating adverb arguably? Or usually? Interestingly, they probably would not. So, perhaps they will allow hopefully to step in line with other such
Bill Brohaugh
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accepted siblings as arguably, luckily, curiously, fortunately, coincidentally . . . and interestingly . . . and, finally, finally.