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Words don't always mean what you think they mean.

Do You Actually Know The Meaning Of These Commonly Misused Words?

'Bad’ and ‘confrontational’ are closer in meaning to adverse (as in ‘adverse conditions’) rather than _averse_, which describes things you have a strong dislike or opposition to.

If you picked ‘ban or prohibit’, you’re probably thinking of censor, as in ‘film censorship’. _Censure_ with a U means to express severe disapproval of something.

Things described as _venerable_ often happen to be incredibly old, but the word itself really only refers to things that are held in high regard.

Acting _disingenuously_ involves acting falsely or naively, in particular by withholding information or playing dumb. _Ingenuous_ itself means ‘innocent’, ‘inexperienced’, or ‘unsuspecting’.

Don’t mix this up with _meretricious_ (which really does describe things that are superficial but lack real value) or _mendacious_ (dishonest behaviour).

Bad or disrespectful behaviour is _impudence_ whereas foolhardiness is _imprudence_, and laziness is _indolence_.

Associations with the rich and powerful and a similar spelling to ‘largeness’ mean _largesse_ is often wrongly used to refer to great wealth or superiority, when it actually means ‘charity’ or ‘benevolence’.

_Indefatigable_ basically means ‘insusceptible to fatigue’, and describes someone or something that persists at something tirelessly.

Strictly speaking, _fortuitous_ and _fortunate_ don’t mean the same thing: fortuitous really only describes things that happen unexpectedly or by chance, regardless of whether they turn out to be good or bad. Confusion with fortunate, which always refers to good luck, means they’re so often muddled up that they’re used pretty much interchangeably.

If you picked ‘postpone’, you might be confusing this with _procrastinate_, which means to stall or drag your feet in doing something. You can of course procrastinate by prevaricating, which only complicates things...

_Disinterested_ and _uninterested_ don’t mean the same thing: _uninterested_ means that you’re unconcerned or bored with something, whereas _disinterested_ means that you’re personally not involved or not affected by it, so can remain totally unbiased.

If you picked ‘slow-witted’ you might be thinking of _obtuse_, which refers to dullness, simple-mindedness, or insensitivity. _Abstruse_ describes things that are difficult to get your head around.

The _stairwell_ is the gap between the stories of a building that’s filled by a staircase. The space at the bottom of a staircase is really called the _stair-foot_ (as in ‘the foot of the stairs’). And the part you walk on is just called the _tread_.

_Obdurate_ comes from the same root as _durable_, and describes someone with hard, unchangeable opinions.

If you picked ‘as bad as being tortured’ then you’re thinking of _torturous_, with an extra R. _Tortuous_ means twisting and turning, or longwinded and time-wasting like a meandering route. Things that are _tortuous_ can often seem _torturous_, making the two words easy to mix up.

The non– of _nonplussed_ is confusing: although many people use it to mean ‘unimpressed’ or ‘unfazed’, it actually means that you’re so surprised or shocked that you’re not sure how to react at all.

It’s _biannual_ that means ‘twice a year’. _Biennial_ means ‘once every two years’.

If you’re thinking this has something to do with high school graduations, you’re mixing it up with _valedictorian_. A _valetudinarian_ is someone who is obsessive about their health.

_Loathe_ with an E means ‘to hate’. _Loath_ without an E means ‘unwilling’ or ‘unenthusiastic’.

_Complaisant_ not _complacent_, which would be closer in meaning to the other two options.

Sources: OED, <a href="http://www.oxforddictionaries.com" target="_blank">Oxford Dictionaries</a>.

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Do You Actually Know The Meaning Of These Commonly Misused Words?

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