Why do you think that? I have seen and heard the use of the word “penultimate” as a literary device to praise something very good. It’s not even that big of a stretch. I’m sorry people only ever use words to mean exactly how they are defined in the dictionary when around you. Also, words are meaningless without the people who use them. Why don’t you try correcting people less and instead, when you think someone is using words incorrectly, try to understand in what way they could be correct.
In this case penultimate is used to describe something that is nearly perfect. As if to say, there is little room for improvement.
Penultimate means “next to last”, and that’s it.
Why do you think that? I have seen and heard the use of the word “penultimate” as a literary device to praise something very good. It’s not even that big of a stretch. I’m sorry people only ever use words to mean exactly how they are defined in the dictionary when around you. Also, words are meaningless without the people who use them. Why don’t you try correcting people less and instead, when you think someone is using words incorrectly, try to understand in what way they could be correct.