Word Choice

This is an error that may get me some nasty letters from my fellow Southerners. It involves the usage of the word mash. Having grown up in the southern United States, I have become accustomed to hearing the word mash used in sentences such as, “Mash the button on the elevator.” However, the best word to use for this sentence would be press. Mash means “to crush,” but press means “to act on with a steady force,” “to bear heavily down on,” or “to squeeze or compress.” Just remember that you mash potatoes, but you press buttons.

Momentarily can have two meanings: (1) in a moment, or (2) for a moment.

Examples:

1. The food will be served momentarily.
2. The meeting will adjourn momentarily.

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Nauseous and nauseated are often used interchangeably, with nauseous being the more common word of choice.

To many people, the following two sentences have exactly the same meaning:

Example 1: I feel nauseated when I am nervous.

Example 2: I feel nauseous when I am nervous.

In both sentences, the speaker is referring to a feeling of queasiness. It is common to hear the second example above, which uses nauseous in place of nauseated. These words can have two distinct meanings (though few seem to make the distinction): nauseous referring to something that actually causes a feeling of sickness, and nauseated referring to the actual sensation of sickness, as illustrated in the following sentences:

Example 3 (nauseous-correct usage): The smell of rotten eggs is nauseous.

Example 4 (nauseated-correct usage): The smell of rotten eggs makes me nauseated.

Example 3 illustrates the restrictive usage of the word nauseous, referring to the smell of rotten eggs, something which causes a feeling of sickness. In Example 4, nauseated, not nauseous, is used to refer to the actual feeling of sickness caused by the smell of the rotten eggs.

Please note that the word nauseating is synonymous with nauseous in that both refer to something that causes nausea. To say, “The smell of rotten eggs is nauseating” is the same as saying, “The smell of rotten eggs is nauseous.”

Nonplussed means perplexed, confused, or bewildered, but it’s not uncommon for it to be used to mean almost the opposite: composed or unfazed.

President Obama used the word incorrectly in 2008 when asked how his daughters felt about his presidential bid:

I’ve been really happy by how nonplussed they’ve been by the whole thing. (Source: ABC News)

It’s obvious that Obama was referring to how unfazed his daughters were; however, his usage of nonplussed in this way actually means something entirely different.

The word nonplus is Latin for “no more,” as in “no more to say.” When considering the literal Latin translation, it makes sense that it means perplexed. (Someone who is perplexed or confused is often at a loss for words.) But it is easy to see how one might think that plussed means perplexed, and tacking on non makes it the opposite, hence the unfazed usage.

The peak of something is the highest point or level:

The hikers reached the mountain’s peak in four hours.

Home values in my neighborhood reached their peak five years ago.

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Perspective and prospective tend to sound like the same word when spoken quickly, and this can cause a mix-up when determining which one to use in writing.

Perspective is a point of view.

Empathy involves taking another person’s perspective.

Prospective is likely to become or expected.

The unemployed teacher sent out multiple cover letters to prospective employers.

If you’ve ever given a speech or lecture, you more than likely have used a stand called a lectern as a place to lay your papers or notes. However, you probably didn’t refer to the stand as a lectern. Like most people, you probably called it a podium. But a podium is actually a raised platform used to stand upon when speaking in front of a group. Remember that you stand behind a lectern, while you stand on a podium. (more…)

Posterity refers to the future, specifically future generations (often used with for as in “for posterity.”) :

The historical documents were preserved for posterity.

Prosperity refers to wealth or abundance:

Saving and investing wisely will lead to prosperity.

Precede is to go or come before.

Dark clouds and wind often precede a thunderstorm.

Proceed is to move forward or continue.

After presenting your boarding pass and ID, you may proceed to the plane.

According to Merriam-Webster Online, preventive and preventative (as  in preventive or preventative medicine) are interchangeable. Both words originate in the 1600s, though preventive precedes preventative by about 40 years.

My preferred word of choice? Preventive: it has one less syllable and rolls off the tongue more easily.

See also: Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s entries for preventive and preventative.