We all have them; those confusible words that we look at and think, "Is that right? It looks odd." Whether it's spelling or general use, here are a few of my personal pet word peeves:13 Commonly Misspelled or Misused Words
1. Lightning (Lightening is the result of successful dieting. That flash in the sky is lightning.)
2. Withdrawal (Would you believe I actually saw withdrawl on a news program?! Eek!)
3. Affect/Effect (Affect is the act; Effect is the end result. "Global warming affects our planet, having a negative effect on living things.")
4. Farther/Further (Use farther for measures of distance; further for everything else.)
5. A lot (Two words!)
6. All right (Again, two words!)
7. It's/Its (Do you use an apostrophe for "hers" or "his"? So, why use one in the possessive "its"? You don't. It's is the contraction of "it is.")
8. Lead/Led (The first one is a metal; the second is how the fireman got the victim through a dark house.)
9. Irregardless (Aaaaaaarrrrrrgggghhhh! There is no such word. The word is simply regardless.)
10. Stationary/Stationery (If you're standing still, you're stationary. You write on stationery.)
11. Nauseous/Nauseated (When you're nauseous, you're making someone else sick. When you're sick, you're nauseated.)
12. Imply/Infer (To imply is to suggest--think of the old retort, "I resent the implication..." To infer is to draw a conclusion.)
13. Ensure/Insure (Insure has to do with insurance contracts. Use ensure unless your hero works for MetLife.)
Got any pet word peeves of your own to share?
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26 comments:
Great list.
I admit I'm guilty of a few of those.
okay...so why don't alot and alright get dinged on Word? I swear, half the time I wonder if I have it wrong and the wold decided they are one word now just to make it easier on everyone...
Irregardless makes me crazy.
Not guilty, your honor.
lol how about know vs no
I don't know why this always stumps me!
Affect/effect drive me crazy. Isn't 'withdrawl' the way people talk down south?
I am. Worst of all, I get confused. I've written "all right" and been corrected to alright.
There's two that mess me up and I watch for them.
They're/their. Yep when flying through a ms, I make this error.
Too/to/two. Usually the first two.
#9 is like nails running down a chalkboard to me. I took a Health seminar and the Diabetes Educator said it number of times throughout his speech.
Ugh!!!
Number 2 always gets me! LOL! Great and Happy TT!
Can you believe that I actually have someone correct Lightning to Lightening on a manuscript. Hello, it's a storm not a birthing.
Cool list! I'll have to copy it and give it to my students. Heh!
ROFL--nerd UP!!! I am soooo with you on that...
Lightning is one of my biggies...and breathe/breath for some reason.
Don't even get me started on "irregardless"
Mine's a bookish TT this week.
~ Anya Bast
http://www.anyabastblog.com
Yep....I have problems with some of the words....thanks for the info.
*snort* Great list!!
Teehee. I've messed a few of those up before. Effect and affect is something I have to ponder every time I use the word(s).
I always type lightning wrong. I'm usually going fast and am not paying enough attention.
As for the rest, more people should read your blog!
You know, editing standards are really changing and now some of these incorrect spellings are considered acceptable. (sob!) Alright is now considered a real word -- but I still change it to all right when I'm editing and I'll NEVER allow it in one of my own books. And nauseous is now considered acceptable for nauseated, too. Nauseating, isn't it? :D
One that drives me bonkers is supposedly/supposably. Supposedly means allegedly. Supposably means capable of being supposed. Argh!
LOL I will deliberately avoid the nauseous/nauseated conundrum because I can never ever unravel which one it should be.
Great topic.
The one I see a lot is definite. Why does everyone say defanite?
Great List-of course now I'm paranoid and opening my WIP to make sure everything is correct LOL
What a great list! I actually had to look up alright/all right today just to be sure I was right! Duh, me! LOL!
*hugs*
Paige
Gina. I cringe when I read your posts ;) I'm guilty of far too many of these.
I prefer alright. I know, I shouldn't admit that. But 'all right' to me implies all of something being correct, while 'alright' is a state of mind. *sigh*
Alot and irregardless are guaranteed to start a pulse throbbing my temples!
Great list!
withdrawl=from Texas, right?
I also get irked by hopefully, which isn't supposed to be used the way it usually is but EVERYONE does it. Sigh.
Very informative! I hate the word gotten. I think writers should find stronger words than that.
I share a lot of the same peeves. One I saw last week that royally bugged me was seam used in place of seem. Ugh! A seam is something you sew; seem is a synonym of appear, as in: "The seam did not seem straight."
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