Words That Work ... or Don't

Ruthless Editor’s Top 10 Misused Words

Note your choices, and then scroll down for the answers.

1) adverse / averse
He was not adverse / averse to taking the medication, but he had an adverse / averse reaction.

2) anxious / eager
I’m anxious / eager about my performance review, but I’m anxious / eager to have it behind me.

3) bad / badly
He felt bad / badly that he didn’t make the tennis finals, but he played bad / badly.

4) ensure / insure
To ensure / insure that you feel comfortable calling a doctor when your children are sick, we will give you the opportunity to ensure / insure your entire family.

5) farther / further
The farther / further they walked, the farther / further engrossed they got in conversation.

6) fewer / less
Fewer / less than 10 park workers picked up bags of trash, which weighed fewer / less than five pounds.

7) flounder / founder
The candidate floundered / foundered as he contradicted himself at the news conference, and a poll the next day showed that he had seriously floundered / foundered.

8) good / well
Although I feel good / well, my arthritis makes it hard for me to feel good / well enough to knit.

9) its / it’s
Its / It’s up to you, but I hope you’ll leave the key in its / it’s usual place.

10) affect / effect
The result of the game will affect / effect the team’s standings, but it should not have an affect / effect on the player’s sports scholarship.

For those of you who counted 20 choices in the above quiz, forgive me. Creating a headline announcing a choice of 20 might have been more than readers would take time for. Oh dear, now I've misled you AND ended a sentence with a preposition. I'll quit before I get into bigger trouble.

Answers

Ruthless Editor follows The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law guidelines for word and punctuation usage. Webster's New World College Dictionary serves as a secondary reference

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