commonly misused English words - A

List of commonly misused English words

This is a list of English words which are commonly misused. It is meant to include only words whose misuse is deprecated by most usage writers, editors, and other professional linguists of Standard English. It is possible that some of the meanings marked non-standard may pass into Standard English in the future, but at this time all of the following Non-standard phrases are likely to be marked as incorrect by English teachers or changed by editors if used in a work submitted for publication. Some of the examples are homonyms or pairs of similarly spelled words which are often confused.

A

• abdicate, abrogate, and arrogate. To abdicate is to resign from the throne, or more loosely to cast off a responsibility. To abrogate is to repeal a law or abolish an arrangement. To arrogate is to attempt to take on a right or responsibility to which one is not entitled.
  • Standard: Edward VIII abdicated from the throne of the United Kingdom.
  • Standard: Henry VIII abrogated Welsh customary law.
  • Non-standard: John abrogated all responsibility for the catering arrangements (should be "abdicated")
  • Non-standard: You should not abrogate to yourself the whole honour of the President's visit (should be "arrogate")

• 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.
  • Standard: We accept all major credit cards, except Diners Club.
  • Standard: Men are fools... present company excepted! (Which means, "present company excluded")
  • Non-standard: I had trouble making friends with them; I never felt excepted.
  • Non-standard: 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.
  • Standard: She was treated with epinephrine during an acute asthma attack.
  • Standard: It is not a terminal illness, but it does cause chronic pain.
  • Non-standard: I have suffered from acute asthma for twenty years.
  • Non-standard: I just started feeling this chronic pain in my back.

• adage often used in conjunction with old. Adage is necessarily "old".

• adverse and averse. Adverse means unfavorable, contrary or hostile. Averse means having a strong feeling of opposition, antipathy, or repugnance.
  • Standard: They sailed despite adverse weather conditions.
  • Standard: He was averse to taking his medicine.
  • Non-standard: He is not adverse to having a drink now and then.

• 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.
  • Standard. This poem affected me so much that I cried.
  • Standard. Temperature has an effect on reaction spontaneity.
  • Standard. The dynamite effected the wall's collapse.
  • Standard. He seemed completely devoid of affect.
  • Non-standard. The rain effected our plans for the day.
  • Non-standard. We tried appeasing the rain gods, but to no affect.

• aggravate and mitigate. Aggravate means "to make worse". Mitigate means "to make less bad". "Mitigating factor" refers to something that affects someone's case by lessening the degree of blame, not anything that has any effect at all.

• algorithm and logarithm. An algorithm is a sequence of instructions, often used for calculation and processing data. A logarithm is a mathematical function that indicates, for a given base, the power (i.e. exponent) to which the base must be raised to produce that number.
  • Standard: The manager developed an algorithm by which he could determine which candidate would best meet the needs of the company.
  • Standard: The pH is equivalent to the negative logarithm of the concentration of hydrogen ions in solution. Thus, a solution of pH 6.2 will have an [H+] concentration of 10^−6.2 mol/L

• allusion, illusion, and hallucination. An allusion is an indirect or metaphorical reference to something; an illusion is a false picture of something that is there; a hallucination is the seeing of something that is not there.

• alternative and alternate. An alternative (noun) is secondary option; to alternate (verb) is to go back and forth between two states.
  • Standard: Green would be a good alternative to red.
  • Standard: She alternated between love and hate.
  • Non-standard: Are there are alternate choices?

• anticipate: to act in advance of an expected event, and expect: to regard as likely.

• appraise and apprise. To appraise is to assess or value something; to apprise is to teach or inform.
  • Standard: His performance was appraised very positively.
  • Standard: I lost no time in apprising her of the situation.
  • Non-standard: Has he been appraised of the fact?

• assume: to suppose to be true, especially without proof, and presume: to take for granted as being true in the absence of proof to the contrary. Presume can also mean "take excessive liberties", as in the adjective form "presumptuous".
  • Standard: They had assumed that they were alone, so they were surprised when they heard a third voice join their song.
  • Standard: Doctor Livingstone, I presume?

• assure, ensure, and insure. To assure is to intend to give the listener confidence, to ensure is to make certain of, and to insure is to purchase insurance.
  • Standard: I assure you that I will have your car washed by the time you return.
  • Standard: When you mow the lawn, ensure there are no foreign objects in the grass.
  • Standard: I plan to purchase the collision policy when I insure my car.