It’s essential for journalists to maintain precision in their use of language, especially when dealing with words that sound or look similar but which carry different meanings.

Journalists not only have to be accurate with their facts, they also need to be clear in their writing. Using the wrong words can confuse the audience and lead to the spread of misinformation.

In his article, The Power of Words, John Allen listed 26 combinations of words that sound or look the similar but have a different meaning, spelling, or both. These words are called ‘homophones’. We have taken John’s list and expanded it to 110 words by referencing several sources which we have included below.

We then fed the list into Google Gemini AI with the prompt to order the words alphabetically as well as adding a sentence to each grouping explaining the meaning of the words. The team at MHM then went through the list, checked the text and revised where necessary.

We hope you find the list helpful. It’s likely we will add to it as new combinations come to light.

• Abuse/Misuse: Abuse is to treat badly; misuse is to use incorrectly.
• Affect/Effect: Affect is to influence; effect is a result.
• Aggravate/Annoy: Aggravate is to worsen; annoy is to irritate.
• Amend/Emend: Amend is to modify; emend is to correct text.
• Amiable/Amicable: Amiable is friendly; amicable is characterised by friendliness.
• Anticipate/Expect: Anticipate is to foresee and act; expect is to believe something will happen.
• Appraise/Apprise: Appraise is to assess value; apprise is to inform.
• Assent/Agree: Assent is to concur formally; agree is to have the same opinion.
• Assumption/Presumption: Assumption is something taken for granted; presumption is an arrogant supposition.
• Assure/Ensure/Insure: Assure is to remove doubt; ensure is to make certain; insure is to protect against risk.
• Aural/Oral: Aural relates to hearing; oral relates to speaking.
• Beside/Besides: Beside means next to; besides means in addition to.
• Biannual/Biennial: Biannual occurs twice a year; biennial occurs every two years.
• Born/Borne: Born is brought into life; borne is carried.
• Breach/Breech: Breach is a violation; breech is the rear part of a firearm or lower rear part of the body.
• Broach/Brooch: Broach is to introduce a topic; brooch is an ornamental pin.
• Can/May: Can indicates ability; may indicates permission.
• Captivate/Capture: Captivate is to attract and hold attention; capture is to seize.
• Censor/Sensor: Censor is to suppress content; sensor is a device that detects.
• Childish/Childlike: Childish is immature; childlike is innocent.
• Chord/Cord: Chord is a musical combination; cord is a thin rope.
• Cite/Sight/Site: Cite is to quote; sight is the ability to see; site is a location.
• Collude/Conspire: Collude is to cooperate secretly; conspire is to plan secretly.
• Common/Mutual: Common is shared; mutual is reciprocal.
• Complement/Compliment: Complement completes or enhances; compliment expresses praise.
• Compose/Comprise: Compose is to create; comprise is to consist of.
• Compulsive/Compulsory: Compulsive is driven by an irresistible urge; compulsory is required by law.
• Comprise/Consist: Comprise is to include or contain; consist is to be made up of.
• Continual/Continuous: Continual occurs repeatedly; continuous occurs without interruption.
• Credible/Credulous: Credible is believable; credulous is gullible.
• Defective/Deficient: Defective has a flaw; deficient lacks something.
• Definite/Definitive: Definite is certain; definitive is conclusive.
• Dependent/Dependant: Dependent is an adjective meaning relying on; dependant is a noun meaning a person who relies on another.
• Desert/Dessert: Desert is a dry area; dessert is a sweet course.
• Diagnosis/Prognosis: Diagnosis is identification of an illness; prognosis is a prediction of its course.
• Discreet/Discrete: Discreet means tactful; discrete means separate.
• Disinterested/Uninterested: Disinterested means impartial; uninterested means not interested.
• Distinctive/Distinguished: Distinctive is characteristic; distinguished is renowned.
• Draft/Draught: Draft is a preliminary version; draught is a current of air or a drink.
• Dual/Duel: Dual means having two parts; duel is a contest between two people.
• Economic/Economical: Economic relates to the economy; economical is thrifty.
• Emotional/Emotive: Emotional relates to emotions; emotive arouses emotions.
• Emigrate/Immigrate: Emigrate is to leave a country; immigrate is to enter a country.
• Empathy/Sympathy: Empathy is understanding feelings; sympathy is feeling pity.
• Emulate/Imitate: Emulate is to strive to equal; imitate is to copy.
• Epidemic/Pandemic: Epidemic is a widespread disease; pandemic is a global epidemic.
• Equable/Equitable: Equable is steady or even; equitable is fair.
• Exhausted/Exhaustive: Exhausted is tired; exhaustive is thorough.
• Fair/Fare: Fair means just or light-coloured; fare is a cost or food.
• Farther/Further: Farther refers to physical distance; further refers to metaphorical distance.
• Fewer/Less: Fewer refers to countable items; less refers to uncountable items.
• Flounder/Founder: Flounder is to struggle; founder is to fail or sink.
• Flout/Flaunt: Flout is to disregard; flaunt is to show off.
• Forbear/Forebear: Forbear is to refrain; forebear is an ancestor.
• Forego/Forgo: Forego is to precede; forgo is to abstain from.
• Fortuitous/Fortunate: Fortuitous is accidental; fortunate is lucky.
• Grand/Grandiose: Grand is impressive; grandiose is exaggeratedly impressive.
• Hang/Hung: Hang is to suspend; hung is the past participle of hang.
• Heroin/Heroine: Heroin is an opiate; heroine is a female hero.
• Hoard/Horde: Hoard is to accumulate; horde is a large group.
• Imaginary/Imaginative: Imaginary is unreal; imaginative is creative.
• Imply/Infer: Imply is to suggest; infer is to deduce.
• Innovation/Invention: Innovation is a new method; invention is a new device.
• Innuendo/Insinuation: Innuendo is an indirect suggestion; insinuation is a subtle hint.
• Inflammable/Inflammatory: Inflammable is capable of catching fire; inflammatory causes inflammation or arouses anger.
• Its/It’s: Its is a possessive pronoun; it’s is a contraction of “it is.”
• Junction/Juncture: Junction is a point of intersection; juncture is a point in time.
• Knell/Knoll: Knell is a sound of a bell; knoll is a small hill.
• Lama/Llama: Lama is a Buddhist teacher; llama is a South American animal.
• Latitude/Longitude: Latitude is distance north or south; longitude is distance east or west.
• Lay/Lie: Lay is to place something; lie is to recline.
• Livid/Lurid: Livid is furiously angry; lurid is shockingly vivid.
• Loose/Lose: Loose is not tight; lose is to misplace.
• Loathe/Loath/Loth: Loathe means to hate; loath/loth means unwilling.
• Luxuriant/Luxurious: Luxuriant means abundant; luxurious means opulent.
• Macho/Manly: Macho is aggressively masculine; manly is having traditionally masculine qualities.
• Majority/Most of: Majority is more than half; most of is the greater part.
• Masterful/Masterly: Masterful is domineering; masterly is very skilled.
• May/Might: May indicates possibility or permission; might indicates possibility or past possibility.
• Medical/Medicinal: Medical relates to medicine; medicinal has healing properties.
• Metal/Mettle: Metal is a substance; mettle is courage.
• Meter/Metre: Meter is a measuring device; metre is a unit of length.
• More Than/Over: More than is for quantities; over is for spatial relationships.
• Naked/Nude: Naked is without clothes; nude is unclothed for artistic purposes.
• Negligent/Negligible: Negligent is careless; negligible is insignificant.
• Niceness/Nicety: Niceness is pleasantness; nicety is a fine detail.
• Objective/Subjective: Objective is unbiased; subjective is based on personal feelings.
• Official/Officious: Official is authorised; officious is overly assertive.
• Ordinance/Ordnance: Ordinance is a law; ordnance is military weapons.
• Peddle/Pedal: Peddle is to sell; pedal is to operate a lever with the foot.
• Perpetrate/Perpetuate: Perpetrate is to commit a crime; perpetuate is to cause to continue.
• Phenomenon/Phenomenal: Phenomenon is an observable fact; phenomenal is extraordinary.
• Pitiful/Pathetic: Pitiful evokes pity; pathetic evokes contempt or pity.
• Populous/Populist: Populous is densely populated; populist appeals to ordinary people.
• Precipitate/Precipitous: Precipitate is to cause to happen suddenly; precipitous is steep or sudden.
• Prevaricate/Procrastinate: Prevaricate is to avoid telling the truth; procrastinate is to delay.
• Quash/Squash: Quash is to suppress; squash is to crush.
• Respective/Irrespective: Respective relates to each individually; irrespective means regardless.
• Restive/Restless: Restive is uneasy or impatient; restless is unable to relax.
• Shall/Will: Shall is used for future with “I” and “we” or to express obligation; will is used for future with other subjects or to express intention.
• Should/Would: Should indicates obligation or expectation; would indicates a conditional or habitual action.
• Simple/Simplistic: Simple is easy or basic; simplistic is overly simplified.
• Stationary/Stationery: Stationary means not moving; stationery is writing materials.
• Suggestible/Suggestive: Suggestible is easily influenced; suggestive implies something indirectly.
• Temerity/Timidity: Temerity is excessive boldness; timidity is lack of courage.
• That/Which: That is used for restrictive clauses; which is used for non-restrictive clauses.
• Tortuous/Torturous: Tortuous is winding or complex; torturous involves severe pain.
• Underlie/Underlay: Underlie is to be the basis of; underlay is to place something under.
• Valuable/Invaluable: Valuable has great worth; invaluable is priceless.
• Who/Whom: Who is a subject pronoun; whom is an object pronoun.
• Who’s/Whose: Who’s is a contraction of “who is”; whose is a possessive pronoun.

Our list is by no means a complete list of homophones but it includes many words commonly misused in journalism. If you want to browse through almost 450 examples you might want to visit Singularis.

Sources used

• Collins English Dictionary and Thesaurus
• The Guide To Better English – Gooden
• The Longman Guide To English Usage – Greenbaum/Whitcut
• The New Fowler’s Modern English Usage – Burchfield
• The Simple Subs Book – Sellers
• A Journalist’s Guide To The Use of English – Bottomley/Loftus

The post Frequently confused words first appeared on Media Helping Media.

It’s based on the article ‘Using the right words‘ which we recommend trainers read before adapting the outline below for your own purposes.

Learning objective

Students will analyse and apply the correct use of words in journalism by identifying and correcting common word usage errors. They will evaluate the impact of word choice on clarity and accuracy in journalistic writing.

• Student-facing objective: By the end of this lesson the student will be able to spot and fix common word mistakes in journalism and understand how word choice affects the clarity and truthfulness of news stories.
• Standards: Students will understand the power of words and what to use and what not to use.

Learning activities

Warm-up

Begin with a brief discussion about the importance of word choice in journalism. Ask students to think of a recent news story they read or heard. Prompt them to consider how the choice of words might have influenced their understanding or perception of the story.

Next, present a short sentence with a deliberately incorrect word choice, such as “The politician was assassinated in a car accident.” Ask students to identify the error and suggest a correction. Discuss how the incorrect word changes the meaning and impact of the sentence.

Conclude by emphasising the role of precise language in conveying accurate information. This activity primes students for the lesson’s focus on identifying and correcting word usage errors.

Direct instruction

Conceptual understanding: Introduce key word classifications in journalism. Explain the roles of nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, and prepositions in sentence construction. Use real examples from recent news articles to illustrate how each word type contributes to clarity and meaning. Discuss the impact of incorrect word choice on the reader’s understanding.

Procedural skills and fluency: Present common word usage errors in journalism, such as “affect/effect” and “fewer/less“. Provide sentences with these errors then ask students to identify and correct them. Use examples such as: “The new policy will effect many changes” and “There are less people attending the event”. Guide students through the correction process, emphasising the importance of precision in word choice.

Application: Assign a brief writing task where students draft a short news report on a given topic. Instruct them to focus on using precise language and avoiding common word usage errors. After writing, have students exchange reports with a partner to peer-review for word choice accuracy. Encourage them to provide constructive feedback and suggest improvements.

Guided practice

Think, Pair, Share: Begin by presenting a sentence with a word usage error, such as “The team was decimated by injuries”. Ask students to individually identify the error and think of a correction.

• Pair: Pair students to discuss their thoughts and agree on a corrected version of the sentence. Encourage them to explain their reasoning to each other.
• Share: Invite pairs to share their corrections with the class. Discuss the impact of the incorrect word on the sentence’s meaning and clarity.
• Collect and display: As students share, write their corrections and explanations on the board. Organise these into categories of common errors and correct usage.

Conclude with a class discussion on the importance of precise word choice in journalism, reinforcing the lesson’s learning objective.

Independent practice

• Assign students a set of sentences containing common word usage errors. Direct them to identify and correct each error, focusing on clarity and accuracy.
• Provide a list of frequently confused words and ask students to create sentences using each word correctly.
• Encourage students to rewrite a short news article, replacing vague or incorrect words with precise alternatives.
• Circulate to observe and support students as they work.

Assignment

Ask students:

1. What is one example of a word usage error you corrected today?
2. How does precise word choice affect the clarity of a news story?
3. What’s one question you still have from today’s lesson?

Some suggested answers:

• Suggested answer to Question 1: “I corrected ‘effect’ to ‘affect’ in a sentence about policy changes.”
• Suggested answer to Question 2: “Precise word choice ensures the reader understands the intended message without confusion.”

Teacher resources

Differentiation guide

Advanced learners: Encourage deeper analysis by having students explore the etymology of commonly confused words. Challenge them to create a mini-presentation on how word origins influence current usage. Offer opportunities to write more complex news articles, focusing on nuanced word choice and style.

Striving learners: Simplify tasks by providing sentence starters or word banks for writing exercises. Use visual aids, such as charts or diagrams, to illustrate word classifications and common errors. Pair them with peers for collaborative learning and provide additional examples for practice.

Recommended reading: Trainers using this lesson outline should consider reading the article ‘Using the right words‘ which we recommend you read before adapting the material for your own purposes.

Notable definitions

• Noun: A word that names a person, place, thing, or idea (e.g., journalist, city, article).
• Verb: A word that expresses an action or a state of being (e.g., write, report, is).
• Adjective: A word that describes or modifies a noun (e.g., accurate, detailed, recent).

Required materials

• Whiteboard and markers
• Printed handouts with sentences containing word usage errors
• List of frequently confused words
• Copies of a short news article for rewriting exercise
• Peer review checklist for word choice accuracy
• Access to computers for digital writing and editing
• Access to the article ‘Using the right words‘ on which this lesson plan is based.

Lesson summary

• Warm-up
• Direct instruction
• Guided practice
• Independent practice
• Assignment

The free teaching tools at the Khan Academy were used in the production of this lesson plan.

Related article

The power of words

The post Lesson: Word Power first appeared on Media Helping Media.

Basic literacy is a core element of the job of a journalist. Words are powerful and they need to be used properly.

Words are classified according to the job they do in a sentence.

Word classifications

The following are the most important word classifications that journalists will use in their work. It is important to understand their role in sentence construction:

• Noun
  • Common nouns are naming words (editor, television, albatross).They can be singular or plural.
• Proper noun
  • Proper nouns are names which usually start with a capital letter (Denmark, Mars, Angela). Nouns which refer to collections of people and things are called collective nouns (the team, the Cabinet).
• Verb
  • Verbs express action or a state of being (write, hit, be).
• Pronoun
  • Pronouns take the place of nouns (he, her, we, them).
• Adjective
  • An adjective is a describing word (Welsh, big, blue).
• Adverb
  • An adverb describes a verb or adjective (clearly, gracefully, finally, suddenly).
• Preposition
  • Prepositions are the little words which hold a sentence together, often by showing direction or location (in, to, from, by, with, beyond).

Word usage basics

The first rule of writing is to know what you want to say. This may seem a statement of the obvious, but items are often broadcast and published which are not exactly what the writer intended

“For the second time in six months, a prisoner at Durham jail has died in his cell.”

The ability of some people to die more than once is also illustrated in this headline:

“A suicide bomber has struck again in Jerusalem.”

The key to good writing is simple thoughts simply expressed. Use short sentences and short words. Anything which is confused, complicated, poorly written or capable of being misunderstood risks losing the listener, viewer, or reader, and once you have done that, you might just as well not have come to work.

In broadcasting, the basic sentence structure Subject-Verb-Object works every time. The
audience grasps what you are saying straight away. Anything more flamboyant, such as a subordinate clause, is a potential barrier to understanding.

• Do not describe news as good, bad, shocking or horrendous. Tell the story and let the listener/reader decide.
• Do try to get a strong active verb in the first sentence. You want to make an impact and keep people listening.
• Do not start a news report with a question. The audience wants to be informed, not take part in a quiz.
• Do not begin a story with “As expected…‘ If your item was predictable and you have nothing new to say, why should the listener or viewer pay attention?
• Be positive. Make assertions wherever possible, and try to avoid negatives. It is more direct to say “The plan failed” than “The plan was not successful“.

The most interesting writing often involves creating something unexpected, and rules tend to get in the way, but daily journalism has its discipline that should be observed.

Frequently confused words

English is full of traps for the unwary. Words which sound similar can mean very different things. The audience expect the right words to be used.

Consider these examples:

“A boy of twelve is in intensive care in hospital after a group of teenagers doused him in inflammatory liquid and then threw a lighted match at him.”

The writer did not mean this. She meant inflammable, capable of being set on fire, not inflammatory, tending to stir up trouble.

This writer of the sentence below also chose the wrong word.

“The union’s decision will mitigate against a settlement.“

The word required was militate, working against. Mitigate means to appease, to soften, as in mitigating circumstances, which means circumstances that reduce the seriousness of an offence.

Here is a list of frequently confused words. If you are not confident about their meanings, look them up. If you want a longer list, along with definitions, see our article ‘Frequently confused words‘.

• Affect/effect
• Alternate/alternative
• Appraise/apprise
• Biannual/biennial
• Continual/continuous
• Dependent/dependant
• Discreet/discrete
• Disinterested/uninterested
• Distinctive/distinguished
• Flounder/founder
• Flout/flaunt
• Fortuitous/fortunate
• Inflammable/inflammatory
• Loathe/loath/loth
• Luxuriant/luxurious
• Meter/metre
• Militate/mitigate
• Peddle/pedal
• Practical/practicable
• Principle/principal
• Refute/rebut
• Regretful/regrettable
• Repel/repulse
• Resistant/resilient
• Stationary/stationery
• Titivate/titillate

Confusing sentence structure

There are some topics which seem to have an inexhaustible ability to cause confusion and sow doubt in people’s minds.

Fewer and less

Fewer means not as many, less means not as much. A commonly quoted example used to highlight the distinction is “There are fewer cars on the road”, which means there is less traffic.

These two sentences offer another useful reminder of the difference:

“The fewer people know about this the better.”

“The less people know about this the better.”

The rule does not work if the number is counted as a quantity or as a unit.

“She paid less than ten pounds for it.”

“His last jump was less than fifteen feet.”

Over and more than

Over refers to height, more than refers to quantity.

Consider these sentences:

“Over 10,000 people attended the first day of the festival.”

“More than 10,000 people attended the first day of the festival.”

The second sentence is correct.

That and which

This is not something to get too concerned about. It is not right to suggest that which is somehow grander than that, and on many occasions you can miss out the pronoun altogether, as “The car she was driving”, or “This is the outfit I’ll be wearing tonight“.

When you do use it, a useful guide is that defines, which informs. This is not a cast iron rule but it can help:

“This is the house that Jack built, but I think the one next door, which Jack also built, is more attractive.”

This is another example which illustrates the point:

“The police stopped the second car that was driven by a woman.”

“The police stopped the second car, which was driven by a woman.”

Split infinitive

There is no grammatical rule which says you cannot split an infinitive, but there are people who get almost upset if they hear one.

Sometimes, it is definitely better to split:

“Can dot.com companies ever hope to fully recover their share values?”

This sounds much better than moving fully in front of to recover or behind it. The main consideration is not to write anything which is ambiguous or inelegant.

May or might

The difference between these two words is gradually being eroded and there are many occasions now when they are quite interchangeable.

They offer varying and subtle degrees of certainty.

“The governor might resign” – suggests a possibility.

“The governor may resign” – indicates a little more probability.

May have and might have cause even more difficulty.

“We may have beaten Australia” suggests a lack of knowledge; perhaps we did, perhaps we didn’t, I’m not sure.

“We might have beaten Australia” suggests that if things had been different (wetter, drier, breezier), if that disputed try had been given, or if our forwards had been a little more effective, there was a chance that victory could have been ours.

Superlatives

If you are ever tempted to use a superlative, think about it. Are you absolutely confident that you are right? The audience is an enormous reservoir of information, and it does your reputation no good if you write about things which are incorrect.

Do not try to add impact to your stories by using superlatives you cannot justify, so make sure of your facts before you use words such as:

• exceptional
• exclusive
• fastest
• first
• greatest
• heaviest
• inimitable
• irreplaceable
• largest
• last
• least
• longest
• matchless
• most
• only
• record
• slowest
• smallest
• sole
• tallest
• unique
• unmatched
• unprecedented

If possible, it is best to attribute claims: “A Bridlington man has made what he says is the world’s biggest model of the Empire State Building using only matchsticks”.

If he is challenged, he can slug it out with the competition.

Simple words

Simplicity is the central to understanding. Short words in short sentences present listeners, viewers, and readers with the fewest obstacles to comprehension.

In many cases there are longer, more decorative alternatives but think twice before you use them. They take up more time and they can give the audience more to think about.

Here are some examples:

• approximately = about
• apprehend = catch
• ameliorate = improve
• ascertain = learn
• assistance = help
• attempt = try
• commence = start
• exceedingly = very
• discontinue = stop
• magnitude = size
• manufacture = make
• numerous = many
• possesses = has
• purchase = buy
• remuneration = pay
• requested = asked
• residence = home
• subsequently = later
• terminate = end
• utilise = use

Troublesome words

Some words are often misused. Using the wrong word detracts from your journalism, and prevents you from saying what you really wanted to say. Here are some words to look
out for:

• Anticipate and expect are thought by some people to be interchangeable, but that takes away a useful distinction. If I am playing chess and I anticipate my opponent’s next move, I see it coming and act accordingly. There is action as well as expectation. So if you think Liverpool will beat Manchester United, say you expect a Liverpool victory rather than anticipate one. It is simpler and more direct.
• Assassination should be kept for the violent deaths of royalty and seriously prominent members of society, such as political or religious leaders. Everyone else is murdered or killed.
• Cohort originally meant the tenth part of a Roman legion, and when statisticians use it, they mean a group with a shared characteristic. Despite recent American usage, it does not mean a group of colleagues, cronies, friends, Romans or countrymen.
• Crescendo is a gradual increase culminating in a climax, so it is wrong to say that something rose to a crescendo.The word you want is climax.
• Decimate originally meant to kill every tenth person but is now often used to indicate the destruction of a large part of something. Devastate or destroy are just as good.
• Disinterested means impartial; uninterested means not interested in.
• Draconian is much overused, usually by people with no idea who Draco was. (If asked, say he was an Athenian judge who ruled that the penalty for almost everything should be death.) Try severe or harsh instead.
• Effectively is often confused with in effect. If something is effective, it produces a satisfactory result, so effectively means with a satisfactory outcome. “The outbreak of plague in Birmingham has been effectively contained” means the rest of us are safe. In effect means in practice, and often indicates an unplanned outcome, as in “The new tax has in effect made it more sensible for Jane to remain on benefits”.
• Electrocution means death by electric shock. As such, it is always fatal.
• Enormity does not mean large size. It means great wickedness or outrage, although the correct usage seems to be under attack from all sides.
• Evacuate The rule used to be that only places or buildings were evacuated, not people (unless they had been given an enema). This is at odds with common usage so let the people be evacuated.
• Execute means to put to death after a legal process. Terrorists or criminals do not execute people, they murder them.
• Fatwa is often misused. It is a formal legal opinion handed down by a Muslim religious leader or court. It may or may not be a death sentence.
• Forensic does not mean scientific. It means belonging to courts of law, so a forensic expert knows a lot about the legal process. Forensic scientists produce evidence that might be useful in court cases. Avoid forensic tests; you probably mean scientific tests.
• Fulsome is not a close relative of full, and does not mean generous. It means gushing, cloying, effusive or sickeningly fawning. If that’s how to want to describe a speech or tribute, then this is the word for you.
• Go missing is inelegant and unpopular with many people, but its use is widespread. There are no easy synonyms. Disappear and vanish do not convince and they suggest dematerialisation, which is rare.
• Historic is a popular word with journalists. It is nice to think that the events we are describing will resonate down the decades, but who are we to judge? Use with great care, and never confuse with historical, which means belonging to history.
• Hopefully generates much heat in some quarters. It certainly means in a hopeful manner, as in “It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive”, but it is now generally also used to mean it is to be hoped that, as in “Hopefully there will be an improved train service to London”. There is no confusion, so it can justifiably be used in both senses.
• Immolate is not another word for burn. It means to sacrifice or give up something in exchange for something else.
• Infer does not mean the same as imply. If I imply (suggest indirectly) that my programme has an interview with Elvis Presley, and you believe me, you infer (come to the conclusion) that we have the greatest showbiz scoop of all time. Put simply, the inference follows the implication.
• Innocent bystanders and their close friends perfect strangers should not be in your contacts book.
• Ironically does not mean by an odd coincidence. Irony is using words to say the opposite of what they literally mean, and something is ironic if it is the opposite of what might have been expected. It is a subtle concept and is probably best avoided.
• Major is so overused as to be almost meaningless. Think at least twice before you write major operation, major speech, major incident or major changes.
• Massive is regularly misused.As the word implies, it concerns mass, weight and bulk, not quantity.
• Momentarily properly means for a moment, not in a moment, but its misuse is common. If the aircraft pilot says he’ll be landing momentarily, does he mean the plane will touch the ground briefly and then take off again? Probably not.Try to be one of those who uses it correctly.
• Near miss is understood by everyone, even though some people argue that near collision is more accurate. Think of it as shorthand for a miss that came very near to being a collision.
• Refute has a particular meaning. To refute a statement means to prove it wrong. So do not write “The Chancellor refuted opposition claims that he had mishandled the economy”, because it is very unlikely that he did so. Refute is not a synonym for deny, disagree or contradict.
• Surrogate means substitute, so it is the mother who is a surrogate, not the baby.
• Transpire means to come to light or become known, as in “It transpired that the editor had been to school with his secretary’s brother”. It does not mean happen or occur.
• Unique has a unique meaning, and it is that there is only one of something (uni as in unicycle, unicorn or unisex). Nothing can be almost unique. You should be saying distinctive or unusual.
• Viable gets knocked around by many journalists and is often misused. It does not mean workable or feasible, but capable of living and surviving, capable of normal growth and development. If a foetus is not viable it means it cannot survive outside the womb.

Other words are a problem because they are tendentious. For example:

• Ethnic cleansing. This apparently inoffensive term covers a multitude of sins, including massacres, murders, concentration camps, and the forced removal of people from their homes. Not to be used lightly.
• Pro-life is used in the United States to denote the lobby which opposes abortion. In the UK, there is an implication that if you are not pro-life then you are anti-life or pro-death. Avoid this moral minefield by using anti-abortion.
• Reform can also cause problems because it carries a suggestion of improvement, of making things better. When politicians call for the reform of the health service, local government, or the police force, there is no guarantee that their proposals will be positively received by the people directly involved. One man’s reform is another man’s misguided, ill conceived, impractical, vindictive political interference.
• Modernisation is another word to be wary of. It can be used to mask a lot of unpleasant things like job losses, changes in working practices, and getting employees to do more for less. But there’s just a chance it can also mean improved working conditions, new equipment or premises, more flexible hours and a better life for everyone.

Vogue words

There is fashion in language as in most things, and some words are suddenly everywhere. Islamist is regularly used as a synonym for Muslim and seems set to have a long and happy life in stories about terrorism and the threat posed by terrorists.

A raft used to mean a flat structure made up of planks or logs tied together so they formed a floating platform, but journalists and politicians have seized on it as a synonym for a lot of, and they are doing it to death.

• “We are putting together a raft of measures to tackle homelessness.”
• “The bill has attracted a raft of amendments.”
• “The government has unveiled a sweeping raft of proposals.”

What is a sweeping raft? When was the last time you heard someone in the pub say I must get home. I’ve got a raft of ironing to do?

Another word much loved by politicians, diplomats and journalists is broker. Again, do you hear people saying We have brokered a good price for our house? They would be much more likely to say negotiated.

Some people use vogue words because they think it shows they are clever and up with the times. Others believe it demonstrates a lack of original thought and individuality.

Good writers will try to avoid vogue words because they know everyone else is using them.

Here is a brief list of words and phrases. None of them is banned, and nor should they be, but you should approach them with care.

• asymmetrical
• caring
• dichotomy
• ecosystem
• epicentre
• eponymous
• exponential
• fashionista
• infrastructure
• interface
• kickstart
• leading edge
• lifestyle
• meaningful
• overarching
• parameter
• pivotal
• quantum leap
• scenario
• step change
• surgical strike
• synergy
• take on board
• traumatic
• underpin
• warfare

Superfluous words and phrases

English is full of groups of words which go round together filling up sentences. We know them and we are comfortable with them.

But if you want to be concise and clear in your writing you might want to discard them. Here are some examples:

• At this moment in time = now
• By virtue of the fact that = because
• In the absence of = without
• Made good their escape = escaped
• Leaves much to be desired = poor
• Was of the opinion that = thought
• Put in an appearance = appeared
• On account of the fact that = because
• In conjunction with = and
• A large proportion of = many
• Placed under arrest = arrested
• In the event that = if
• With the exception of = except

There are lots more, and none of them should earn a place in your text.

Another way to save time is to be aware of words which go together but actually mean the same thing.

For example, an added bonus does not need the word added because by definition a bonus is something additional.

An aircraft need not plummet down to earth because plummet means falling down. Nothing plummets in any direction other than down.

Here are some more repeater phrases. You can add your own examples.

• New innovation = innovation
• Surrounded on all sides = surrounded
• Red in colour = red
• Razed to the ground = razed
• Exactly the same the = same
• Close proximity = close
• Free gift = gift
• In the field of biology = in biology
• Collaborate together = collaborate
• Temporary reprieve = reprieve
• Consensus of opinion = consensus
• Personal opinion = opinion
• Oblong in shape = oblong
• Future plans = plans
• Close scrutiny = scrutiny
• Minute detail = detail
• Shorter in length = shorter
• Prior experience = experience
• Combine together = combine
• Revert back = revert
• Patently obvious = obvious
• Exact replica = replica

By John Allen

The original text for this article first appeared in a BBC Style Guide. The BBC gave Media Helping Media permission to rework this material and publish it.

Questions

1. What is the primary role of a noun in a sentence?
2. How do proper nouns differ from common nouns?
3. Define the term “collective noun” and provide an example.
4. Explain the difference between “mitigate” and “militate“.
5. Why is it important for journalists to use short sentences and simple words?
6. Analyse the sentence structure of “The plan failed” and explain why it is preferred over “The plan was not successful.”
7. Discuss the significance of using active verbs in the first sentence of a news report.
8. Evaluate the use of the word “unique” in journalism and explain why it should be used cautiously.
9. Synthesise the guidelines provided in the text for avoiding confusing sentence structures.
10. How does the text suggest journalists handle the use of superlatives in their writing?

Answers

1. A noun primarily serves as a naming word in a sentence, identifying people, places, things, or ideas.
2. Proper nouns are specific names that usually start with a capital letter, while common nouns are general names for a class of objects or concepts.
3. A collective noun refers to a group of individuals or things considered as a single entity. An example from the text is “the team.”
4. “Mitigate” means to make less severe or to appease, while “militate” means to work against or hinder.
5. Short sentences and simple words help ensure clarity and prevent misunderstanding, keeping the audience engaged and informed.
6. “The plan failed” is direct and assertive, making it clearer and more impactful than the passive and less direct “The plan was not successful.”
7. Active verbs in the first sentence create impact and engage the audience immediately, encouraging them to continue reading or listening.
8. “Unique” should be used cautiously because it implies that something is one of a kind, and misuse can lead to inaccuracies or exaggerations.
9. The text suggests avoiding complex structures such as subordinate clauses and using clear, direct language to prevent confusion.
10. Journalists should ensure they can justify the use of superlatives with facts, as incorrect use can damage credibility and mislead the audience.

Lesson plan for trainers

If you are a trainer of journalists we have a free lesson plan: ‘Word power‘ which you are welcome to download and adapt for your own purposes.

Related article

We have another article covering this topic which you might want to read.

The post The power of words first appeared on Media Helping Media.