51 commonly misused words
<p>A linguist from Harvard University has released a book on reading and writing trends in the 21st century, including a list of 51 words and phrases that are commonly misused.</p>
<p>Steven Pinker’s work, <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Sense-Style-Thinking-Persons/dp/1846145503" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>The Sense of Style</strong></span></a>, is reminiscent of the Strunk and White classic <em>The Elements of Style</em>, but updated with linguistic turns for a contemporary audience.</p>
<p>To see the full list as republished <span>in </span>The Telegraph UK scroll down!</p>
<p>While everyone is guilty of a few of these it’s important not to beat yourself up over it, especially when so many elements of grammar are up to interpretation.</p>
<p><span><strong>1. Adverse</strong> </span>means detrimental and does not mean averse or disinclined.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “There were adverse effects.” / “I’m not averse to doing that.”</p>
<p><strong>2. Appraise</strong> means to ascertain the value of and does not mean to apprise or to inform.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “I appraised the jewels.” / “I apprised him of the situation.”</p>
<p><strong>3. As far as</strong> means the same as but cannot be used the same way as as for.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “As far as the money is concerned ...” / “As for the money ...”</p>
<p><strong>4. Begs the question </strong>means assumes what it should be proving and does not mean raises the question.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “When I asked the dealer why I should pay more for the German car, he said I would be getting ‘German quality’, but that just begs the question.”</p>
<p><strong>5. Bemused</strong> means bewildered and does not mean amused.</p>
<p><span><strong>Correct:</strong> </span>“The unnecessarily complex plot left me bemused.” / “The silly comedy amused me.”</p>
<p><strong>6. Cliché </strong>is a noun and is not an adjective.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “Shakespeare used a lot of clichés.” / “The plot was so clichéd.”</p>
<p><span><strong>7. Credible</strong> </span>means believable and does not mean credulous or gullible.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use: </strong>“His sales pitch was not credible.” / “The con man took advantage of credulous people.”</p>
<p><strong>8. Criteria</strong> is the plural, not the singular of criterion.</p>
<p><strong>Correct:</strong> “These are important criteria.”</p>
<p><strong>9. Data </strong>is a plural count noun not a mass noun. Note: “Data is rarely used as a plural today, just as candelabra and agenda long ago ceased to be plurals,” Pinker writes. “But I still like it.”</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “This datum supports the theory, but many of the other data refute it.”</p>
<p><strong>10. Depreciate</strong> means to decrease in value and does not mean to deprecate or to disparage. </p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “My car has depreciated a lot over the years.” / “She deprecated his efforts.”</p>
<p><strong>11. Dichotomy</strong> means two mutually exclusive alternatives and does not mean difference or discrepancy.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “There is a dichotomy between even and odd numbers.” / “There is a discrepancy between what we see and what is really there.”</p>
<p><strong>12. Disinterested</strong> means unbiased and does not mean uninterested.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “The dispute should be resolved by a disinterested judge.” / “Why are you so uninterested in my story?”</p>
<p><strong>13. Enervate</strong> means to sap or to weaken and does not mean to energise.</p>
<p><span><strong>Correct use:</strong> </span>“That was an enervating rush hour commute.” / “That was an energising cappuccino.”</p>
<p><strong>14. Enormity</strong> means extreme evil and does not mean enormousness. [Note: It is acceptable to use it to mean a deplorable enormousness.]</p>
<p><strong>15. Flaunt</strong> means to show off and does not mean to flout.</p>
<p><span><strong>Correct use:</strong> </span>“She flaunted her abs.” / “She flouted the rules.”</p>
<p><strong>16. Flounder</strong> means to flop around ineffectually and does not mean to founder or to sink to the bottom.</p>
<p><strong>17. Fortuitous</strong> means coincidental or unplanned and does not mean fortunate.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “Running into my old friend was fortuitous.” / “It was fortunate that I had a good amount of savings after losing my job.”</p>
<p><strong>18. Fulsome </strong>means unctuous, excessively or insincerely complimentary and does not mean full or copious.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “She didn’t believe his fulsome love letter.” / “The bass guitar had a full sound.”</p>
<p><strong>19. Homogeneous</strong> is pronounced as homo-genius and “homogenous” is not a word but a corruption of homogenised.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “The population was not homogeneous; it was a melting pot.”</p>
<p><span><strong>20. Hone</strong> </span>means to sharpen and does not mean to home in on or to converge upon.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “She honed her writing skills.” / “We’re homing in on a solution.”</p>
<p><strong>21. Hot</strong><span><strong>button</strong> </span>means an emotional, divisive controversy and does not mean a hot topic.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “She tried to stay away from the hot button of abortion.” / “Drones are a hot topic in the tech world.”</p>
<p><strong>22. Hung</strong> means suspended and does not mean suspended from the neck until dead.</p>
<p><span><strong>Correct use:</strong> </span>“I hung the picture on my wall.” / “The prisoner was hanged.”</p>
<p><span><strong>23. Intern</strong> </span>(verb) means to detain or to imprison and does not mean to inter or to bury.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “The rebels were interned in the military jail.” / “The king was interred with his jewels.”</p>
<p><strong>24. Ironic</strong> means uncannily incongruent and does not mean inconvenient or unfortunate.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “It was ironic that I forgot my textbook on human memory.” / “It was unfortunate that I forgot my textbook the night before the quiz.”</p>
<p><strong>25. Irregardless</strong> is not a word but a portmanteau of regardless and irrespective. [Note: Pinker acknowledges that certain schools of thought regard “irregardless” as simply non-standard, but he insists it should not even be granted that.]</p>
<p><strong>26. Literally</strong> means in actual fact and does not mean figuratively.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “I didn’t mean for you to literally run over here.” / “I’d rather die than listen to another one of his lectures — figuratively speaking, of course!”</p>
<p><strong>27. Luxuriant</strong> means abundant or florid and does not mean luxurious.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “The poet has a luxuriant imagination.” / “The car’s fine leather seats were luxurious.”</p>
<p><strong>28. Meretricious</strong> means tawdry or offensively insincere and does not mean meritorious.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “We rolled our eyes at the meretricious speech.” / “The city applauded the meritorious mayor.”</p>
<p><span><strong>29. Mitigate</strong> </span>means to alleviate and does not mean to militate or to provide reasons for.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “The spray should mitigate the bug problem.” / “Their inconceivable differences will militate against the treaty.”</p>
<p><strong>30. New Age</strong> means spiritualistic, holistic and does not mean modern, futuristic.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “He is a fan of New Age mindfulness techniques.” / “That TV screen is made from a high-end modern glass.”</p>
<p><strong>31. Noisome</strong> means smelly and does not mean noisy.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “I covered my nose when I walked past the noisome dump.” / “I covered my ears when I heard the noisy motorcycle speed by.”</p>
<p><strong>32. Nonplussed</strong> means stunned, bewildered and does not mean bored, unimpressed.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use: </strong>“The market crash left the experts nonplussed.” / “His market pitch left the investors unimpressed.”</p>
<p><strong>33. Opportunism</strong> means seizing or exploiting opportunities and does not mean creating or promoting opportunities.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “His opportunism brought him to the head of the company.” / “The party ran on promoting economic opportunities for the middle class.”</p>
<p><strong>34. Parameter</strong> means a variable and does not mean a boundary condition, a limit.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use: </strong>“The forecast is based on parameters like inflation and interest rates.” / “We need to work within budgetary limits.”</p>
<p><strong>35. Phenomena</strong> is a plural count noun, not a mass noun.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use: </strong>“The phenomenon was intriguing, but it was only one of many phenomena gathered by the telescope.”</p>
<p><strong>36. Politically correct</strong> means dogmatically left-liberal and does not mean fashionable, trendy. [Note: Pinker considers its contemporary roots as a pejorative term by American and British conservatives, not its more casual use as meaning inoffensive.]</p>
<p><strong>37. Practicable </strong>means easily put into practice and does not mean practical.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “His French was practicable in his job, which required frequent trips to Paris.” / “Learning French before taking the job was a practical decision.”</p>
<p><strong>38. Proscribe</strong> means to condemn, to forbid and does not mean to prescribe, to recommend, to direct.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “The policy proscribed employees from drinking at work.” / “The doctor prescribed an antibiotic.”</p>
<p><strong>39. Protagonist </strong>means active character and does not mean proponent.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use: </strong>“Vito Corleone was the protagonist in <span>The Godfather</span>.” / “He is a proponent of solar energy.”</p>
<p><strong>40. Refute</strong> means to prove to be false and does not mean to allege to be false, to try to refute. [Note: That is, it must be used only in factual cases.]</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “His work refuted the theory that the Earth was flat.”</p>
<p><strong>41. Reticent </strong>means shy, restrained and does not mean reluctant.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use: </strong>“He was too reticent to ask her out.” / “When rain threatens, fans are reluctant to buy tickets to the ball game.”</p>
<p><strong>42. Shrunk, sprung, stunk, and sunk</strong> are used in the past participle, not the past tense.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use: </strong>“I’ve shrunk my shirt.” / “I shrank my shirt.”</p>
<p><strong>43. Simplistic </strong>means naively or overly simple and does not mean simple or pleasingly simple.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use: </strong>“His simplistic answer suggested he wasn’t familiar with the material.” / “She liked the chair’s simple look.”</p>
<p><strong>44. Staunch</strong> means loyal, sturdy and does not mean to stanch a flow.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “Her staunch supporters defended her in the press.” / “The nurse was able to stanch the bleeding.”</p>
<p><strong>45. Tortuous </strong>means twisting and does not mean torturous.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use: </strong>“The road through the forest was tortuous.” / “Watching their terrible acting for two hours was a torturous experience.”</p>
<p><strong>46. Unexceptionable</strong> means not worthy of objection and does not mean unexceptional, ordinary.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “No one protested her getting the prize, because she was an unexceptionable choice.” / “They protested her getting the prize, because she was an unexceptional choice.”</p>
<p><strong>47. Untenable </strong>means indefensible or unsustainable and does not mean painful or unbearable.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “Now that all the facts have been revealed, that theory is untenable.” / “Her death brought him unbearable sadness.”</p>
<p><strong>48. Urban legend</strong> means an intriguing and widely circulated but false story and does not mean someone who is legendary in a city.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “Alligators in the sewers is an urban legend.” / “Al Capone was a legendary gangster in Chicago.”</p>
<p><strong>49. Verbal</strong> means in linguistic form and does not mean oral, spoken.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “Visual memories last longer than verbal ones.”</p>
<p><strong>50. An effect </strong>means an influence. While to effect means to put into effect, to affect means either to influence or to fake.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “They had a big effect on my style.” / “The law effected changes at the school.” / “They affected my style.” / “He affected an air of sophistication to impress her parents.”</p>
<p><span><strong>51. To lie</strong> (intransitive: lies, lay, has lain)</span> means to recline; to lay (transitive: lays, laid, has laid) means to set down; to lie (intransitive: lies, lied, has lied) means to fib.</p>
<p><strong>Correct use:</strong> “He lies on the couch all day.” / “He lays a book upon the table.” / “He lies about what he does.”</p>
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