20 Words You're Constantly Misusing
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20 Words You're Constantly Misusing
Grammar can be a tricky thing. Even some of the most commonly used words get lost in translation from time to time. We've compiled some of the most frequently misused words to provide a little crash course for people who haven't sat in a classroom in a while.
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Actually
People tend to use actually to stress their opinion as in "Never Been Kissed is actually the best rom-com ever made." But it should be used to express a fact that's surprising or unexpected.
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Adverse
The common mix up is interchanging "adverse" and "averse." Adverse is used to describe something bad or harmful like an "adverse reaction." Without that d, the word means against.
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Cliché
Cliché is often used as adjective, which is incorrect. A person, place, or thing can't be described as cliché because it's actually a noun.
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Complement
Don't go fishing for complements because you'd be using the word wrong. Spelled with an e instead of an i in the middle, it means to complete or make perfect.
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Decimate
You've probably heard decimate used in the context of something getting destroyed. Put that out of your mind. The true definition is to reduce something by one tenth.
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Disinterested
Telling someone you're disinterested doesn't mean you don't care. In that case, you'd say uninterested. Disinterested means you don't have a stake or claim in the matter at all.
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Effect
The simplest way to remember this one is that effect is a noun (ex: a special effect). Affect is the verb.
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Enormity
Enormity doesn't mean huge or enormous. It means extremely evil.
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Except
Except and accept are often switched up. With an ex the word means excluding.
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Farther
Farther and further is tricky. Further is used to convey a degree of an action or a situation, whereas farther is used in relation to distance. You travel farther, but you have nothing further to discuss.
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Fewer
This one might be the most confusing of the bunch. The difference between fewer and less is that fewer should refer to individual items (like fewer shirts in a drawer). Less is used to describe the amount or volume of something.
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Hone
You've probably heard or used the expression hone in to mean getting to the point of an argument or finding a location. That's incorrect. Hone means to sharpen.
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Hung
An object is hung on a wall. A person gets hanged.
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Inflammable
Inflammable doesn't mean something is not flammable. It's a synonym for flammable meaning easily set on fire.
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Literally
This is a popular one. Literally should be used when the words that follow truly happened. If you literally died reading that, you would be dead.
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Nauseous
If you're experiencing nausea, you're nauseated. If you're nauseous, it means you cause nausea.
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Principle
With a ple ending, it means a rule. Principal refers to someone of the highest authority in a group or an original sum of money.
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Tortuous
Tortuous has nothing to do with torture. It refers to something that is extremely long and complex.
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Travesty
A travesty is not a tragedy. It's a fake or poor imitation.
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Verbal
Verbal is more than just referring to the spoken word. The real definition is anything to do with language in any form.
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