# 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:** 5
**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 19, 2022, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/81 "2022-09-19T16:01:13Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Two words I get confused in reading: uniformed and uninformed. When I was in the military, I used to tell my teen son “Stay uninformed and end up uniformed.” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/82 "2022-09-19T16:32:22Z")
Ok, so like the second definition for “whoops” I gave. Here in the US, at least, “whoops” is said for accidents and such small mishaps, as well as “oops.” I, myself, probably say “whoops” and “whoopsie” most often. > **[Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/whoops)** > > The world's leading online dictionary: English definitions, synonyms, word origins, example sentences, word games, and more. A trusted authority for 25+ years! With an “s” used as an interjection, that’s the only definition given. “Whoop” as a verb or noun is different. “Whoops” as an interjection also seems to precede “oops.” > [whoops](https://www.etymonline.com/word/whoops#etymonline_v_25614) > exclamation of dismay, 1925; see [oops](https://www.etymonline.com/word/oops?ref=etymonline_crossreference). > [oops (interj.)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/oops#etymonline_v_7052) > “a natural exclamation” [OED] of surprise at doing something awkward, attested from 1933 (compare [whoops](https://www.etymonline.com/word/whoops?ref=etymonline_crossreference)). From [etymonline.com](http://etymonline.com) ---
**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 19, 2022, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/83 "2022-09-19T16:38:35Z")
**Endogenous** : having an internal cause or origin. **Indigenous** : originating or occurring naturally in a particular place; native. which also leads to- **Indigent** : a needy person. **Indignant** : feeling or showing anger or annoyance at what is perceived as unfair treatment. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/84 "2022-09-19T16:39:33Z")
Not sure if this counts, but _dampen_ is often used incorrectly by engineers, e.g. “Adding some mass will help dampen the response.” Dampen means to make something wet. They should be using _damp_, not dampen, e.g. “Adding some mass will help damp the response.” ---
**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 19, 2022, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/85 "2022-09-19T16:52:30Z")
The definition that you say is incorrect is literally the first one in Merriam Webster. It’s also the term I learned in differential equations a million years ago. > **[Definition of DAMPEN](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dampen)** > > to check or diminish the activity or vigor of : deaden; to make damp; damp… See the full definition ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/86 "2022-09-19T17:06:15Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Poisonous: You bite it and you die. > Venomous: It bites you and you die. > > mmm I already knew the difference between those two words but this is the most compact and elegant definition that I’ve seen. Congratulations ! ---
**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, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/87 "2022-09-19T17:10:39Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > _dampen_ is often used incorrectly by engineers When _dampen_ is used a technical term, if this the way the technical experts use it… I think you’re on dubious ground claiming that this is incorrect. I think technical terminology is an area where strict prescriptivism does hold up, in the sense that when it’s critically important in technical writing to use precise language, the technical community does tend to converge on a strict consensus for appropriate terminology, and it’s objectively a problem if you deviate from that. Unless there is a school of thought _among engineers_ that this is incorrect usage, I would tend to defer to the technical experts here. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/88 "2022-09-19T17:13:14Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Not sure if this counts, but _dampen_ is often used incorrectly by engineers, e.g. “Adding some mass will help dampen the response.” I really hate that usage, but as @Maserschmidt points out, the dictionary says it’s correct, and that particular usage goes back hundreds of years. ---
**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 19, 2022, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/89 "2022-09-19T17:13:18Z")
**Picaresque** : relating to an episodic style of fiction dealing with the adventures of a rough and dishonest but appealing hero. **Picturesque** : visually attractive, especially in a quaint or pretty style. ---
**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 19, 2022, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/90 "2022-09-19T17:14:17Z")
I have seen this misused in published book reviews, where you’d think someone would know better. ---
**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, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/91 "2022-09-19T17:20:10Z")
For me, “picaresque” is one of those words that I think I have looked up half a dozen times and then immediately forgotten the exact meaning of. Orally, I might risk pretentiously throwing it in to sound sophisticated in the hope that everyone else is in the same boat. But _in writing_ you’re just asking for trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/92 "2022-09-19T17:21:28Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > I really hate that usage, but as @Maserschmidt points out, the dictionary says it’s correct, and that particular usage goes back hundreds of years. I stand corrected, then. 🙂 But I agree with you; I still don’t like “dampen.” ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/93 "2022-09-19T18:27:22Z")
Enervate and energize. _Poisonous_ means it contains poison. All venomous things contain poison, so it is not actually wrong to call them poisonous. Less specific, certainly, but not wrong per se. ---
**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, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/94 "2022-09-19T18:32:31Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Less specific, certainly It’s beyond nonspecific - if you do choose to respect the strict poisonous/venomous distinction, for a snake “poisonous” is irrelevant and therefore misleading. Even if you were discussing eat snake meat, the meat is _not_ poisonous. I suppose in the narrow circumstance of advising someone not to boil the head of a venomous snake in a broth… although I suspect that most venoms are probably rendered non-poisonous by cooking. There is, however, a reasonable case for arguing that colloquial usage is not as strict as the pedant wants it to be. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/95 "2022-09-19T18:42:44Z")
Well, if we’re going to mention “brake” and “break,” we need to talk about “ **rein** ” and “ **reign**.” It seems like I can’t go a day without seeing something like, “He’s out of control and needs to reign himself in.” ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/96 "2022-09-19T18:42:49Z")
Meretricious and meritorious. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/97 "2022-09-19T18:50:30Z")
Well, I think that most would agree that @Colibri was the board’s expert on such matters. I defer to his opinion which he expressed in several threads. > [@Animals recently found to be venomous](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-recently-found-to-be-venomous/780600/10): > > To forestall a pedantic nitpick, there are some that claim that “poisonous” applies only to plants or animals that have toxic compounds in their tissues, while “venomous” should be restricted to animals that inject toxic compounds. I’ve never found a basis for the former technical distinction. “Poisonous” can be applied to both organisms that are themselves toxic, and those that inject venom. “Poisonous snake” is a perfectly valid description. > [@Chinese Whiskey and SNAKES!?!?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-whiskey-and-snakes/117465/25): > > We’ve been through this before. This is a bit of incorrect pedantry. Venomous is a subset of poisonous. It’s perfectly correct to refer to snakes as being poisonous; they are also venomous. ---
**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, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/98 "2022-09-19T18:55:10Z")
**Malfeasance** in office is the doing of an act for which there is no authority or warrant of law. **Misfeasance** is the wrongful and injurious exercise of lawful authority — that is, the doing of an act which might lawfully be done, but is done in an improper manner. Don’t you dare bring up nonfeasance. **Bemused** means confused. But **bemused** now also means amused. It’s often surprisingly hard to figure out which one people mean even from context. ---
**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 19, 2022, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/99 "2022-09-19T19:58:47Z")
**Spelled** : write or name the letters that form (a word) in correct sequence. **Spelt** : an old kind of wheat with bearded ears and spikelets that each contain two narrow grains, not widely grown but favored as a health food. **Smelled** : perceive or detect the odor or scent of (something). **Smelt** : a small silvery fish which lives in both marine and fresh water and is sometimes fished commercially. Although online sources say that -elt is often used in British English as synonymous with the past tense of -elled; e.g. dwelled, dwelt. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/100 "2022-09-19T20:04:53Z")
I read a lot of restaurant reviews when clicking around on Google Maps and two words come up misspelled time & time again: Costumer instead of customer and desert instead of dessert. I sometimes get a giggle from the first one. “Serving cheap, offbrand ketchup is no way to treat a costumer.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=6)