Commonly Misused Words (and What they Really Mean)
Commonly Misused Words(and What they Really Mean)
Today I want to spend a little time talking about the misuse of words in writing. For a lot of writers that give me their manuscripts to read, I find that a lot of people have trouble with using one word when they really mean another. Sometimes it’s because the spelling is similar, sometimes it has to do with the sound of the particular word, but mainly, I think people use certain words interchangeably because they simply were never taught what the difference is between the two.
I am one of those people who cannot, for the life of me, tell you what something means, the dictionary definition, if you will, of most words. I am that person that tells you how it is used in context, how it fits into different sentences. Not everybody learns one way or another, so you should know that in an attempt to accommodate varying learning styles, I will be pulling dictionary definitions from the internet and giving specific examples of the usage in a sentence. With that, let’s get this started.
Accept/ExceptTo accept something, you are taking or receiving it. You could also be receiving something with approval or favor. You can accept suggested changes to a document. You can accept a point of view. Specific examples of this include: “I cannot accept your apology for something you didn’t do.” or “I can accept this concept.”
Except is mainly a preposition, which typically means excluding. You can take everything someone has said except that. Specific examples include: “I like everything about this car except the color.” or “It’s a good start, except I think your method could be improved.” or even, “They had all been there, except me.”
Affect/EffectAffect means to act upon. In this way, someone can affect a change in the quality of the bread they are making by using milk instead of water in their ingredients. It is the act of doing the thing. They are acting upon the recipe to produce a change to the result. Affect typically describes the act which has caused the change in present tense. Specific examples include: “This drought has affected the crops.” or “The play affected him deeply.” or perhaps “
Effect, on the other hand, means the result, the consequence of an outside cause. Validating a hypothesis could be the effect of having tested said hypothesis, or the effect could be to invalidate the hypothesis in part or in whole. Something has acted upon this situation to produce an effect. Effect usually describes the thing that has been acted upon in past tense. Specific examples include: “The sun exposure had the effect of reddening his skin.” or “She effected a plan.” and even “Her pleas produced no effect whatsoever.”
A lot/ AllotA lot (don’t confuse yourself and write alot, that is incorrect entirely) means very many, a large number. You can love someone a lot. Specific examples include: “Romance movies make her cry a lot.” or “The state of the economy has improved a lot.” You can also emphasize this further by saying a whole lot, as in, “We are gonna need a whole lot more food for all the people that showed up to this party.”
Allot means to divide or distribute by share or portion. You can allot the number of pizza slices each child gets at a birthday party. Specific examples include: “You must finish the test in the allotted number of minutes.” or “Each person has an allotted amount of water gallons given to them each week during the crisis.”
Assent/Ascent and Dissent/DescentAssent means to agree about something. You can assent that someone is right. Specific examples include: “Please give your assent to my petition.” or “He had to assent that it was the right thing to do.”
Ascent means to go up or to rise. You can ascend the stairs. Specific examples include: “The steep ascent was tiring on her old bones.” or “She could feel her soul ascend into the clouds.”
Some people may not be aware that you can also dissent. Dissent means to disagree about something. You can dissent a point of view. Specific examples include: “The child clearly wanted her to agree, but she shook her head in dissent.” or “I must give my dissent to that statement.”
In the same way, you can Descent. This is not to be confused with the same sounding word, decent which means to conform with the generally accepted standards of moral behavior, as in the sentence, “He was a decent human being.” You can descend the stairs. Specific examples include: “The plane went down in a steep descent.” or “She watched his slow and painful descent into madness, knowing she could not help him in this.”
Breath/BreatheBreath is that air inhaled and exhaled during respiration. This is the object that we physically take into our lungs. In other words, you can take a breath. Specific examples include: “Let out all your breath and then take a deep breath in right after.” or “Go out and have a breath of fresh air.”
Breathe, on the other hand, means to inhale or exhale air in respiration. Breathing is the physical act of taking a breath. People will tell a person in danger of suffocation to breathe. Specific examples include: “Breathe, damn you! Breathe!” or “I need some room to breathe.”
Lose/LooseWhen you lose someone or something, you have come to be without it. You can lose your temper. You can lose your mind. Specific examples include: “How could you lose the car keys when they were just in your hand?” or “Let’s try and lose the cops.” or even, “Don’t lose this phone number.”
Loose on the other hand, means that something is free or released from attachment. You can break something loose. You can let loose. Specific examples include: “I think my shoelace came loose.” or “My pants are loose thanks to all the weight I’ve lost.” or “Get out of here or I’ll loose my dogs on you!”
To/TooTo is a preposition used in directing motion towards someone or something. You can go to the bank. Where are you going? To(wards) the bank. Specific examples include: “I’m about to go get lunch.” or “I might go to the fair this evening to see the fireworks show from the ferris wheel.”
Too means as well, or in addition to. You might agree to something too. Specific examples include: “I want to go see grandma and grandpa’s house too!” or “I, too, feel the same way.”
Vial/VileA vial is a container which is typically used in science or alchemical experiments, and sometimes they are capped or left uncapped. Specific examples would include: “I need a vial of your blood.” or “Hand me that vial of potion on the shelf just there.”
Vile on the other hand, means that someone or something is gross, vicious, or even evil. It is also often used as a curse word. Specific examples include: “I will not drink that vile concoction!” or “She is a vile woman.”
Today I want to spend a little time talking about the misuse of words in writing. For a lot of writers that give me their manuscripts to read, I find that a lot of people have trouble with using one word when they really mean another. Sometimes it’s because the spelling is similar, sometimes it has to do with the sound of the particular word, but mainly, I think people use certain words interchangeably because they simply were never taught what the difference is between the two.
I am one of those people who cannot, for the life of me, tell you what something means, the dictionary definition, if you will, of most words. I am that person that tells you how it is used in context, how it fits into different sentences. Not everybody learns one way or another, so you should know that in an attempt to accommodate varying learning styles, I will be pulling dictionary definitions from the internet and giving specific examples of the usage in a sentence. With that, let’s get this started.
Accept/ExceptTo accept something, you are taking or receiving it. You could also be receiving something with approval or favor. You can accept suggested changes to a document. You can accept a point of view. Specific examples of this include: “I cannot accept your apology for something you didn’t do.” or “I can accept this concept.”
Except is mainly a preposition, which typically means excluding. You can take everything someone has said except that. Specific examples include: “I like everything about this car except the color.” or “It’s a good start, except I think your method could be improved.” or even, “They had all been there, except me.”
Affect/EffectAffect means to act upon. In this way, someone can affect a change in the quality of the bread they are making by using milk instead of water in their ingredients. It is the act of doing the thing. They are acting upon the recipe to produce a change to the result. Affect typically describes the act which has caused the change in present tense. Specific examples include: “This drought has affected the crops.” or “The play affected him deeply.” or perhaps “
Effect, on the other hand, means the result, the consequence of an outside cause. Validating a hypothesis could be the effect of having tested said hypothesis, or the effect could be to invalidate the hypothesis in part or in whole. Something has acted upon this situation to produce an effect. Effect usually describes the thing that has been acted upon in past tense. Specific examples include: “The sun exposure had the effect of reddening his skin.” or “She effected a plan.” and even “Her pleas produced no effect whatsoever.”
A lot/ AllotA lot (don’t confuse yourself and write alot, that is incorrect entirely) means very many, a large number. You can love someone a lot. Specific examples include: “Romance movies make her cry a lot.” or “The state of the economy has improved a lot.” You can also emphasize this further by saying a whole lot, as in, “We are gonna need a whole lot more food for all the people that showed up to this party.”
Allot means to divide or distribute by share or portion. You can allot the number of pizza slices each child gets at a birthday party. Specific examples include: “You must finish the test in the allotted number of minutes.” or “Each person has an allotted amount of water gallons given to them each week during the crisis.”
Assent/Ascent and Dissent/DescentAssent means to agree about something. You can assent that someone is right. Specific examples include: “Please give your assent to my petition.” or “He had to assent that it was the right thing to do.”
Ascent means to go up or to rise. You can ascend the stairs. Specific examples include: “The steep ascent was tiring on her old bones.” or “She could feel her soul ascend into the clouds.”
Some people may not be aware that you can also dissent. Dissent means to disagree about something. You can dissent a point of view. Specific examples include: “The child clearly wanted her to agree, but she shook her head in dissent.” or “I must give my dissent to that statement.”
In the same way, you can Descent. This is not to be confused with the same sounding word, decent which means to conform with the generally accepted standards of moral behavior, as in the sentence, “He was a decent human being.” You can descend the stairs. Specific examples include: “The plane went down in a steep descent.” or “She watched his slow and painful descent into madness, knowing she could not help him in this.”
Breath/BreatheBreath is that air inhaled and exhaled during respiration. This is the object that we physically take into our lungs. In other words, you can take a breath. Specific examples include: “Let out all your breath and then take a deep breath in right after.” or “Go out and have a breath of fresh air.”
Breathe, on the other hand, means to inhale or exhale air in respiration. Breathing is the physical act of taking a breath. People will tell a person in danger of suffocation to breathe. Specific examples include: “Breathe, damn you! Breathe!” or “I need some room to breathe.”
Lose/LooseWhen you lose someone or something, you have come to be without it. You can lose your temper. You can lose your mind. Specific examples include: “How could you lose the car keys when they were just in your hand?” or “Let’s try and lose the cops.” or even, “Don’t lose this phone number.”
Loose on the other hand, means that something is free or released from attachment. You can break something loose. You can let loose. Specific examples include: “I think my shoelace came loose.” or “My pants are loose thanks to all the weight I’ve lost.” or “Get out of here or I’ll loose my dogs on you!”
To/TooTo is a preposition used in directing motion towards someone or something. You can go to the bank. Where are you going? To(wards) the bank. Specific examples include: “I’m about to go get lunch.” or “I might go to the fair this evening to see the fireworks show from the ferris wheel.”
Too means as well, or in addition to. You might agree to something too. Specific examples include: “I want to go see grandma and grandpa’s house too!” or “I, too, feel the same way.”
Vial/VileA vial is a container which is typically used in science or alchemical experiments, and sometimes they are capped or left uncapped. Specific examples would include: “I need a vial of your blood.” or “Hand me that vial of potion on the shelf just there.”
Vile on the other hand, means that someone or something is gross, vicious, or even evil. It is also often used as a curse word. Specific examples include: “I will not drink that vile concoction!” or “She is a vile woman.”
No comments have been added yet.
