A Harvard linguist reveals the most misused

words in English
Some languages, like French, have an official body that decides how words can and cannot
be used.
English, as a flexible, global language, has no such designated referee.
Therefore, there is no definitive answer to whether you're using a word "correctly."
It's all a matter of taste and context. But there are opinions. And some count more than
others.
Steven Pinker is probably as good an expert to ask as anyone. Helpfully, the renowned
Harvard linguist and best-selling authorrecently wrote a book, titled "The Sense of Style,"
that aims to help readers improve their use of the English language.
If you're in the market for an update to , old Strunk and White, it's probably a good buy. But
if you just want to spot-check that you've not been making embarrassing language mistakes
for years, a monster list of 58 commonly misused phrases covered in the book that recently
appeared in the UK's Independent newspaper is probably a good place to start.
Here are some highlights:
1.

Adverse means "detrimental." It does not mean "averse" or "disinclined." Correct:

"There were adverse effects." / "I'm not averse to doing that."

2.

Appraise means to "ascertain the value of." It does not mean to "apprise" or to
"inform." Correct: "I appraised the jewels." / "I apprised him of the situation."

3.

Beg the question means that a statement assumes the truth of what it should be
proving; it does not mean to "raise the question." Correct: "When I asked the dealer why
I should pay more for the German car, he said I would be getting 'German quality,' but
that just begs the question."

4.

Bemused means "bewildered." It does not mean "amused." Correct: "The

unnecessarily complex plot left me bemused." / "The silly comedy amused me."

5.

Clich is a noun, not an adjective. The adjective is clichd. Correct: "Shakespeare

used a lot of clichs." / "The plot was so clichd."

6.

Data is a plural count noun not, standardly speaking, a mass noun. [Note: "Data is
rarely used as a plural today, just as candelabra and agenda long ago ceased to be
plurals," Pinker writes. "But I still like it."] Correct: "This datum supports the theory, but
many of the other data refute it."

7.

Depreciate means to "decrease in value." It does not mean to "deprecate" or to

"disparage." Correct: "My car has depreciated a lot over the years." / "She deprecated his
efforts."

8.

Disinterested means "unbiased." It does not mean "uninterested." Correct: "The

dispute should be resolved by a disinterested judge." / "Why are you so uninterested in
my story?"

9.

Enormity refers to extreme evil. It does not mean "enormousness." [Note: It is

acceptable to use it to mean a deplorable enormousness.] Correct: "The enormity of the
terrorist bombing brought bystanders to tears." / "The enormousness of the homework
assignment required several hours of work."

10.

Hone means to "sharpen." It does not mean to "home in on" or "to converge upon."
Correct: "She honed her writing skills." / "We're homing in on a solution."

11.

Hung means "suspended." It does not mean "suspended from the neck until dead."
Correct: "I hung the picture on my wall." / "The prisoner was hanged."

12.

Ironic means "uncannily incongruent." It does not mean "inconvenient" or

"unfortunate." Correct: "It was ironic that I forgot my textbook on human memory." / "It
was unfortunate that I forgot my textbook the night before the quiz."

13.

Nonplussed means "stunned" or "bewildered." It does not mean "bored" or

"unimpressed." Correct: "The market crash left the experts nonplussed." / "His market
pitch left the investors unimpressed."

14.

Parameter refers to a variable. It not mean "boundary condition" or "limit."

Correct: "The forecast is based on parameters like inflation and interest rates." / "We
need to work within budgetary limits."

15.

Phenomena is a plural count noun not a mass noun. Correct: "The phenomenon
was intriguing, but it was only one of many phenomena gathered by the telescope."

16.

Shrunk, sprung, stunk, and sunk are past participles--not words in the past
tense. Correct: "I've shrunk my shirt." / "I shrank my shirt."

17.

Simplistic means "naively or overly simple." It does not mean "simple" or

"pleasingly simple." Correct: "His simplistic answer suggested he wasn't familiar with the
material." / "She liked the chair's simple look."

18.

Verbal means "in linguistic form." It does not mean "oral" or "spoken." Correct:
"Visual memories last longer than verbal ones."

19.

Effect means "influence"; to effect means "to put into effect"; to affect means
either "to influence" or "to fake." Correct: "They had a big effect on my style." / "The law
effected changes at the school." / "They affected my style." / "He affected an air of
sophistication to impress her parents."

20.

Lie (intransitive: lies, lay, has lain) means to "recline"; lay (transitive: lays, laid, has
laid) means to "set down"; lie (intransitive: lies, lied, has lied) means to "fib." Correct:
"He lies on the couch all day." / "He lays a book upon the table." / "He lies about what he
does."

It should be noted that while it's always good to polish up your writing, one of the joys of
language is that it isn't fixed in time. It evolves. Nor is there a single "correct" style (in
English, at least).
You'd neither connect nor impress if you chose your words like an Oxford don at a rap battle
(though, actually, someone please make that YouTube video), and you'd be unlikely to get a
job at an investment bank today speaking like Shakespeare.
Why is this important? It's easy to get too caught up in being perfectly "correct" and
become a tedious language snob. Remember you probably want to come across as intelligent
and thoughtful, not uptight and pedantic. So don't get so worked up over the little things
that you miss the larger point of good writing to communicate clearly and engagingly with
your chosen audience.