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.”
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)
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.
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 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.
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.
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).
Here’s one I always have to look up…
i.e. means “in other words”
e.g. means “for example”
From here:
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.
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.
nauseous: Causing nausea; sickening
nauseated: To be feeling, or having been caused to feel nausea.
Good one.
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
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.
Well, since we are being pedantic here
!!! :eek:
Darned things spellcheck can’t catch. Darned tiny keys on my tablet/laptop hybrid.
That may be the historical origin, but it hasn’t been used like that in everyday conversation for ages
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 “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).
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.)
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.
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:
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
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
Totally petty one:
Canada Geese are large birds with tan bodies and black necks, like these:HONK!
Canadian geese are birds of the Branta species that reside in Canada.