Here are the main ones to look out for:

• Adverse means detrimental and does not mean averse or disinclined.

Correct: "There were adverse effects." / "I'm not averse to doing that."

• Appraise means to ascertain the value of and does not mean to apprise or to

inform.

Correct: "I appraised the jewels." / "I apprised him of the situation."

• As far as means the same as but cannot be used the same way as as for.

Correct: "As far as the money is concerned ..." / As for the money ...

• Begs the question means assumes what it should be proving and does not
mean raises the question.

Correct: "When I asked the dealer why I should pay more for the German car,
he said I would be getting 'German quality,' but that just begs the question."

• Bemused means bewildered and does not mean amused.

Correct: The unnecessarily complex plot left me bemused. / The silly comedy
amused me.

• Cliché is a noun and is not an adjective.

Correct: "Shakespeare used a lot of clichés." / The plot was so clichéd.

• Credible means believable and does not mean credulous or gullible.

Correct: His sales pitch was not credible. / The con man took advantage of
credulous people.

• Criteria is the plural, not the singular of criterion.

Correct: These are important criteria.

• Data is a plural count noun not, standardly speaking, a mass noun. [Note:
"Data is rarely used as a plural today, just as candelabra and agenda long ago
ceased to be plurals," Pinker writes. "But I still like it."]

Correct: "This datum supports the theory, but many of the other data refute it."

• Depreciate means to decrease in value and does not mean to deprecate or to

disparage.

Correct: My car has depreciated a lot over the years. / She deprecated his
efforts.

• Dichotomy means two mutually exclusive alternatives and does not mean

difference or discrepancy.

Correct: There is a dichotomy between even and odd numbers. / There is a

discrepancy between what we see and what is really there.

• Disinterested means unbiasedand does not mean uninterested.

Correct: "The dispute should be resolved by a disinterested judge." / Why are

you so uninterested in my story?

• Enervate means to sap or to weaken and does not mean to energize.

Correct: That was an enervating rush hour commute. / That was an energizing
cappuccino.

• Enormity means extreme evil and does not mean enormousness. [Note: It is

acceptable to use it to mean a deplorable enormousness.]

Correct: The enormity of the terrorist bombing brought bystanders to tears. /

The enormousness of the homework assignment required several hours of work.

• Flaunt means to show off and does not mean to flout.

Correct: "She flaunted her abs." / "She flouted the rules."

• Flounder means to flop around ineffectually and does not mean to founder or

to sink to the bottom.
Correct: "The indecisive chairman floundered." / "The headstrong chairman
foundered."

• Fortuitous means coincidental or unplanned and does not mean fortunate.

Correct: Running into my old friend was fortuitous. / It was fortunate that I had
a good amount of savings after losing my job.

• Fulsome means unctuous or excessively or insincerely complimentary and

does not mean full or copious.

Correct: She didn't believe his fulsome love letter. / The bass guitar had a full
sound.

• Homogeneous is pronounced as homo-genius and "homogenous" is not a

word but a corruption of homogenized.

Correct: The population was not homogeneous; it was a melting pot.

• Hone means to sharpen and does not mean to home in on or to converge upon.

Correct: She honed her writing skills. / We're homing in on a solution.

• Hot button means an emotional, divisive controversy and does not mean a hot
topic.

Correct: "She tried to stay away from the hot button of abortion." / Drones are a
hot topic in the tech world.

• Hung means suspended and does not mean suspended from the neck until
dead.

Correct: I hung the picture on my wall. / The prisoner was hanged.

• Intern (verb) means to detain or to imprison and does not mean to inter or to

bury.

Correct: The rebels were interned in the military jail. / The king was interred
with his jewels.

• Ironic means uncannily incongruent and does not mean inconvenientor

unfortunate.
Correct: "It was ironic that I forgot my textbook on human memory." / It was
unfortunate that I forgot my textbook the night before the quiz.

• Irregardless is not a word but a portmanteau of regardlessand irrespective.

[Note: Pinker acknowledges that certain schools of thought regard "irregardless"
as simply non-standard, but he insists it should not even be granted that.]

Correct: Regardless of how you feel, it's objectively the wrong decision. /
Everyone gets a vote, irrespective of their position.

• Literally means in actual fact and does not mean figuratively.

Correct: I didn't mean for you to literally run over here. / I'd rather die than
listen to another one of his lectures — figuratively speaking, of course!

• Luxuriant means abundant or florid and does not mean luxurious.

Correct: The poet has a luxuriant imagination. / The car's fine leather seats were
luxurious.

• Meretricious means tawdry or offensively insincere and does not mean

meritorious.

Correct: We rolled our eyes at the meretricious speech. / The city applauded the
meritorious mayor.

• Mitigate means to alleviate and does not mean to militate or to provide

reasons for.

Correct: The spray should mitigate the bug problem. / Their inconceivable
differences will militate against the treaty.

• New Age means spiritualistic, holistic and does not mean modern, futuristic.

Correct: He is a fan of New Age mindfulness techniques. / That TV screen is

made from a high-end modern glass.

• Noisome means smelly and does not mean noisy.

Correct: I covered my nose when I walked past the noisome dump. / I covered
my ears when I heard the noisy motorcycle speed by.
• Nonplussed means stunned, bewildered and does not mean bored,
unimpressed.

Correct: "The market crash left the experts nonplussed." / "His market pitch left
the investors unimpressed."

• Opportunism means seizing or exploiting opportunities and does not mean

creating or promoting opportunities.

Correct: His opportunism brought him to the head of the company. / The party
ran on promoting economic opportunities for the middle class.

• Parameter means a variable and does not mean a boundary condition, a limit.

Correct: The forecast is based on parameters like inflation and interest rates. /
We need to work within budgetary limits.

• Phenomena is a plural count noun — not a mass noun.

Correct: The phenomenon was intriguing, but it was only one of many
phenomena gathered by the telescope.

• Politically correct means dogmatically left-liberal and does not mean

fashionable, trendy. [Note: Pinker considers its contemporary roots as a
pejorative term by American and British conservatives, not its more casual use
as meaning inoffensive.]

Correct: "The theory that little boys fight because of the way they have been
socialized is the politically correct one." / Williamsburg is the trendy place to
live in Brooklyn.

• Practicable means easily put into practice and does not mean practical.

Correct: His French was practicable in his job, which required frequent trips to
Paris./ Learning French before taking the job was a practical decision.

• Proscribe means to condemn, to forbid and does not mean to prescribe, to

recommend, to direct.

Correct: The policy proscribed employees from drinking at work. / The doctor
prescribed an antibiotic.
• Protagonist means active character and does not mean proponent.

Correct: "Vito Corleone was the protagonist in 'The Godfather.' " / He is a

proponent of solar energy.

• Refute means to prove to be false and does not mean to allege to be false, to

try to refute. [Note: That is, it must be used only in factual cases.]

Correct: His work refuted the theory that the Earth was flat.

• Reticent means shy, restrainedand does not mean reluctant.

Correct: He was too reticent to ask her out. / "When rain threatens, fans are
reluctant to buy tickets to the ballgame."

• Shrunk, sprung, stunk, and sunk are used in the past participle — not the
past tense.

Correct: I've shrunk my shirt. / I shrank my shirt.

• Simplistic means naively or overly simple and does not mean simple or

pleasingly simple.

Correct: His simplistic answer suggested he wasn't familiar with the material. /
She liked the chair's simple look.

• Staunch means loyal, sturdy and does not mean to stanch a flow.

Correct: Her staunch supporters defended her in the press. / The nurse was able
to stanch the bleeding.

• Tortuous means twisting and does not mean torturous.

Correct: The road through the forest was tortuous. / Watching their terrible
acting for two hours was a torturous experience.

• Unexceptionable means not worthy of objection and does not mean

unexceptional, ordinary.

Correct: "No one protested her getting the prize, because she was an
unexceptionable choice." / "They protested her getting the prize, because she
was an unexceptional choice."
• Untenable means indefensible or unsustainable and does not mean painful or
unbearable.

Correct: Now that all the facts have been revealed, that theory is untenable. /
Her death brought him unbearable sadness.

• Urban legend means an intriguing and widely circulated but false story and
does not mean someone who is legendary in a city.

Correct: "Alligators in the sewers is an urban legend." / Al Capone was a

legendary gangster in Chicago.

• Verbal means in linguistic form and does not mean oral, spoken.

Correct: Visual memories last longer than verbal ones.

• An effect means an influence; to effect means to put into effect; to affect

means either to influence or to fake.

Correct: They had a big effect on my style. / The law effected changes at the
school. / They affected my style. / He affected an air of sophistication to impress
her parents.

• To lie (intransitive: lies, lay, has lain) means to recline; to lay (transitive: lays,
laid, has laid) means to set down; to lie (intransitive: lies, lied, has lied) means
to fib.

Correct: He lies on the couch all day. / He lays a book upon the table. / He lies
about what he does.