{"id":16408,"date":"2016-01-11T11:11:46","date_gmt":"2016-01-11T16:11:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/?p=16408"},"modified":"2016-01-11T11:43:18","modified_gmt":"2016-01-11T16:43:18","slug":"a-collection-of-the-58-most-commonly-misused-words-and-phrases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/a-collection-of-the-58-most-commonly-misused-words-and-phrases\/","title":{"rendered":"a collection of “the 58 most commonly misused words and phrases”"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m not a wordsmith by any measure…any means? See there I go again. But I do collect them. I have notepads filled with them, originally-blank postcards covered with them. When I read non-online material I’m constantly scribbling words and phrases (words in context!) to look up their meaning, or study their structure and use. This all goes back to probably 1995 or 1996 when I first started diving heavily into political theory, and had to cross-reference a lot of ideas (which at that time meant, you know, going to the library to look things up!). Fast-forward 20 years and Harvard linguist Steven Pinker has compiled this list of the 58 – weird number to settle on – most commonly misused words and phrases, which are themselves just a sliver from his new book “The Sense of Style<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

Is there a word for a person who collects words?<\/p>\n

Enjoy:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Adverse<\/strong> means detrimental<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> averse<\/em> or disinclined<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Correct: “<\/em>There were adverse effects.”<\/em> \/ “I’m not averse to doing that.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Appraise <\/strong>means to ascertain the value of<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> to apprise<\/em> or to inform.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: “<\/em>I appraised the jewels.”<\/em> \/ “<\/em>I apprised him of the situation.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 As far as<\/strong> means the same as but cannot be used the same way as<\/span> as for.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: “<\/em>As far as the money is concerned …”<\/em> \/ As for the money …<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Begs the question<\/strong> means assumes what it should be proving <\/em>and does not mean<\/span> raises the question.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: “<\/em>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.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Bemused <\/strong>means bewildered<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> amused.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: The unnecessarily complex plot left me bemused.<\/em> \/ The silly comedy amused me.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Clich\u00e9 <\/strong>is a noun and is not<\/span> an adjective.<\/p>\n

Correct: “Shakespeare used a lot of clich\u00e9s.” <\/em>\/ The plot was so clich\u00e9d.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Credible<\/strong> means believable<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> credulous<\/em> or gullible.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: His sales pitch was not credible. <\/em>\/ The con man took advantage of credulous people.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Criteria<\/strong> is the plural, not<\/span> the singular of criterion.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: These are important criteria.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Data<\/strong> is a plural count noun not, standardly speaking,<\/span> a mass noun. [Note: “Data<\/em> is rarely used as a plural today, just as candelabra <\/em>and agenda <\/em>long ago ceased to be plurals,” Pinker writes. “But I still like it.”]<\/p>\n

Correct: “<\/em>This datum supports the theory, but many of the other data refute it.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Depreciate<\/strong> means to decrease in value<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> to deprecate<\/em> or to disparage.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: My car has depreciated a lot over the years.<\/em> \/ She deprecated his efforts.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Dichotomy <\/strong>means two mutually exclusive alternatives<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> difference<\/em> or discrepancy.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: There is a dichotomy between even and odd numbers.<\/em> \/ There is a discrepancy between what we see and what is really there.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Disinterested<\/strong> means unbiased<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> uninterested.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: “<\/em>The dispute should be resolved by a disinterested judge.”<\/em> \/ Why are you so uninterested in my story?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Enervate <\/strong>means to sap<\/em> or to weaken<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> to energize<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Correct: That was an enervating rush hour commute.<\/em> \/ That was an energizing cappuccino.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Enormity<\/strong> means extreme evil<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> enormousness.<\/em> [Note: It is acceptable to use it to mean a deplorable enormousness<\/em>.<\/em>]<\/p>\n

Correct: The enormity of the terrorist bombing brought bystanders to tears<\/em>. \/ The enormousness of the homework assignment required several hours of work.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Flaunt<\/strong> means to show off<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> to flout.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: “<\/em>She flaunted her abs.”<\/em> \/ “<\/em>She flouted the rules.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Flounder <\/strong>means to flop around ineffectually<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> to founder<\/em> or to sink to the bottom<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Correct: “<\/em>The indecisive chairman floundered.”<\/em> \/ “The headstrong chairman foundered.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Fortuitous <\/strong>means coincidental<\/em> or unplanned<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> fortunate.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: Running into my old friend was fortuitous.<\/em> \/ It was fortunate that I had a good amount of savings after losing my job.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Fulsome<\/strong> means unctuous<\/em> or excessively or insincerely complimentary<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> full<\/em> or copious.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: She didn’t believe his fulsome love letter.<\/em> \/ The bass guitar had a full sound.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Homogeneous<\/strong> is pronounced as homo-genius<\/em> and “homogenous”<\/em> is not a word<\/span> but a corruption of homogenized<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Correct: The population was not homogeneous; it was a melting pot.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Hone<\/strong> means to sharpen<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> to home in on<\/em> or to converge upon.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: She honed her writing skills. <\/em>\/ We’re homing in on a solution.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Hot button<\/strong> means an emotional, divisive controversy<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> a hot topic.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: “She tried to stay away<\/em> from the hot button of abortion.”<\/em> \/ Drones are a hot topic in the tech world.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Hung<\/strong> means suspended<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> suspended from the neck until dead.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: I hung the picture on my wall.<\/em> \/ The prisoner was hanged.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Intern (verb) <\/strong>means to detain <\/em>or to imprison<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> to inter<\/em> or to bury.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: The rebels were interned in the military jail.<\/em> \/ The king was interred with his jewels.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Ironic<\/strong> means uncannily incongruent<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> inconvenient<\/em> or unfortunate.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: “<\/em>It was ironic that I forgot my textbook on human memory.”<\/em> \/ It was unfortunate that I forgot my textbook the night before the quiz.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Irregardless<\/strong> is not a word<\/span> but a portmanteau of regardless<\/em> and irrespective. <\/em>[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>\n

Correct: Regardless of how you feel, it’s objectively the wrong decision. <\/em>\/ Everyone gets a vote, irrespective of their position.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Literally <\/strong>means in actual fact<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> figuratively.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: I didn’t mean for you to literally run over here.<\/em> \/ I’d rather die than listen to another one of his lectures \u2014 figuratively speaking, of course!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Luxuriant<\/strong> means abundant<\/em> or florid<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> luxurious.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: The poet has a luxuriant imagination.<\/em> \/ The car’s fine leather seats were luxurious.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Meretricious <\/strong>means tawdry<\/em> or offensively insincere<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> meritorious.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: We rolled our eyes at the meretricious speech.<\/em> \/ The city applauded the meritorious mayor.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Mitigate <\/strong>means to alleviate<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> to militate<\/em> or to provide reasons for.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: The spray should mitigate the bug problem.<\/em> \/ Their inconceivable differences will militate against the treaty.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 New Age<\/strong> means spiritualistic, holistic<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> modern, futuristic.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: He is a fan of New Age mindfulness techniques.<\/em> \/ That TV screen is made from a high-end modern glass.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Noisome<\/strong> means smelly <\/em>and does not mean<\/span> noisy.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: I covered my nose when I walked past the noisome dump.<\/em> \/ I covered my ears when I heard the noisy motorcycle speed by.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Nonplussed<\/strong> means stunned, bewildered<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> bored, unimpressed.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: “<\/em>The market crash left the experts nonplussed.”<\/em> \/ “His market pitch left the investors unimpressed.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Opportunism<\/strong> means seizing or exploiting opportunities<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> creating or promoting opportunities.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: His opportunism brought him to the head of the company. <\/em>\/ The party ran on promoting economic opportunities for the middle class.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Parameter<\/strong> means a variable<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> a boundary condition, a limit.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: The forecast is based on parameters like inflation and interest rates.<\/em> \/ We need to work within budgetary limits.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Phenomena <\/strong>is a plural count noun \u2014 not<\/span> a mass noun.<\/p>\n

Correct: The phenomenon was intriguing, but it was only one of many phenomena gathered by the telescope.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Politically correct<\/strong> means dogmatically left-liberal<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> fashionable, trendy. <\/em>[Note: Pinker considers its contemporary roots as a pejorative term by American and British conservatives, not its more casual use as meaning inoffensive<\/em>.]<\/p>\n

Correct: “<\/em>The theory that little boys fight because of the way they have been socialized is the politically correct one.” <\/em>\/ Williamsburg is the trendy place to live in Brooklyn.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Practicable<\/strong> means easily put into practice<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> practical.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: His French was practicable in his job, which required frequent trips to Paris.<\/em> \/ Learning French before taking the job was a practical decision.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Proscribe<\/strong> means to condemn, to forbid<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> to prescribe, to recommend, to direct.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: The policy proscribed employees from drinking at work.<\/em> \/ The doctor prescribed an antibiotic.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Protagonist<\/strong> means active character<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> proponent.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: “<\/em>Vito Corleone was the protagonist in ‘The Godfather.’ ” <\/em>\/ He is a proponent of solar energy.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Refute<\/strong> means to prove to be false<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> to allege to be false, to try to refute. <\/em>[Note: That is, it must be used only in factual cases.]<\/p>\n

Correct: His work refuted the theory that the Earth was flat.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Reticent<\/strong> means shy, restrained<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> reluctant.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: He was too reticent to ask her out.<\/em> \/ “When rain threatens, fans are reluctant to buy tickets to the ballgame.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Shrunk,<\/strong> sprung,<\/strong> stunk,<\/strong> and sunk<\/strong> are used in the past participle \u2014 not<\/span> the past tense.<\/p>\n

Correct: I’ve shrunk my shirt.<\/em> \/ I shrank my shirt.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Simplistic<\/strong> means naively or overly simple<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> simple <\/em>or pleasingly simple.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: His simplistic answer suggested he wasn’t familiar with the material. <\/em>\/ She liked the chair’s simple look.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Staunch<\/strong> means loyal, sturdy<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> to stanch a flow.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: Her staunch supporters defended her in the press.<\/em> \/ The nurse was able to stanch the bleeding.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Tortuous<\/strong> means twisting<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> torturous.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: The road through the forest was tortuous. <\/em>\/ Watching their terrible acting for two hours was a torturous experience.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Unexceptionable<\/strong> means not worthy of objection<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> unexceptional, ordinary.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: “<\/em>No one protested her getting the prize, because she was an unexceptionable choice.”<\/em> \/ “They protested her getting the prize, because she was an unexceptional choice.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Untenable<\/strong> means indefensible<\/em> or unsustainable<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> painful <\/em>or unbearable.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: Now that all the facts have been revealed, that theory is untenable.<\/em> \/ Her death brought him unbearable sadness.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Urban legend<\/strong> means an intriguing and widely circulated but false story<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> someone who is legendary in a city.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: “<\/em>Alligators in the sewers is an urban legend.” <\/em>\/ Al Capone was a legendary gangster in Chicago.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Verbal <\/strong>means in linguistic form<\/em> and does not mean<\/span> oral, spoken.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: Visual memories last longer than verbal ones.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 An effect<\/strong> means an influence; <\/em>to effect<\/strong> means to put into effect<\/em>; to affect<\/strong> means either<\/span> to influence<\/em> or to fake.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: They had a big effect on my style.<\/em> \/ The law effected changes at the school.<\/em> \/ They affected my style.<\/em> \/ He affected an air of sophistication to impress her parents.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 To lie (intransitive: lies, lay, has lain)<\/em><\/strong> means to recline<\/em>; <\/em>to lay (transitive: lays, laid, has laid<\/em>)<\/strong> means to set down<\/em>; <\/em>to lie (intransitive: lies, lied, has lied<\/em>) <\/strong>means to fib.<\/em><\/p>\n

Correct: He lies on the couch all day.<\/em> \/ He lays a book upon the table.<\/em> \/ He lies about what he does.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m not a wordsmith by any measure…any means? See there I go again. But I do collect them. I have notepads filled with them, originally-blank postcards covered with them. When I read non-online material I’m constantly scribbling words and phrases (words in context!) to look up their meaning, or study their structure and use. This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[1310,556],"series":[],"class_list":["post-16408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stuffs","tag-list","tag-word"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/8747744789_dbb2c96a76_o.jpg?fit=768%2C576&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6OfVu-4gE","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16408"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16415,"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16408\/revisions\/16415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16408"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nicknormal.com\/normalblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=16408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}