As the popular meme goes:
There is nothing as embarrassing as using a word confidently in a presentation or conversation and then later on finding out that it means nothing like what you thought it did from other people.
Are a few memories coming to mind?
Donโt worry though. Youโre not alone in the experience. Even professionals and CEOs are prone to making some mistakes.
Knowing this, authors Kathryn and Ross Petras wrote a book called, โThat Doesnโt Mean What You Think It Meansโ where they compiled 150 of the most misused words and phrases along with their histories.
Here are nine of the most notorious ones:
#1 Utilize
โUtilizeโ is a word pertaining to a situation wherein a thing is used for a purpose it wasnโt initially intended for or repurposed to serve another one. In most cases, the word โuseโ perfectly suffices, and people make the mistake of deciding to use โutilizeโ in order to make something sound more scientific. In the end, the best choice is to stick with โuse.โ
#2 Unique
The word โuniqueโ is used to describe something thatโs โone of its kindโ or โunlike anything else.โ Too bad a lot of people are using the word to advertise products which are not at all, well, unique.
To keep the wordโs weight and meaning, perhaps advertisers can opt to use the words โunusualโ or โexceptionalโ instead.
#3 Statistically significant
You may have noticed how this phrase is being used liberally today, particularly by news outlets reporting on a new study or statistic.
Unfortunately, most people think (and are lead to think) that when letโs say, a statistic is described to be โstatistically significantโ it means something drastic or worrisome.
โIt just means that they signify that whatever was observed has only a low probability of being due to chance. The problem is, in non-statistical use, significant means something noteworthy or important. So non-statistical types see โstatistically significantโ and think it refers to something big the authors explain in an article for the Harvard Business Review.
#4 Moot
Often mistakenly pronounced as โmuteโ in spoken communication, the word โmootโ originally meant that an issue is open for debate. However, the word was given a new meaning in the mid-1800s when it also came to mean โsomething not worth considering.โ Talk about confusing!
#5 Methodology
Drop the โ-ologyโ, folks. When the word โmethodologyโ is used, people usually just mean โmethod.โ Methodology is the study of methods.
#6 Less/fewer
The mistake is that most people think that the words โlessโ and โfewerโ are interchangeable. Theyโre not. Use โfewerโ when pertaining to countable things while โlessโ is used for describing things that canโt be counted.
#7 In regard(s) to
Instead of saying or writing โin regard/s to,โ simply using โregardingโ or โaboutโ is enough. It is short, yet efficient, as good grammar should be.
#8 Impacts on
The word โimpactโ initially just pertained to collisions. However, it has come to be accepted as interchangeably used with โaffect.โ Just drop the โon.โ
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
#9 Begs the question
Contrary to popular belief, using the phrase โbegs the questionโ when you really mean โraises the questionโ doesnโt make you sound smart at all. The former is best left to be used when discussing logic or law.
โItโs actually a formal logic term that means trying to prove something based on a premise that itself needs to be proved.โ Kathryn and Ross Petras explain.
Did you learn something new in this article? Which words or phrases do you notice when theyโre used incorrectly?
