Site Moderator TalonRider Posted July 4, 2007 Site Moderator Share Posted July 4, 2007 (edited) USAGE Part 1 Expressing yourself clearly and effectively depends greatly on the words you choose and how you use them in sentences. The English language offers a rich and extensive vocabulary, but it also harbors a wealth of look-alike, sound-alike words that can confuse your message. Accept/except * accept (verb): Receive willing; agree to; consent to. o John will accept the award at the luncheon on Thursday. * except (preposition): Other than; with the exclusion of. o All of the reports except Linda's have been turned in. Adapt/adept/adopt * adapt (verb): To adjust to the needs. o You can adapt the report template to suit the information you wish to convey. * adept (adjective): Proficient; extremely skilled. o Angry customers soon calm down when Ellison speaks to them; she is adept at making people feel relaxed. * adopt (verb): To choose. o If we adopt the new rules for our meetings, things will be more orderly. Adherence/adherents * adherence (noun): Attachment; following closely. o Rules will only work if everyone is in adherence to them. * adherents (plural noun): Supporters; followers. o The adherents of the new proposal made sure they were at the meeting in order to show their support. Adverse/averse * adverse (adjective): Unfavorable, hostile. o The President was opposed to adverse criticism. * averse (adjective): Opposed (usually used with "to") o The President was averse to hostile criticism. Affect/effect * affect (verb): To influence (most common usage). o The new policy will affect employee morale in a positive way. * affect (noun): Feeling or emotion (rare usage). o The patient demonstrated little affect during the session. * effect (verb): To bring about, to cause (rare usage). o The cost reduction program will effect layoffs of some staff members. * effect (noun): Result, outcome (most common usage). o What effect will the equipment malfunction have on shipment of the orders? Aid/aide * aid (verb): To help. o I would appreciate it if you could aid me in finding conference room 2B. * aide (noun): An assistant. o The department will be hiring an aide to help with all the paperwork this project is generating. Allude/elude * allude (verb): to make an indirect reference. o At the staff meeting, the manager alluded to the customer service complaints. * elude (verb): To escape detection. o The errors in the report eluded the proofreader. Allusion/illusion * allusion (noun): Indirect reference. o Harriet made an allusion to the other company's profitability in her report. * illusion (noun): An erroneous, false perception. o Perfect morale is an illusion in many companies today. Alternate/alternative * alternate (noun): In place of another; substitute. o I was selected as an alternate, to be there in case one of the jurors cannot finish the whole trial. * alternative (adjective): One of several things from which to choose. o Though several alternatives to the current method exist, the team only tried one before scrapping the project altogether. Among/between * among (preposition): Used to describe relationships involving more than two people or things. o The four of them decided among themselves where they wanted to have dinner. * between (preposition): Used to describe relationships involving only two or for comparing one thing to a group in which it belongs. o The choice was between New York and Los Angeles. Ante-/anti- * ante- (prefix): Prefix meaning "before." o We dedicate this memorial to our ancestors, to our antecedents in the community, to all those who have come before us. * anti- (prefix): Prefix meaning "against." o I hope my antiperspirant lasts through the meeting; I don't want them to see me break a sweat. Anxious/eager * anxious (adjective): Worried; disturbed; concerned. o The anxious secretary checked three times for the overnight delivery. * eager (adjective): Enthusiastic interested; keen. o Susan was eager to start her new job. Appraise/apprise * appraise (verb): To evaluate; to judge; to estimate. o The head of Risk Management will appraise the four buildings before issuing insurance policies. * apprise (noun): A foundation upon which something rests. o I will apprise you of the board's decision immediately after Tuesday's meeting. Bases/basis * bases (plural noun): Plural of "base" and of "basis." o Let's make sure we cover all the bases of our pitch again before we make our final presentation. * basis (noun): A foundation upon which something rests. o On the basis of your stunning letters of recommendation, we have decided to hire you for the position. Bizarre/bazaar * bizarre (adjective): Strikingly unconventional; odd; weird. o I knew something bizarre was happening when the elevator was filled with balloons. * bazaar (noun): A market. o Every week during the summer a bazaar sets up in the parking lot to sell crafts and snacks. Broach/brooch * broach (verb): To introduce. o I hate to broach the subject, but have you found out what led to Alan quitting last week? * brooch (noun): A piece of jewelry. o I don't usually wear jewelry, but my grandmother gave me this brooch recently and she's meeting me for lunch. Capital/capitol * capital (noun): Assets; money; seat of state government; upper case letter. o The new plant represents a major capital investment. o Denver is the capital of Colorado. o Start each sentence with a capital letter. * capitol (Noun): Building where the legislature meets. o Capital Hill is usually a frenzy of activity. Cash/cache * cash (noun): Money (slang). o We have the cash to invest now, and we need to act while the market is hot. * cache (noun): A hiding place. o I know there is a cache of chocolate around here somewhere, just in case of emergencies. Casual/causal * casual (adjective): Incidental; not formal o We had a casual discussion about the case when we passed in the hall, but we did not have any meetings about it yet. * causal (adjective): Expressed cause; relates to or constitutes a cause. o The causal factor in the company's debt is that it spent more money than it took in. Chord/cord * chord (noun): A combination of musical notes. o The opening chord of this piece of music is a perfect representation of the energy our product delivers. Let's use it in the commercial. * cord (noun): String or rope. o Tie up the bundle of catalogues with cord so we can recycle them. Cite/sight/site * cite (verb): To quote an authority; to acknowledge. o Linda cited the first three quarterly reports in her year-end summary. * sight (noun): Ability to see. o Bill did not lose sight of problems in Operations when he moved to Purchasing. * site: (noun): Location or place. o Our company has three remote sites where manufacturing takes place. Climatic/climactic * climatic (adjective): Relating to climax; the highest point. o There will be some climatic discomfort in the office until the air conditioning is repaired. * climactic o Of course, the most climactic point of the conference occurred when the whiteboard fell over onto the laser projector and burst into flames. Complement/compliment * complement (verb): To complete or add value to something. o The new safety program will complement perfectly the OSHA regulations implemented on January 1. * complement (noun): Something that completes or brings to perfection. o The wine was a delicious complement to the meal. * compliment (verb): To praise. o Susan complimented the staff on a job well done. * compliment (noun): An expression of praise. o Bill was embarrassed by the compliment. Conscience/conscious * conscience (noun): A sense of right and wrong. o Only someone with a complete lack of conscience would bilk old ladies out of their savings. * conscious (adjective): Fully aware. o I am conscious of the fact that sometimes you need to spend money to make money, but there are limits. Continual/continuous * continual (adjective): Occurring steadily, but with occasional stops or breaks. o Because he continually missed his deadlines, he received a verbal warning. * continuous (adjective): Unbroken, occurred without pauses, stops, or breaks. o Niagara Falls receives a continuous flow of water from the river. Council/counsel/consul * council (noun): An advisory or legislative body. o Sandra's position on the Executive Council will last for two years. * counsel (noun): Advice or help. o Mary sought counsel from Brian about whether or not she should interview for the new position. * counsel (verb): To advise. o The dietitian will counsel the patient about nutritious meal plans. * consul (noun) A government official who resides in a foreign city and represents fellow citizens there. o The consul promised to check into the snarled paperwork. Criticize/critique * criticize (verb): To judge negatively. o It is a bad idea to criticize our new programs in front of the fund raisers who made them possible in the first place. * critique (verb): To evaluate. o Now that the project is complete, I'd like to critique our process so we know what to repeat, and what aspects need changing. Decent/descent/dissent * decent (adjective): Proper, adequate, downward. o If we do a decent job at promoting this product, it will fly off the shelves. * descent (noun): The act of moving downward. o The descent of the company to second in the market is unacceptable to driven CEO. * dissent (noun): Disagreement. o The dissent in the room was audible in the loud groans we heard when the idea was presented. Deduce/deduct * deduce (verb): To infer, to draw a conclusion. o I deduce from your wet umbrella that it is still raining outside. * deduct (verb): To subtract from. o My balance is low because every week I deduct more from account than I put in. Defuse/diffuse * defuse (verb): To make less harmful, potent, or tense. o A trained negotiator can defuse a difficult situation between irritated parties. * diffuse (verb): To spread out; to scatter. o The lamps in the waiting room are too harsh; we need shades to diffuse the light. Disapprove/disprove * disapprove (verb): To express lack of approval. o I disapprove of the way that some people take two-hour lunches and leave the work to the rest of us. * disprove (verb): To prove false. o The fact that our department is first in sales this quarter should disprove all those who criticized our plan. Disburse/disperse * disburse (verb): To pay out. o The comptroller will not disburse the funds until the proper signatures have been received. * disperse (verb): To scatter. o The police asked the crowd to disperse after the party got out of hand. Disinterested/uninterested * disinterested (adjective): Impartial, fair, and objective. o Sally was asked to be a disinterested member of the committee in formulating the new policy. * uninterested (adjective): Not interested. o Tom is uninterested in participating in the flex-time program. Elicit/illicit * elicit (verb): To draw forth. o I tried to elicit a response from Jasper about what to order for lunch, but he said nothing. * illicit (adjective): Amoral. o The illicit ivory trade has led to the poaching of animals for nothing but their tusks. Elusive/illusive * elusive (adjective): Hard to catch. o The goal is elusive for now, but once we have a decent team together, success will be ours. * illusive (adjective): Unreal; imaginary. o The illusive Phoenix is an appropriate symbol for rebirth and renewal. Emerge/immerge * emerge (verb): To rise out of. o Green shoots began to emerge from the soil soon after the bulbs were planted. * immerge (verb): To plunge into. o Immerge your hand in cold water immediately so it won't swell. Eminent/immanent/imminent * eminent (adjective): Well-known. o We are fortunate to have an eminent scholar on Egyptian sculpture as our lecturer today. * immanent (adjective): Existing within; inherent o Some feel that greed is immanent in human nature, while others believe in honest human kindness. * imminent (adjective): Impending; soon to arrive. o Alexander spent all his time on the phone making arrangements for his imminent vacation. Everyday/every day * everyday (adjective): Ordinary. o We should sue the special china for dinner tonight; receiving a promotion is not an everyday occurrence! * every day (adjective) (noun): Each day. o Make sure to back up your data every day before you leave the office. Exalt/exult * exalt (verb): To raise in rank; glorify. o Allison was exalted and given another promotion for doubling the client base upon taking over the department. * exult (verb): To rejoice. o While we all want to exult in the moment of our team's destruction of property is no way to show one's joy. Edited August 30, 2011 by TalonRider t Link to comment
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