Happy New Year!
We’re a full week into 2023 now (thanks to the observed holiday falling on our usual blog launch date), but it will be months before I stop accidentally writing 2022. A few years ago, I accidentally wrote 1994.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Nevertheless, I’m not the only one making mistakes around here.
That’s right, we’re kicking off the new year with yet another list of mistaken/confused words. As a reminder, these examples have all been found in proposals coming through the CCS. You can find the past lists here, here and here.
The latest top 10 wording errors
1. Negation/Negotiation
- Negation (noun) means the contradiction/denial of something. There should be negation of the findings.
- Negotiation (noun) means discussion aimed at reaching an agreement. The contract is under negotiation.
2. Pier/Peer
- Pier (noun) is a platform leading out from the shore to a body of water. Tie the boat to the pier.
- Peer as a noun means a friend and as a verb means to look. A jury of his peers. They peered through the window.
3. Melody/Medley
- Melody (noun) means a sequence of musical notes. This song has a beautiful melody.
- Medley (noun) means varied mixture of people/things. They’re serving a fruit medley.
4. Waffling/Wafting
- Waffling (verb) means failing to make up your mind. He’s waffling over where to eat dinner.
- Wafting (verb) means to pass through the air. The aroma wafting in the air made us hungrier.
5. Intension/Intention
- Intension (noun) is the internal content of a concept. The intension of “cat” includes being furry, having whiskers, meowing, etc.
- Intention (noun) is an aim or plan. She was full of good intentions.
6. Digression/Discretion
- Digression (noun) means a temporary departure from the main topic. After a brief digression, they went back to talking business.
- Discretion (noun) means the freedom to decide what should be done or the quality of behaving/speaking without offending or revealing private info. Use discretion in the meeting.
7. Illicit/Elicit
- Illicit (adjective) means forbidden by law/rules. They found illicit drugs on his person.
- Elicit (verb) means to evoke or draw out a response. The defendant tried to elicit sympathy.
8. Council/Counsel
- Council (noun) is a group formed to manage a department or decision. The council met monthly.
- Counsel (noun) is advice or a lawyer conducting a case. She should seek legal counsel.
9. Descent/Decent
- Descent (noun) is the action of moving downward. The plane began its descent.
- Decent (adjective) is an acceptable standard. She was a decent person.
10. Home/Hone
- Home (as it is confused, verb) means to move or be aimed toward with great accuracy. The missile homed in on its target.
- Hone (verb) means to smooth/sharpen or refine/perfect. She honed her skills.
If you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution still, avoid these silly mistakes and let’s make it a new happy year!
Don’t be sad. We’ll be back on the first Monday next month with a new blog post. If you can’t wait that long – whether because you have a topic you’d love us to cover, a question or you simply want to throw your two cents into the pot – we love talkin’ shop, so drop us a line.
