Language; Commonly Misused Words
In everyday written and spoken communication, there are a number of goofs we make. Some have been so misused, they have become accepted as the right usage. Can you identify some of these?
Let's start with some very common ones:
Night vigil
A vigil is purposeful avoidance of sleep for certain reasons. Normally, human beings sleep at night, irrespective of your time zone, when night time comes where you are, you sleep. Do you see where I'm going with this? Vigil happens at night, though, occasionally, the word may be used for daytime surveillance.
ATM machine
ATM stands for Automated Teller Machine. So, when you say "I need to use the ATM machine", see what you're really saying? What you should be saying is "I need to use the (an) ATM". I know that sounds odd, but that is the right use.
PIN number
When you say PIN number, what you're saying is Personal Identification Number number. Simply say "I can't remember my PIN".
A lot and Allot
A lot means many; allot means to distribute something.
Accept and Except
While they sound similar (or even identical), except is a preposition that means "apart from", while accept is a verb that means "agree with", "take in", or "receive". Except is also occasionally used as a verb, meaning to take out or to leave out.
Right use: We accept all major credit cards, except Diners Club.
Wrong use: I had trouble making friends with them; I never felt excepted.
We all went swimming, accept for Jack.
Acute and Chronic
Acute means "sharp", as an acute illness is one that rapidly worsens and reaches a crisis. A chronic illness may also be a severe one, but it is long-lasting or lingering.
Right use: She was treated with epinephrine during an acute asthma attack.
It is not a terminal illness, but it does cause chronic pain.
Wrong use: He has suffered from acute asthma for twenty years.
He just started feeling this chronic pain in his back.
Affect and Effect
The verb affect means "to influence something", and the noun effect means "the result of". Effect can also be a verb that means "to cause [something] to be", while affect as a noun has technical meanings in psychology, music, and aesthetic theory: an emotion or subjectively experienced feeling. A device to remember when trying to decide which is the right choice: If something affects you it usually has an effect on you.
Right use: This poem affected me so much that I cried.
The heavy downpour affected the turnout for the concert.
Wrong use: The rain effected our plans for the day.
We tried appealing to the police, but to no affect.
Alternately and Alternatively
Alternately is an adverb that means in turn; one after the other. Alternatively is an adverb that means on the other hand; one or the other.
Right use: You can choose a large bookcase or, alternatively, you can buy two small ones.
Are and Our
Are is the second-person singular present and the first, second, and third-person plural present of the verb be. Our means "belonging to us".
Right use: Are you coming to our house after the show?
Born and Borne
Born is when a living creature enters the world through the birthing process. Borne means to carry, realize, or bear something.
Right use: I was born on March 6, 1982.
Typhoid is a water-borne disease.
Wrong use: Her first borne is a girl.
Breath and Breathe
A breath (noun) is the air that is inhaled or exhaled from the lungs. To breathe (verb) is the act of inhaling or exhaling.
Buy and By
Buy means to purchase or spend money on something. By is a proposition meaning close to or indicating who did something.
Right use: I want to buy a TV.
We are by the station now.
Wrong use: I went buy the cinema on my way to by the stereo.
Can't and Cant
Can't is a contraction of cannot. Cant has a number of different meanings, including a slope or slant, or a kind of slang or jargon spoken by a particular group of people. "Canting arms" is a coat-of-arms that represents meaning of the bearer's surname.
Right use: I can't understand the dialogue in this book because it is written in cant.
Wrong use: I cant swim; I have never taken lessons.
Canvas and Canvass
Canvas is a type of fabric known for being tough/strong. Canvass is a way to try to get people’s support or find out where their support lies.
Right use: I use a canvas cover to protect the barbecue.
Canvass the block for information on their votes.
Wrong use: My political party needs to canvas the local neighborhoods.
Complementary and Complimentary
Things or people that go together well are complementary (i.e., they complete each other); complimentary describes an item given without charge (considered a 'gift'), usually in addition to a product or service that may have been purchased. It also describes praise given to someone or something.
Right use: Exercise, nutrition, and medical care are complementary factors in good health.
The motel provides a complimentary breakfast to overnight guests.
Wrong use: He complemented her new hair do.
Similarly, a complement is an accessory, while a compliment is a statement of admiration.
Copy write and Copyright
Copy write means to make written copies for manuals, press releases, or advertisements. A copyright consists of select privileges that legally protect a work and prohibit its duplication without a reference.
Right use: Contact a copy writer if you need more advertisements to be written for the event.
This book has another five years of protection under its copyright.
Crotch and Crutch
A crotch is an area where something branches or forks off in two directions, or the area on a person's body where the legs fork from the trunk (commonly interchanged with 'groin'). A crutch is a device that assists motion, especially one that sits under the armpit. It is also used metaphorically for something that supports, often negatively to imply a dependency on something that would not be needed by a healthy person.
Defuse and Diffuse
To defuse is to remove the fuse from a bomb, or in general to render a situation less dangerous, whereas to diffuse is to disperse randomly. Diffuse can also be used as an adjective, meaning "not concentrated".
Right use: Bill's face turned red at Joe's tactless remark to the Kennel Club meeting, but Clarice defused the situation by turning it into a joke.
Wrong use: After finding the suspected bomb, the police were called in to diffuse it.
Desert and Dessert
A desert is a barren or uninhabited place. A dessert is the last course of a meal.
Right use: I enjoyed the cake served as dessert at the dinner.
He survived the trek through the desert.
Wrong use: The dessert land is very sandy.
Disassemble and Dissemble
To disassemble means "to dismantle" (e.g. to take a machine code program apart to see how it works); to dissemble means "to tell lies".
Disburse and Disperse
Disburse means "to give out", especially money. Disperse means "to scatter".
Right use: The local government chairman disbursed the scholarship fund to the students.
Wrong use: Kathy tried to disburse the gathering crowd.
Disinterested and Uninterested
To be disinterested in something means to not be biased about something (i.e. to have no personal stake in a particular side of an issue). To be uninterested means to not be interested in or intrigued by something.
Right use: As their good friend, I tried to mediate their argument in a disinterested manner so as not to anger either.
Though his initial reaction suggested otherwise, he maintains that he remains uninterested in the business proposition.
Wrong use: The key to attracting a member of the opposite sex is to balance between giving attention to him or her and appearing disinterested.
Let's start with some very common ones:
Night vigil
A vigil is purposeful avoidance of sleep for certain reasons. Normally, human beings sleep at night, irrespective of your time zone, when night time comes where you are, you sleep. Do you see where I'm going with this? Vigil happens at night, though, occasionally, the word may be used for daytime surveillance.
ATM machine
ATM stands for Automated Teller Machine. So, when you say "I need to use the ATM machine", see what you're really saying? What you should be saying is "I need to use the (an) ATM". I know that sounds odd, but that is the right use.
PIN number
When you say PIN number, what you're saying is Personal Identification Number number. Simply say "I can't remember my PIN".
A lot and Allot
A lot means many; allot means to distribute something.
Accept and Except
While they sound similar (or even identical), except is a preposition that means "apart from", while accept is a verb that means "agree with", "take in", or "receive". Except is also occasionally used as a verb, meaning to take out or to leave out.
Right use: We accept all major credit cards, except Diners Club.
Wrong use: I had trouble making friends with them; I never felt excepted.
We all went swimming, accept for Jack.
Acute and Chronic
Acute means "sharp", as an acute illness is one that rapidly worsens and reaches a crisis. A chronic illness may also be a severe one, but it is long-lasting or lingering.
Right use: She was treated with epinephrine during an acute asthma attack.
It is not a terminal illness, but it does cause chronic pain.
Wrong use: He has suffered from acute asthma for twenty years.
He just started feeling this chronic pain in his back.
Affect and Effect
The verb affect means "to influence something", and the noun effect means "the result of". Effect can also be a verb that means "to cause [something] to be", while affect as a noun has technical meanings in psychology, music, and aesthetic theory: an emotion or subjectively experienced feeling. A device to remember when trying to decide which is the right choice: If something affects you it usually has an effect on you.
Right use: This poem affected me so much that I cried.
The heavy downpour affected the turnout for the concert.
Wrong use: The rain effected our plans for the day.
We tried appealing to the police, but to no affect.
Alternately and Alternatively
Alternately is an adverb that means in turn; one after the other. Alternatively is an adverb that means on the other hand; one or the other.
Right use: You can choose a large bookcase or, alternatively, you can buy two small ones.
Are and Our
Are is the second-person singular present and the first, second, and third-person plural present of the verb be. Our means "belonging to us".
Right use: Are you coming to our house after the show?
Born and Borne
Born is when a living creature enters the world through the birthing process. Borne means to carry, realize, or bear something.
Right use: I was born on March 6, 1982.
Typhoid is a water-borne disease.
Wrong use: Her first borne is a girl.
Breath and Breathe
A breath (noun) is the air that is inhaled or exhaled from the lungs. To breathe (verb) is the act of inhaling or exhaling.
Buy and By
Buy means to purchase or spend money on something. By is a proposition meaning close to or indicating who did something.
Right use: I want to buy a TV.
We are by the station now.
Wrong use: I went buy the cinema on my way to by the stereo.
Can't and Cant
Can't is a contraction of cannot. Cant has a number of different meanings, including a slope or slant, or a kind of slang or jargon spoken by a particular group of people. "Canting arms" is a coat-of-arms that represents meaning of the bearer's surname.
Right use: I can't understand the dialogue in this book because it is written in cant.
Wrong use: I cant swim; I have never taken lessons.
Canvas and Canvass
Canvas is a type of fabric known for being tough/strong. Canvass is a way to try to get people’s support or find out where their support lies.
Right use: I use a canvas cover to protect the barbecue.
Canvass the block for information on their votes.
Wrong use: My political party needs to canvas the local neighborhoods.
Complementary and Complimentary
Things or people that go together well are complementary (i.e., they complete each other); complimentary describes an item given without charge (considered a 'gift'), usually in addition to a product or service that may have been purchased. It also describes praise given to someone or something.
Right use: Exercise, nutrition, and medical care are complementary factors in good health.
The motel provides a complimentary breakfast to overnight guests.
Wrong use: He complemented her new hair do.
Similarly, a complement is an accessory, while a compliment is a statement of admiration.
Copy write and Copyright
Copy write means to make written copies for manuals, press releases, or advertisements. A copyright consists of select privileges that legally protect a work and prohibit its duplication without a reference.
Right use: Contact a copy writer if you need more advertisements to be written for the event.
This book has another five years of protection under its copyright.
Crotch and Crutch
A crotch is an area where something branches or forks off in two directions, or the area on a person's body where the legs fork from the trunk (commonly interchanged with 'groin'). A crutch is a device that assists motion, especially one that sits under the armpit. It is also used metaphorically for something that supports, often negatively to imply a dependency on something that would not be needed by a healthy person.
Defuse and Diffuse
To defuse is to remove the fuse from a bomb, or in general to render a situation less dangerous, whereas to diffuse is to disperse randomly. Diffuse can also be used as an adjective, meaning "not concentrated".
Right use: Bill's face turned red at Joe's tactless remark to the Kennel Club meeting, but Clarice defused the situation by turning it into a joke.
Wrong use: After finding the suspected bomb, the police were called in to diffuse it.
Desert and Dessert
A desert is a barren or uninhabited place. A dessert is the last course of a meal.
Right use: I enjoyed the cake served as dessert at the dinner.
He survived the trek through the desert.
Wrong use: The dessert land is very sandy.
Disassemble and Dissemble
To disassemble means "to dismantle" (e.g. to take a machine code program apart to see how it works); to dissemble means "to tell lies".
Disburse and Disperse
Disburse means "to give out", especially money. Disperse means "to scatter".
Right use: The local government chairman disbursed the scholarship fund to the students.
Wrong use: Kathy tried to disburse the gathering crowd.
Disinterested and Uninterested
To be disinterested in something means to not be biased about something (i.e. to have no personal stake in a particular side of an issue). To be uninterested means to not be interested in or intrigued by something.
Right use: As their good friend, I tried to mediate their argument in a disinterested manner so as not to anger either.
Though his initial reaction suggested otherwise, he maintains that he remains uninterested in the business proposition.
Wrong use: The key to attracting a member of the opposite sex is to balance between giving attention to him or her and appearing disinterested.
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