# Educate Your Fellow Dopers: Explain Words That Are Easily Confused **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 27, 2014, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367 "2014-05-27T13:34:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/121 "2014-05-30T03:24:17Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > **Its** : possessive form of the pronoun _it_. > **It’s** : contraction of “it is.” When I see this mistake, I explain that the word itself indicates possession, and it’s as silly to put an apostrophe in “its” as it would be to put an apostrophe in “his” or “hers.” ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/122 "2014-05-30T07:15:10Z")
**Reactionary** : opposing political or social progress or reform **Reactive** : acting in response to a situation rather than creating or controlling it (definitions from Oxford University Press) ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/123 "2014-05-30T08:09:03Z")
**Indifferent:** Having no particular interest or sympathy; unconcerned. **Ambivalent:** Having simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings towards an object, person, or action. Most people tend to use the latter when they mean the former. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/124 "2014-05-30T09:56:07Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Tip for visiting the UK: > > A load of (old) bollocks: Nonsense, rubbish > > e.g. “…but my enduring impression of Hugh Walpole’s Rogue Herries, is that it was load of old bollocks.” > > _cf_ > > The bollocks: Very good indeed > > e.g. “I enjoyed your speech your Excellency, it was the bollocks.” Or _The Dog’s Bollocks_ (also meaning ‘very good indeed’) I heard an etymology for the above term which, whilst almost certainly apocryphal, is so lovely, I \*want \*to believe it: Supposedly, when [Meccano](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meccano) was first sold, it was offered in two different packaged presentations named ‘Box(Standard)’ and ‘Deluxe Box’ - and that, over time, these names were corrupted to ‘Bog Standard’ and ‘Dogs Bollocks’. Almost certainly untrue, but a lovely idea. ---
**Author:** ![Rala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@Rala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rala)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/125 "2014-05-30T10:08:43Z")
Envious: Feeling discontented and resentful because you desire possessions or qualities someone else has. Jealous: Fearful or wary of being displaced by a rival; apprehensive of losing affection or position. ---
**Author:** ![Itself](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d07c76/32.png) [@Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/126 "2014-05-30T11:22:46Z")
pixilated: Confused, seduced, or led astray. pixelated: Of poor enough resolution that individual pixels are visible as boxes in an image. Speaking of which: led: The past tense of ‘lead’. lead: The present tense of…well, ‘lead’ (among many other meanings). ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/127 "2014-05-30T15:34:00Z")
Here’s one I always have to look up… i.e. means “in other words” e.g. means “for example” From [here:](http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/ie-versus-eg?page=1) Squiggly loves watching old cartoons (e.g., DuckTales and Tugboat Mickey). The words following e.g. are examples, so you know that these are just some of the old cartoons that Squiggly enjoys. Squiggly loves watching Donald Duck’s nephews (i.e., Huey, Dewey, and Louie). The words following i.e. provide clarification: they tell you the names of Donald Duck’s three nephews. One suggested mnemonic is that e.g. means for EGgsample. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/128 "2014-05-30T15:58:16Z")
Here’s one of my pet peeves. An _ecologist_ is someone who studies Ecology, the relationships between plants and animals and their environments. An _environmentalist_ is someone who works to protect the natural environment from pollution and other threats. These are often assumed to be synonyms. However, while many ecologists are environmentalists (although a fair number are not), the majority of environmentalists are not technically ecologists. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/129 "2014-05-30T17:28:30Z")
**nauseous** : Causing nausea; sickening **nauseated** : To be feeling, or having been caused to feel nausea. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/130 "2014-05-30T17:38:38Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > **nauseous** : Causing nausea; sickening > > **nauseated** : To be feeling, or having been caused to feel nausea. Good one. ---
**Author:** ![Sterling\_Archer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Sterling\_Archer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterling_Archer)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/131 "2014-05-30T18:57:08Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by **HubZilla** > One more fun one I learned last summer, more a genuine confusion over a snarky one: > > Stalactites have to hang on tight > Stalagmites might reach the top > [@stui\_magpie](#): > > I learned years ago that it was: > > Stalactites hang from the Ceiling > > Stalagmites grow up from the ground You guys both have it wrong. Stalagmites are mighty – they have to be to grow upward. Stalactites are the other ones, but if you want to go with “hang on tight” go ahead and knock yourself out. DisneyLAnd is in L.A. (roughly) Disney wORLd is in ORLando. nonplussed – surprised and confused so much that they are unsure how to react Penultimate – second-to-last decimate – reduce by one-tenth supernatural – Beyond our scientific understanding of nature preternatural – Same damn thing, but preferred by authors of vampire fiction for some reason ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/132 "2014-05-30T20:11:46Z")
> [@Sterling\_Archer](#): > > preternatural – Same damn thing, but preferred by authors of vampire fiction for some reason Actually, “preternatural” means “seeming unnatural, but actually having a natural explanation.” Supernatural things have magical, otherworldly causes. Preternatural things might seem that way, but that isn’t the case. Sometimes, people use it to describe things that seem too natural, too perfect to be natural, but are, in fact, natural. Nature can, for example, produce a tree that is perfectly symmetrical when viewed from a particular angle, and probably has. Someone who saw it might assume human intervention, while someone else might think it suggested supernatural intervention, but it’s just a factor of the “infinite monkeys, with infinite time, banging on typewriters, eventually producing the works of Shakespeare” phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/133 "2014-05-30T20:48:21Z")
Well, since we are being pedantic here > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > While I’m posting, the difference between “farther” and “further” is that “farther” applies to actual geographical differences “the address you want is two blocks farther down the street,” and “further” is figurative: “Before this relationship goes any further, I need to know how you feel about abortion.” Generally, it’s better to use “further” for time, but when time is clearly delineated, and you could plot it on a line, you can use “farther.” “My birthday is farther into the year than yours”-- personally, I’d use “further” for that, but if your teacher marks it in read, you can argue. !!! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/134 "2014-05-30T20:53:11Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Well, since we are being pedantic here > > !!! :eek: Darned things spellcheck can’t catch. Darned tiny keys on my tablet/laptop hybrid. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/135 "2014-05-30T20:58:43Z")
> [@Sterling\_Archer](#): > > decimate – reduce by one-tenth That may be the historical origin, but it hasn’t been used like that in everyday conversation for ages > [@](#): > > supernatural – Beyond our scientific understanding of nature > preternatural – Same damn thing, but preferred by authors of vampire fiction for some reason The distinction between them that I’m used to is that supernatural refers to ghosts and ESP and things that are clear violations of science, while preternatural refers to things that EXCEED normal human limitations… “preternatural vision”, “preternatural strength”. Something that exceeds human capacity, but not something that in and of itself clearly defies our understanding of the universe. The first definition on [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) “out of the ordinary course of nature; exceptional or abnormal: preternatural powers” seems to at least somewhat support this distinction (although in fairness I may have gotten this impression purely from watching Buffy). ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/136 "2014-05-30T21:14:41Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > You just made that up. Why people can’t just accept that words are synonyms without distinction, I’ll never know. Exact synonyms are, in fact, very rare. I think **HeyHomie** has captured a real difference in the ways that “nude” and “naked” are actually normall used rather well, even if it is not noted by any dictionary. (Although there is more to it. For instance, I think one gets naked, not nude, to have a bath, or even to have sex. “Nude” seems to apply only to circumstances where the nakedness is, intentionally, at least somewhat public.) > [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > That’s completely invented by the Internet for no good reason. The earliest I can find such a distinction is 2006. Use means to employ something. Utilize means to turn to employment, as in toward some goal. There’s nothing in the definition of either word suggesting anything about the normal use of things. If the Internet indeed invented this distinction, then I say good for the Internet, though I suspect that whatever you saw from 2006 was not the first time the words were used in these differing ways, but (at most) merely the first time anyone formally articulated the difference. People say “the Internet invented it” as though that somehow invalidates whatever “it” may be, but it is common usage that creates semantic distinctions, and the Internet is where a lot of common usage actually happens these days. It is just as valid, in that regard, as what happens in a rustic tavern or an urbane soirée. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/137 "2014-05-30T21:16:52Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > **nauseous** : Causing nausea; sickening > > **nauseated** : To be feeling, or having been caused to feel nausea. Can’t remember the last time I’ve heard nauseous used in that way. Hasn’t “nauseating” pretty much replaced that sense of the word? Here’s the relevant “Usage Note” from American Heritage Dictionary: > **[The American Heritage Dictionary entry: nauseous](https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=nauseous&submit.x=0&submit.y=0)** > > The American Heritage Dictionary entry: nauseous ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/138 "2014-05-30T22:10:55Z")
**Venomous** : If it bites or stings you, it will inject venom into you and that will make you unwell **Poisonous** : If you eat it, you will ingest poison and will be unwell ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/139 "2014-05-30T22:11:42Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > **nauseous** : Causing nausea; sickening > > **nauseated** : To be feeling, or having been caused to feel nausea. > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Good one. Of course, people I know who flout this rule come up with a third word, pronounced **nawshuss** , which seems to mean nauseated. 😛 Ooh, and there’s another good one, incidentally: **flaunt** - to show off in an ostentatious manner **flout** - to flagrantly disobey a rule or law ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367/140 "2014-05-30T22:37:18Z")
Totally petty one: **Canada** Geese are large birds with tan bodies and black necks, like these:[HONK!](http://backyardbirdshop.com/images/uploads/canadagoose.jpg) **Canadian** geese are birds of the Branta species that reside in Canada. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-your-fellow-dopers-explain-words-that-are-easily-confused/689367.md?page=8)