If your vocabulary lets you down sometimes, Harvard cognitive scientist and linguist Steven Pinker feels your pain. The linguist is acutely aware that word fails are all too common and they can make even the smartest among us look dumb. He is determined to help with that problem. In his latest book, “The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century,” Pinker explores common words and phrases that people stumble over. A short and delightful book, “The Sense of Style” has been dubbed the modern version of Strunk and White’s classic “The Elements of Style,” only better because it is based on linguistics and updated for the 21st century. We couldn’t agree more. Here are some of the most commonly misused words and phrases according to Pinker with examples drawn directly from his book along with some of our own. These will help you communicate exactly what you intend and also show you how the art of writing can be a form of pleasurable mastery and a fascinating intellectual topic in its own right. Enjoy.
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 effect; to 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 meaning inoffensive.] 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 or unbearable. 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 mean someone 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.
