there's an unspoken belief in some circles that, if you carefully craft terminology and use it in just the right way, it will be immune to misuse or dishonesty. problem is, there is literally nothing you can do to stop people from misusing words or misunderstanding them. there is nothing you can do to categorically stop people from twisting words against you, either. the search for bulletproof terminology is, at root, an exercise in magical thinking. we arrive at greater understanding via the conversation itself, not through a meta game that rests on top of the conversation
This is (somewhat) beside the point but I always think about this re: didactic art, or really any art at all. There is no level of precision in your message that will perfectly match your intent. People will misinterpret a didactic essay, needless to say a nuanced work of fiction. People will misinterpret IKEA instructions! As if a "perfect" interpretation of anything is even achievable! We were not put on this earth to instantly objectively scan one another. It's better if we don't think that way!
I'm not saying that trying to be understood doesn't matter, but I think this mindset has taken over too much of modern discourse around media. I think creators maybe ought to think a little less about what the audience might think, and focus instead on our own process- which is the only thing we can really control.
