"Let's collaborate!"

Every time I hear someone say this to me now, I feel a certain aversion towards that person.

That person may have been genuinely looking for a win-win situation, but the word 'collaborate' has now taken on A LOT of negative connotations.

And I don't think it's mainly the fault of the entrepreneurs (esp. solopreneurs) and small business owners that this is now an iffy word.

I'd put the blame on the large organisations and companies, a number of which clearly take the word to mean "unpaid now, likely forever".

I can't speak for everyone, and perhaps I'm just cynical, but I really hope that this word disappears from the language of business sooner rather than later.