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analogous should not be used as a synonym for “similar”. It means
“comparable in certain respects”, especially where the analogy makes the
nature of the things compared clearer. The preposition to use with analogous
is “to”, rather than “with”. eg They saw the relationship between ruler and
subject as analogous to that of father and son.
basis is commonly used in phrases describing how often something
happens: “on a daily basis”, “on a weekly basis”, and so forth. Unless it is
required in a technical context, eg “inspection of the facility is carried
out on the basis of a weekly rota”, adverbs such as “weekly” or “daily”, or
a phrase such as “every week” can more economically be used. The council
inspects the property on a monthly basis.
Don’t say: I meet up with Jane for a drink on a regular basis.
biceps can be both singular and plural. The singular “bicep” is a
back-formation and is generally viewed as incorrect, as is the plural
“bicepses”. The biceps on his arm were bulging.
bored The normal construction is “bored by” or “bored with”. More
recently, “bored of” has emerged (probably by analogy with other
constructions such as “tired of”), but, although common informally, “bored
of” is not yet acceptable in standard English. I’m really bored by this
play.
deceptively belongs to a small set of words whose meaning is genuinely
ambiguous, in that it can be used in similar contexts to mean either one
thing or its complete opposite. A “deceptively smooth surface” appears
smooth but, in fact, is not smooth at all, while a “deceptively spacious
room” is more spacious than it appears. To avoid confusion, it is probably
best not to use the word at all when it can be ambiguous. He was a
deceptively strong man.
diffuse means, broadly, “to disperse”. Do not confuse with “defuse”,
meaning “to reduce the danger or tension in”. The literal meaning of
“defuse”, to “take out the fuse”, may help you to remember the distinction.
The police diffused the demonstrators.
Don’t say: They successfully diffused the situation.
dilemma Strictly speaking, a “dilemma” is a choice between two or more
undesirable alternatives. However, its looser use, to mean any perplexing
situation involving choice, is now standard. The use of “dilemma” as a
synonym for “problem” is generally regarded as incorrect and should be
avoided in written English. The dilemma of cutting public services or
increasing taxes.
disinterested Nowhere are the battle lines more deeply drawn than over
the difference between “disinterested” and “uninterested”. According to
traditional guidelines, “disinterested” should never be used to mean “not
interested” but only “impartial”. Following this view, only uninterested
means “not interested”. The judgments of disinterested outsiders are likely
to be more useful.
documentation means “documents providing official information or
evidence” or “written specifications or instructions”. In business and
official writing it is often used as a pompous synonym for “documents”. In
nearly every case “documents” will do.
Don’t say: We will let you have the documentation in the next ten
days.
economic People sometimes describe things as “economic” when they mean
“economical”. “Economic” means “concerning economics”. Economical means
“thrifty, avoiding waste”. He is rebuilding a solid economic base for the
country's future.
eponymous The adjective “eponymous” means “giving one’s name to (a
book, place, etc.)”. The reverse construction is incorrect. Beowulf, the
eponymous hero of the Old English poem.
Don’t say: Emma, heroine of the eponymous novel.
fewer “Fewer”, the comparative form of few, is used with words
referring to countable things, including people. “Less” is used with things
which cannot be counted: “less money”; “less music”. “Less” is also normally
used with numbers on their own, eg “less than 10,000”, and with measurement
or time: “less than two weeks”; “less than four miles away”. To use “less”
with countable things, as in “less words” or “less people”, is regarded as
incorrect in standard English. An upmarket British store chain was forced by
public demand to change checkout signs in its food supermarkets from “Less
than five items” to “Fewer than five items”. Fewer than ten patients
actually went on to eat less food after the diet.
fortuitous The traditional meaning of “fortuitous” is “happening by
chance”: a “fortuitous meeting” is a chance meeting, which might turn out to
be good or bad. Today, however, “fortuitous” tends to be used only for
fortunate outcomes, and has become more or less a synonym for “lucky” or
“fortunate”. I fortuitously bumped into my former wife at the airport.
fulsome Although still sometimes used in its original sense of
“abundant”, the generally accepted meaning is “excessively complimentary or
flattering”. This can give rise to ambiguity: for one person “fulsome
praise” may be no more than “generous”, while for another it may mean
“nauseating sycophancy”. Thus it is best to avoid the word if the context is
likely to be sensitive. A long and fulsome 47-page dedication to Princess
Caroline.
inflammable The words “inflammable” and “flammable” both mean the same,
“easily set on fire”. This might seem surprising, since the prefix
“in-”normally has the function of negation, as in words such as “indirect”
and “insufficient”. In fact, “inflammable” is formed using a different Latin
prefix, “in” meaning “into”, which has the effect of intensifying the
meaning of the English word. The opposite of both “inflammable” and
“flammable” is either “noninflammable” or “nonflammable”. Little had he
known how flammable his beard was.
interface has existed as a noun since the 1880s. The metaphorical
meaning, “a place or means of interactions between two systems,
organisations, etc”, to which many object, was first used before the
literal, computing meaning. It has become widespread in this extended use as
both a noun and a verb. Some object to it on the grounds that plenty of
other words could be used instead. Although it is now well established in
standard English, if you wish to avoid it in certain contexts you could use
“interaction”, “liaison”, “dialogue”, “contact” etc and their related verbs
instead. Modular interfaces to adapt the general-purpose computer to the
equipment.
Don’t say: I’m busy all morning, but let’s interface after lunch.
literally is used to show that a metaphor or idiom is to be interpreted
in its real, physical meaning. Often, this can lead to nonsense, so use it
in this way only when sure that your audience will not take you literally. I
can’t go out tonight, I am literally too tired to move.
Don’t say: We were literally killing ourselves laughing.
moot It is common to come across a debatable point being described as
“a mute point”. This is a mistaken adaptation of the phrase “a moot point”
and is not good style. I am not sure if we are going on holiday this summer.
It’s a bit of a moot point.
neither The use of “neither” with another negative, as in “I don’t like
him neither” or “I’m not much good at reading neither” is recorded from the
16th century onwards, but is not thought good English because it is a double
negative, which, although standard in many dialects, is not acceptable in
standard English. In the above, “either” should be used. Neither the girls
nor the boys were looking forward to the party.
nonplussed means “surprised and confused”. In North American English a
new use meaning “unperturbed” – more or less the opposite of the traditional
meaning – has developed as in “he was clearly trying to appear nonplussed”.
Although common, it is not yet standard. Many would not consider spelling
the word with a hyphen, “nonplussed”, good style. She was nonplussed at his
eagerness to help out.
obscene It is better to restrict this to the sense “offensive to
prevailing standards of [sexual] decency” and to avoid using it as a general
term of disapproval, as in “obscene pay rises in the boardroom”. Many
thought Picasso’s depiction of women obscene.
ongoing has a valid meaning, “happening and will continue”. Its vague
or tautologous use should be avoided, as in the cliché “ongoing situation”.
The fuel shortage problem has turned into an ongoing crisis.
pence In recent years, “pence” rather than “penny” has sometimes been
used in the singular to refer to one penny. This is not widely accepted.
Don’t say: The Chancellor will put one pence on income tax.
peruse means “read thoroughly and carefully”. It is sometimes
mistakenly taken to mean “read through quickly, glance over”, as in “later
documents will be perused rather than studied in depth”. He had plenty of
time to peruse the contract.
plethora A “plethora” is not an abundance, but an overabundance. In
sentences such as “a plethora of play spaces and equipment”, the looser
meaning is not considered good style. The bill had to struggle through a
plethora of committees and subcommittees.
polity means either “a form of civil government”, or “a state”. It does
not mean “policy” or “politics”. A republican polity.
re Some people claim that “re” should be used only in headings and
references, not to mean “about”, as in “I saw the deputy head re the
incident”. However, “re” is now widely used in the second way in official
and semiofficial contexts, and is generally accepted. It is hard to see any
compelling argument against using it as an ordinary English word; it can,
however, sound pretentious in everyday writing, and “about” would probably
serve better. Re: Ainsworth versus Chambers
synchronise When used as a transitive verb, “synchronise” means “to
make simultaneous”. It is not a synonym for “combine” or “coordinate”. The
soundtrack had been poorly synchronised with the pictures.
unique There is a set of adjectives, including “unique”, “complete”,
“equal”, “infinite” and “perfect”, whose core meanings are absolute – in
other words, they cannot be graded. Therefore, according to a traditional
argument, they cannot be modified by adverbs such as “really”, “quite”,
“almost”, or “very”. For example, since the core meaning of “unique” (from
Latin for “one”) is “being only one of its kind”, it is logically
impossible, the argument goes, to modify it with an adverb: it either is
“unique” or not; there are no in-between stages. His interpretation of
Hamlet was unique.
worthwhile When the adjective “worthwhile” is used before the noun (ie,
attributively) it is always written as one word: “a worthwhile cause”. when
it stands alone and comes after the verb (ie, predicatively) it may be
written as one word or two. We didn’t think it was worthwhile. Or
: We didn’t think it was worth while.
wreak The past participle of “wreak” is “wreaked”. An alternative
expression is “wrought havoc”. “Wrought” is an archaic past tense of work,
not, as is sometimes assumed, a past tense of wreak. There is therefore no
justification for the view that “wreaked” is incorrect. Boll weevils wreaked
havoc on the US cotton industry. Or: Overfishing has wrought havoc in
some areas.
