Recently Added Articles Page #62

immigrate, emigrate

To immigrate means “to enter a country with the intention of becoming a citizen.” To emigrate means “to leave a country with the intention of settling elsewhere.”A trick you can use: Immigrate means “to come in.” Emigrate means “to exit...

impact, affect

Here’s another one of those fancy words many people misuse. Traditionally, the word impact served as a noun, but recently it has transformed into a trendy verb. Technically, impact as a verb has been around for several hundred years. Originally, it...

imply, infer

Both of these words have to do with the communication of ideas through an indirect but logical process. The difference lies in who is making (or attempting to make) the logical connection.A writer or speaker implies.  Or the facts themselves imply a...

incentivize, incent

These words, probably concocted in some business school, date from the 1970s. Both mean “to motivate or encourage.” Technically, they mean “to provide incentives.” The word incentivize is one of those noun-to-verb words formed by adding the s...

incipient, insipid

Incipient means to be at the very early stages of appearing or becoming detectable. It derives from the Latin word for “inception.” Incipient is often used to describe diseases or health conditions.Insipid means “bland” or “dull” or “wi...

incomparable, uncomparable

The prefix ‑in in incomparable serves as an intensive. Thus, incomparable means “so good as to be beyond comparison.” The -un in uncomparable serves as a negative. Thus, uncomparable means “not subject to comparison.”When you pronounce eith...

incredulous, incredible

The word incredulous means “skeptical” or “disbelieving.”The word incredible means “implausible” or “unbelievable.” It is often used, indeed overused, to describe something that astounds.Example: The incredible rise of the Cubs all th...

indexes, indices

The preferred plural is indexes. Use indices when you mean “indicators.” Scientists and mathematicians, however, prefer indices in technical writing.Example: The author compiled the indexes for his various books, most discussing various indices o...

inflammable, noninflammable, flammable

The words flammable and inflammable mean the same thing. But the prefix in- misleads many people. They assume that inflammable means “not flammable” or “noncombustible.” This prefix (-in) is not the Latin negative prefix that appears in such ...

ingenuous, ingenious

These two words, which sound so alike, are actually nearly opposites. Ingenuous means “to be artless, simple, innocent; lacking in cunning, guile, or worldliness.” It also means “openly straightforward or frank; candid.”If you are ingenuous, ...

input

Many people use this trendy word to mean “participation in or contribution to an endeavor or project.” In short, they want to provide input. Careful writers, however, avoid this jargon word and restrict their use of input as a noun or a verb to t...

in receipt of

Here’s another of those expressions favored by writers of letters. Careful writers avoid it altogether and use have received.See enclosed please find, please find enclosed, enclosed herewith.Example: We have received your offer and will respond nex...

insidious, invidious

Insidious is used to describe something that is subtly harmful or cunningly treacherous. Something is insidious if it lies in wait, seeks to entrap, or operates secretly or subtly so as not to arouse suspicion.The word invidious means “offensive, r...

inter-, intra-

The meanings of these two prefixes differ significantly. The prefix -inter means “between or among.” Thus, interstate commerce is business conducted across state lines. The prefix -intra, however, means “within or in.” Thus, intrastate comme...

interface

Let those who delight in using fancy jargon interface with each other. But be nice when you interact with them at Starbucks.In the world of computer technology, the word interface has significant meanings.Example: The retreat gave the employees a cha...

irregardless

Usage panels—and other smart people—consider the use of irregardless as a huge blunder. It simply isn’t a word. Someone couldn’t figure out how to use irrespective or regardless and married the two, and irregardless was born.Stamp it out.Some...

its, it’s

Note: The differences between its and it’s are discussed in depth in the Common Grammatical Mistakes Section of Grammar.com. Click here for that discussion.Misusing these two words ranks as one of the most frequent grammatical mistakes today. Smart...

judgment, judgement

The preferred spelling in American English is judgment. Even in England, in legal contexts, writers spell the word judgment. In nonlegal contexts in England, writers use judgement....

juncture

Many people use at this juncture when they mean “at this time.” The result is pompous. Restrict your use of juncture to those situations where you’re referring to a “crisis or critically important time.”Example: At this critical juncture in...

kind of

If you mean “rather, somewhat, or somehow,” use those terms, not kind of. When you use the expression what kind of, you should not include the article a. Thus: What kind of job do you want?Not:What kind of a job do you want? Example: I was somewh...

laudatory, laudable

Laudatory is used to describe something that gives praise and laudable is used to describe something that deserves or receives praise.Example: His laudatory remarks were appropriate for such laudable behavior....

lay, lie

The vast majority of people butcher these two words.Quite simply, the word lie is an intransitive verb showing that someone or something is in a reclining position. (An intransitive verb cannot take an object, that is, a noun cannot directly attach i...

led, lead

Note: The differences between led and lead are discussed in the Common Grammatical Mistakes section of Grammar.com. Click here for that discussion.The word lead means “to guide” or “to be in front.” The word led is the past tense and the pas...

liaison

Commonly misspelled laison or liason. The most common pronunciation is lee-ay-zahn with the accent on -ay....

literally, figuratively

Many people use literally when they don’t mean it. Presumably, they don’t mean it when they say: “We were literally dead from exhaustion.” They should say: “We felt dead from exhaustion.” Then the figurative meaning comes shining through....