50 Commonly Misused Words and Phrases That Make You Look Silly

Where the mechanics of writing are concerned, one misused word can negatively impact your entire message and make you look silly.

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Some words sound so similar it's easy to confuse or misuse them when writing. And where the mechanics of writing are concerned, one misused word can negatively impact your entire message. The tripping over words leading to miscommunication is part of what makes you look silly.

Fortunately for us all, renowned Harvard linguist and cognitive scientist Steven Pinker set out to correct common words and phrases people stumble over today in his classic book, “The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century.

Pinker gives us a monster list of misused words and their proper meanings to help us communicate exactly what we intend.

Here are some of the most commonly misused words and phrases, according to Pinker, with examples mostly drawn from his book, to help you be precise in your word choices.

 

1. Adverse

 

Means detrimental and does not mean averse or disinclined.

Correct: “There were adverse effects.” / “I’m not averse to doing that.”

 

2. Appraise

 

Means to ascertain the value of and does not mean to apprise or to inform.

Correct: “I appraised the jewels.” / “I apprised him of the situation.”

 

3. An effect

 

Means an influence; to effect means to put into effectto affect means either to influence or to fake.

Correct: 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.

 

4. As far as

 

Means the same as but cannot be used the same way as as for.

Correct: “As far as the money is concerned …” / As for the money …

 

5. Begs the question

 

Means assumes what it should be proving and does not mean raises the question.

Correct: “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.”

 

6. Bemused

 

Means bewildered and does not mean amused.

Correct: The unnecessarily complex plot left me bemused. / The silly comedy amused me.

 

7. Cliché

 

This is a noun and is not an adjective.

Correct: “Shakespeare used a lot of clichés.” / The plot was so clichéd.

 

8. Credible

 

Means believable and does not mean credulous or gullible.

Correct: His sales pitch was not credible. / The con man took advantage of credulous people.

 

9. Criteria

 

This is the plural, not the singular of criterion.

Correct: These are important criteria.

 

10. Data

 

This is a plural count noun not, standardly speaking, 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.”}

Correct: “This datum supports the theory, but many of the other data refute it.”

 

11. Depreciate

 

Means to decrease in value and does not mean to deprecate or to disparage.

Correct: My car has depreciated a lot over the years. / She deprecated his efforts.

 

12. Dichotomy

 

Means two mutually exclusive alternatives and does not mean difference or discrepancy.

Correct: There is a dichotomy between even and odd numbers. / There is a discrepancy between what we see and what is really there.

 

13. Disinterested

 

Means unbiased and does not mean uninterested.

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

 

14. Enervate

 

Means to sap or to weaken and does not mean to energize.

Correct: That was an enervating rush hour commute. / That was an energizing cappuccino.

 

15. Enormity

 

Means extreme evil and does not mean enormousness. {Note: It is acceptable to use it to mean a deplorable enormousness.}

Correct: The enormity of the terrorist bombing brought bystanders to tears. /The enormousness of the homework assignment required several hours of work.

 

16. Flaunt

 

Means to show off and does not mean to flout.

Correct: “She flaunted her abs.” / “She flouted the rules.”

 

17. Flounder

 

Means to flop around ineffectually and does not mean to founder or to sink to the bottom.

Correct: “The indecisive chairman floundered.” / “The headstrong chairman foundered.”

 

18. Fortuitous

 

Means coincidental or unplanned and does not mean fortunate.

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

 

19. Fulsome

 

Means unctuous or excessively or insincerely complimentary and does not mean full or copious.

Correct: She didn’t believe his fulsome love letter. / The bass guitar had a full sound.

 

20. Homogeneous

 

This is pronounced as homo-genius and “homogenous” is not a word but a corruption of homogenized.

Correct: The population was not homogeneous; it was a melting pot.

 

21. Hone

 

Means to sharpen and does not mean to home in on or to converge upon.

Correct: She honed her writing skills. / We’re homing in on a solution.

 

22. Hot button

 

Means an emotional, divisive controversy and does not mean a hot topic.

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

 

23. Hung

 

Means suspended and does not mean suspended from the neck until dead.

Correct: I hung the picture on my wall. / The prisoner was hanged.

 

24. Intern (verb)

 

Means to detain or to imprison and does not mean to inter or to bury.

Correct: The rebels were interned in the military jail. / The king was interred with his jewels.

 

25. Ironic

 

Means uncannily incongruent and does not mean inconvenient or unfortunate.

Correct: “It was ironic that I forgot my textbook on human memory.” / It was unfortunate that I forgot my textbook the night before the quiz.

 

26. Irregardless

 

This 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.}

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

 

27. Literally

 

Means in actual fact and does not mean figuratively.

Correct: 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!

 

28. Luxuriant

 

Means abundant or florid and does not mean luxurious.

Correct: The poet has a luxuriant imagination. / The car’s fine leather seats were luxurious.

 

29. Meretricious

 

Means tawdry or offensively insincere and does not mean meritorious.

Correct: We rolled our eyes at the meretricious speech. / The city applauded the meritorious mayor.

 

30. Mitigate

 

Means to alleviate and does not mean to militate or to provide reasons for.

Correct: The spray should mitigate the bug problem. / Their inconceivable differences will militate against the treaty.

 

31. New Age

 

Means spiritualistic, holistic and does not mean modern, futuristic.

Correct: He is a fan of New Age mindfulness techniques. / That TV screen is made from a high-end modern glass.

 

32. Noisome

 

Means smelly and does not mean noisy.

Correct: I covered my nose when I walked past the noisome dump. / I covered my ears when I heard the noisy motorcycle speed by.

 

33. Nonplussed

 

Means stunned, bewildered and does not mean bored, unimpressed.

Correct: “The market crash left the experts nonplussed.” / “His market pitch left the investors unimpressed.”

 

34. Opportunism

 

Means seizing or exploiting opportunities and does not mean creating or promoting opportunities.

Correct: His opportunism brought him to the head of the company. / The party ran on promoting economic opportunities for the middle class.

 

35. Parameter

 

Means a variable and does not mean a boundary condition, a limit.

Correct: The forecast is based on parameters like inflation and interest rates. / We need to work within budgetary limits.

 

36. Phenomena

 

This is a plural count noun — not a mass noun.

Correct: The phenomenon was intriguing, but it was only one of many phenomena gathered by the telescope.

 

37. Politically correct

 

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 meaninginoffensive.}

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

 

38. Practicable

 

Means easily put into practice and does not mean practical.

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

 

39. Proscribe

 

Means to condemn, to forbid and does not mean to prescribe, to recommend, to direct.

Correct: The policy proscribed employees from drinking at work. / The doctor prescribed an antibiotic.

 

40. Refute

 

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.}

Correct: His work refuted the theory that the Earth was flat.

 

41. Reticent

 

Means shy, restrained and does not mean reluctant.

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

 

42. Shrunk, sprung, stunk, and sunk

 

These are used in the past participle — not the past tense.

Correct: I’ve shrunk my shirt. / I shrank my shirt.

 

43. Simplistic

 

Means naively or overly simple and does not mean simple or pleasingly simple.

Correct: His simplistic answer suggested he wasn’t familiar with the material. /She liked the chair’s simple look.

 

44. Staunch

 

Means loyal, sturdy and does not mean to stanch a flow.

Correct: Her staunch supporters defended her in the press. / The nurse was able to stanch the bleeding.

 

45. Tortuous

 

Means twisting and does not mean torturous.

Correct: The road through the forest was tortuous. / Watching their terrible acting for two hours was a torturous experience.

 

46. Unexceptionable

 

Means not worthy of objection and does not mean unexceptional, ordinary.

Correct: “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.”

 

47. Untenable

 

Means indefensible or unsustainable and does not mean painful orunbearable.

Correct: Now that all the facts have been revealed, that theory is untenable. / Her death brought him unbearable sadness.

 

48. Urban legend

 

Means an intriguing and widely circulated but false story and does not meansomeone who is legendary in a city.

Correct: “Alligators in the sewers is an urban legend.” / Al Capone was a legendary gangster in Chicago.

 

49. Verbal

 

Means in linguistic form and does not mean oral, spoken.

Correct: Visual memories last longer than verbal ones.

 

50. To lie (intransitive: lies, lay, has lain)

 

Means to recline; whereas to lay (transitive: lays, laid, has laid) means to set down; and, to lie (intransitive: lies, lied, has lied) means to fib.

Correct: He lies on the couch all day. / He lays a book upon the table. / He lies about what he does.

Any words you'd like to add to the list? Share in the comments!