Hello all!

I’m back with another tricky word pair. This week’s pair is accept and except, which are often confused because they sound the same, even though they have very different spellings and meanings. In fact, they almost have opposing meanings: Accept is a verb that means to receive, while except is a preposition that means not including or other than (per Merriam-Webster). So, She accepted the flowers he gave her and He remembered everything except his wallet.

So how can you remember which is which when they sound the same? The answer lies in the spelling. Except has an X in it, which we tend to use to indicate that something is not or should not be included. So, the word with the X in it is the one that indicates that something is not included.

I hope this was another helpful hint you can use to improve your writing! Until next time!

Hello all!

I’m back with another tricky word pair. Today’s culprits are disinterested and uninterested. These words can get confusing not because they look or sound the same but because they appear to mean the same thing. We’re used to interpreting the prefixes dis- and un- to both indicate the opposite of the word to which they’re attached. For example, the dis- in disappear causes that word to mean the opposite of appear, and the un- in undo causes that word to mean the opposite of do. So, we would tend to think that both disinterested and uninterested mean “not interested.”

In this case, however, only the un- functions in its usual capacity. Uninterested is the word that actually means “not interested”; disinterested, by contrast, means “impartial” or “objective.” Rather than a complete removal of interest, the dis- in this case indicates simply a removal of preference. Someone can be interested in a sporting event while still being disinterested in its outcome, but that person cannot be both interested and uninterested in that event.

It’s a subtle distinction, but an important one for your writing. You can entirely change the meaning of a sentence by using one word instead of the other. I hope this explanation has helped clarify this word pair for you!

Until next time!

Hello everyone, and Happy New Year!

Earlier this week, I ran across a fascinating article on mental_floss that lists 25 words that are their own opposites. If you’re anything like me, you tend to just use words in the context you need them without thinking much about their other meanings. But one of the best ways to make sure that you clearly convey your meaning to your reader is to use unambiguous words in your writing. So, today, I want to suggest that you check out this article, and use it as a springboard to keep alternate meanings of words in mind as you write this year: http://mentalfloss.com/article/57032/25-words-are-their-own-opposites.

Until next time!