Sometimes it鈥檚 simply the sound or spelling of a word that throws us, other times it鈥檚 hearing a word repeatedly used in the wrong context. Whatever the reason, it’s easy to get words misfiled in our brain! We’ll help you right your wrongs with some of the most commonly misused words.
The word enervate means to deplete or to weaken, yet it鈥檚 often used incorrectly to mean energize. Maybe that鈥檚 due to the misleading presence of 鈥渆ner鈥� at the beginning of the word. If you’re looking for an adjective to describe how juiced-up you feel, try聽animated 辞谤听别濒别肠迟谤颈蹿颈别诲听颈苍蝉迟别补诲.听
Using luxuriant when one means luxurious is understandable. If you鈥檙e talking about an impressive head of hair, or a jungle of beautiful carrot tops in your garden, luxuriant works, as it pertains to abundant or lush growth.聽If you鈥檙e talking about Versailles, or feather beds with 1200 thread-count sheets, you want to use luxurious, since that word pertains to comfort and wealth, rather than fertile countryside or glossy locks.
Do you think nonplussed means 鈥渦naffected by,鈥� or perhaps 鈥渋ndifferent to?鈥� It actually means a state of being perplexed, confounded or at a loss. Over the years, it’s been used more frequently to mean 鈥渦nfazed鈥� or 鈥渘onchalant,鈥� which are actually antonyms. This is how language evolves, creating new patterns over time through repeated use. What鈥檚 鈥渞ight鈥� today may change tomorrow!
Sometimes proscribe is used as a replacement f辞谤听prescribe, as in, 鈥減roscribing a fix for the unemployment problem.鈥� But proscribe means to banish, forbid or condemn, and was originally used in the 1500s to condemn or punish someone legally by publishing their name and misdeed. Unlike the previous word, nonplussed, this one shows no signs of evolution; just misuse.
If you鈥檙e circumventing something, it means you鈥檙e avoiding something, sidestepping or getting around it, whether it鈥檚 a sensitive topic or a traffic blockade. People often confuse circumvent with circumnavigate, but circumnavigate means physical movement鈥攗sually, flying or sailing鈥攁round something, in a complete circle.
Of course we鈥檙e going to occasionally confuse enormity with enormous! But remember that enormity usually refers to the awfulness of an issue or problem. Its original Early English meaning was 鈥渆xtreme wickedness.鈥� It is not to be used to describe the size of a thing or geographic area (鈥渢he enormity of Texas鈥濃�攏ope!), but it does seem to be creeping into the lexicon to mean the enormous impact of an action or deed (perhaps even a kind one).
If you hear someone refer to a 鈥�mute point,鈥� try not to chuckle, but gently tell them the word they are looking for is moot, meaning something that is subject to debate or uncertainty. Mute, meaning a person who is speechless鈥攐r to muffle the sound of something鈥攈as a nice sharp, concrete feel to it, and might come to mind first over the softer sounding moot when one is talking debatable issues.
In today鈥檚 journalism landscape, where the job of identifying 鈥渇ake news鈥� is one we all need to take on, facts are important. Is a small, incidental fact a factoid? 聽(鈥淭he new mayor sported a small butterfly tattoo on her ankle.鈥�) 聽Or is a factoid 鈥渟omething fictitious or unsubstantiated that is presented as fact?鈥� (鈥淢ore people attended the inauguration of Donald Trump than any previous inauguration. Period.鈥�) Well, we define factoid as both, so there you go.聽
Fulsome聽has meant plentiful and abundant; excessive and repulsively gross; curvy and fleshy; overdone and insincere; lavish, and wholehearted. Some word gurus suggest that offering 鈥渇ulsome praise鈥� or commenting on the 鈥渇ulsome expression鈥� of a performer on stage may not be the wisest move, unless one is very clear about their intended meaning. Using whatever word that next comes to mind might be the safest thing to do.
If you鈥檙e feeling a bit of confusion or befuddlement over some of our words here, you could say you are bemused. On the other hand, if you’re mildly entertained, or amused, well, we鈥檙e glad you enjoyed it. (And if you are indeed bemused, 聽just remember knowledge is power, and you have the dictionary at your fingertips!)
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