# Words one can get confused **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 18, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772 "2022-09-18T20:10:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/1 "2022-09-18T20:10:31Z")
**Approbation** : approval or praise. **Opprobrium** : harsh criticism or censure. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/2 "2022-09-18T20:16:59Z")
their, there, and they’re. Their is the possessive pronoun, as in “their car is red”; there is used as an adjective, “he is always there for me,” a noun, “get away from there,” and, chiefly, an adverb, “stop right there”; they’re is a contraction of “they are,” as in “they’re getting married.” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/3 "2022-09-18T20:22:57Z")
flammable and inflammable. Flammable: capable of burning Inflammable: capable of bursting into flame spontaneously ---
**Author:** ![Tarataratara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Tarataratara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarataratara)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/4 "2022-09-18T20:27:09Z")
Affect and effect ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/5 "2022-09-18T20:32:57Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Flammable: capable of burning > Inflammable: capable of bursting into flame spontaneously Is that an artificial distinction? Merriam thinks they mean the same thing. > **[Flammable vs. Inflammable](https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/flammable-or-inflammable)** > > Both words mean the same thing, but one of them is bound to confuse most people. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/6 "2022-09-18T20:33:18Z")
**Disheveled** : (of a person’s hair, clothes, or appearance) untidy; disordered. **Dishabille** : the state of being only partly or scantily clothed. ---
**Author:** ![SharltoCopley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sharltocopley/32/12309_2.png) [@SharltoCopley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SharltoCopley)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/7 "2022-09-18T20:36:38Z")
I see ‘per se’ misused on a daily basis. Everyone uses it like ‘so to speak’ whereas it means ‘by itself’. Example of misuse: - I am not speaking about the idea per se Example of proper use: - The idea did not cover all the requirements per se People hear this latter use and think we’re saying ‘the idea does not cover all the requirements or whatchamacallits’ where the real meaning - which is consequential - is ‘the idea is insufficient as far as the requirements are concerned’. While I’m at it, there is also ‘myriad’ and ‘myriad of’. The correct use is: - As a noun: there is a myriad of problems - As an adjective: there are myriad problems Last thing: eve though most style guides require it, I will not put the period inside the quotation marks. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/8 "2022-09-18T21:16:51Z")
Poisonous: You bite it and you die. Venomous: It bites you and you die. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/9 "2022-09-18T22:20:40Z")
Daaaamnnnnn youuuuuu! Shakes fist. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/10 "2022-09-18T22:57:02Z")
> [@SharltoCopley](#): > > I see ‘per se’ misused on a daily basis. Everyone uses it like ‘so to speak’ whereas it means ‘by itself’. > > Example of misuse: > > - I am not speaking about the idea per se I think that your example is lacking context, and may be incorrect. What if somebody is criticizing not the idea itself, but the proposed means of implementing it? ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/11 "2022-09-18T23:04:34Z")
Flaunt and flout. Confuses me that so many people confuse them that it is accepted to do so. > **['Flaunt' vs. 'Flout'](https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/is-it-wrong-to-confuse-flaunt-and-flout)** > > Is it wrong to confuse these words? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/12 "2022-09-18T23:08:51Z")
I agree. I found one site that says “Per se’ is synonymous with words and phrases such as: ‘intrinsically’, ‘as such’, ‘in essence’, ‘by its very nature’, or ‘essentially’.” Per se in “I am not speaking about the idea per se” is used exactly in that way. Besides, “misused” is not the same thing as “confused.” Fortunately and fortuitously are confused. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/13 "2022-09-18T23:09:08Z")
Oh! And right vs. wrong, of course. A tricky one. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/14 "2022-09-18T23:31:14Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Poisonous: You bite it and you die. > Venomous: It bites you and you die. > > mmm Uh oh! I guess you found it tasty, at least 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/15 "2022-09-18T23:46:17Z")
> [@SharltoCopley](#): > > I see ‘per se’ misused on a daily basis. Everyone uses it like ‘so to speak’ whereas it means ‘by itself’. > > Example of misuse: > > - I am not speaking about the idea per se > > Example of proper use: > > - The idea did not cover all the requirements per se You may be shocked to discover that it’s you who doesn’t know what it means. It means “in itself” or “as such” or “intrinsically” or sometimes “in its entirety”. It does not mean (as you suggest) “by itself” in the context of sufficiency or adequacy. So as to your examples: > I am not speaking about the idea _per se_ This is perfectly cromulent - it means that I am not speaking about idea in itself, but perhaps about some consequence or corollary of the idea. > [@SharltoCopley](#): > > - The idea did not cover all the requirements per se Whereas I find this example difficult to understand without context, because I’m not sure what it means for an idea to cover a requirement. It implies that the idea covered something significant, but what it covered was not the requirements _as such_, perhaps some unanticipated necessity that derived from the requirements. Cite, look at every example here: [PER SE | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/per-se) > Some argue that inequality _per_ _se_ is not inherently problematic. > > From [The Atlantic](http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/02/millions-of-people-reading-alone-together-the-rise-of-goodreads/283662/) > > Atheism _per_ _se_ certainly doesn’t mean that people are antisocial. > > From [The Atlantic](http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/08/where-does-religion-come-from/243723/) > > But maybe it’s not her literariness, _per_ _se_, but her theatricality. > > From [NPR](http://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2011/08/16/139579900/another-american-looks-at-why-americans-dont-care-for-kate-bush) > > Her comedy is difficult to label; it isn’t observational _per_ _se_ or philosophical or surrealist. > > From [Los Angeles Times](http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-ca-st-tig-notaro-outfest-20150705-column.html) > > And suddenly, the two old friends are no longer old friends _per_ _se_, they’re employer employee. > > From [NPR](http://www.npr.org/2015/05/30/410752402/bringing-tales-of-wwii-to-american-radios-and-bookshelves) > > This isn’t a dialect quiz _per_ _se_, but it will estimate how many words you know. > > From [Slate Magazine](http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2014/07/07/_7_best_dialect_quizzes_is_your_accent_american_british_canadian_australian.html) > > It was good to see him let his hair down, _per_ _se_, and let his emotions flow. > > From [USA TODAY](http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2016/07/24/ken-griffey-jr-mike-piazza-deliver-emotional-hall-fame-speeches/87512004/) > > In this sense, we’re not looking at the end of ownership _per_ _se_ so much as the end of individual ownership. > > From [Slate Magazine](http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2016/10/are_we_facing_the_end_of_ownership.html) > > However, the print revolution did not bring equality _per_ _se_. > > From [Slate Magazine](http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2015/11/libraries_need_to_protect_patron_data_as_they_turn_high_tech.html) > > The new race in social media is not for audience _per_ _se_, but for multi-device engagement. > > From [Business Insider](http://www.businessinsider.com/social-media-engagement-statistics-2013-12) > > I don’t think it’s the words _per_ _se_, it’s the sentences. > > From [The Atlantic](http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/09/how-stephen-king-teaches-writing/379870/) > > I do like them, but no more than other kinds of movies _per_ _se_. > > From [The New Yorker](http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/best-movies-2015) > > I don’t think she _per_ _se_ believes she has magical powers. > > From [Hollywood Reporter](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/week-game-thrones-jon-snow-891431) > > You might discover, for instance, that you don’t want to follow your passion _per_ _se_; you really just want to compete with your peers. > > From [Fast Company](http://www.fastcompany.com/3050942/5-career-questions-to-ask-yourself-instead-of-whats-my-passion) > > I don’t know that the name _per_ _se_ says it all, but the reputation that you build with that name is all imtpaornt. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/16 "2022-09-18T23:53:12Z")
> [@Tarataratara](#): > > Affect and effect Especially as both can be used as noun or verb, and have related but distinct meanings. You can effect an effect, or affect an affect, or effect an affect, or affect an effect. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/17 "2022-09-19T00:07:47Z")
Less and fewer. Back when I was in school, the English teachers said that one of them is used for amounts and the other for quantities. They may have explained briefly what their imagined distinction between amount and quantity was, but it sure didn’t stick, and dictionaries use the word quantity to define amount and the word amount to define quantity. That makes them synonyms! Nowadays most English teachers say fewer is used for things counted and less is used for things otherwise measured. This makes much more sense, but it seems to be too late for most checkout lane signs. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/18 "2022-09-19T00:12:23Z")
This was one of the shibboleths of the prescriptivist crowd. It has mostly gone the way of whom. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/19 "2022-09-19T00:22:43Z")
> [@SharltoCopley](#): > > Example of proper use: > > - The idea did not cover all the requirements per se > > People hear this latter use and think we’re saying ‘the idea does not cover all the requirements or whatchamacallits’ where the real meaning - which is consequential - is ‘the idea is insufficient as far as the requirements are concerned’. I think what you’re doing wrong here is mitakenly thinking that a different sense of “by itself” applies to the idea, when in that construction _per se_ applies to the requirements. It does not mean that the idea _by itself_ is insufficient to meet the requirements. It means that the idea is insufficient to meet the requirements _as such_. There’s a subtle but significant difference. Similarly from the examples I cited: > the print revolution did not bring equality _per_ _se_ The per se applies to the equality, not the print revolution. The print revolution did not bring [equality _per se_]. So this does not mean that the print revolution _by itself_ was insufficient to bring equality. It means the print revolution was insufficient to bring equality _in itself_ or equality _as such_ - but with the implication that it did bring _something_ good, which will follow in the next sentence. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/20 "2022-09-19T00:24:41Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Poisonous: You bite it and you die. > Venomous: It bites you and you die. I am constantly correcting people who say rattlesnakes are poisonous. The other trigger is Devastate: severe and widespread destruction or damage. Decimate: kill or destroy one in ten. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=2)