39 Commonly Misused Words and How to Use Them Correctly ~ Jeff Haden / Inc.Easy to get wrong. Fortunately, not that hard to get rightWhere the mechanics of writing are concerned, Im far from perfect. One example: I always struggle withwhoandwhom.(Sometimes Ill even rewrite a sentence just so I wont have to worry about which is correct.)And thats a real problem. The same way one misspelled word can get your rsum tossed onto the reject pile, one misused word can negatively impact your entire message.Fair or unfair, it happens all the timeso lets make sure it doesnt happen to you.My post30 Incorrectly Used Words That Can Make You Look Badresulted in readers providing a number of other examples of misused words, and here are some of them. Once again Ive picked words that are typically used in business settings, with special emphasis on words that spell checker wont correct.Here we go:AdviseandadviceAside from the two words being pronounced differently (thesinadvisesounds like az),adviseis a verb whileadviceis a noun. Advice is what you give (whether or not the recipient is interested in that gift is a different issue altogether) when you advise someone.So, Thank you for the advise is incorrect, while I advise you not to bore me with your advice in the future is correct if pretentious.If you run into trouble, just say each word out loud and youll instantly know which makes sense; theres no way youd ever say, I advice you toUltimateandpenultimateRecently I received a pitch from a PR professional that read, (Acme Industries) provides the penultimate value-added services for discerning professionals.AsInigo would say, I do not think it means what you think it means.Ultimatemeans the best, or final, or last.Penultimatemeans the last but one, or second to last. (Or, as a Monty Python-inspired Michelangelo would say,the Penultimate Supper!)Butpenultimatedoesnt mean second-best. Plus, I dont think my PR friend meant to say her client offered second-class services. (I think she just thought the word sounded cool.)Also, keep in mind that usingultimateis fraught with hyperbolic peril. Are youor is what you providereally the absolute best imaginable? Thats a tough standard to meet.WellandgoodAnyone who has children usesgoodmore often than he or she should. Since kids pretty quickly learn whatgoodmeans, You did good, honey is much more convenient and meaningful than You did well, honey.But that doesnt meangoodis the correct word choice.Goodis an adjective that describes something; if you did a good job, then you do good work.Wellis an adverb that describes how something was done; you can do your job well.Where it gets tricky is when you describe, say, your health or emotional state. I dont feel well is grammatically correct, even though many people (including me) often say, I dont feel too good. On the other hand, I dont feel good about how he treated me is correct; no one says, I dont feel well about how Im treated.Confused? If youre praising an employee and referring to the outcome say, You did a good job. If youre referring to how the employee performed say, You did incredibly well.And while youre at it, stop sayinggoodto your kids and usegreatinstead, because no oneespecially a kidever receives too much praise.IfandwhetherIfandwhetherare often interchangeable. If a yes/no condition is involved, then feel free to use either: I wonder whether Jim will finish the project on time or I wonder if Jim will finish the project on time. (Whethersounds a little more formal in this case, so consider your audience and how you wish to be perceived.)Whats trickier is when a condition is not involved. Let me know whether Marcia needs a projector for the meeting isnt conditional, because you want to be informed either way. Let me know if Marcia needs a projector for the meeting is conditional, because you only want to be told if she needs one.And always useifwhen you introduce a condition. If you hit your monthly target, Ill increase your bonus is correct; the condition is hitting the target and the bonus is the result. Whether you are able to hit your monthly target is totally up to you does not introduce a condition (unless you want the employee to infer that your thinly veiled threat is a condition of ongoing employment).Stationaryand stationeryYou write on stationery. You get business stationery, such as letterhead and envelopes, printed.But that box of envelopes is not stationary unless its not movingand even then its still stationery.AwardandrewardAn award is a prize. Musicians win Grammy Awards. Car companies win J.D. Power awards. Employees win Employee of the Month awards. Think of an award as the result of a contest or competition.A reward is something given in return for effort, achievement, hard work, merit, etc. A sales commission is a reward. A bonus is a reward. A free trip for landing the most new customers is a reward.Be happy when your employees win industry or civic awards, and reward them for the hard work and sacrifices they make to help your business grow.SympathyandempathySympathy is acknowledging another persons feelings. I am sorry for your loss means you understand the other person is grieving and want to recognize that fact.Empathy is having the ability to put yourself in the other persons shoes and relate to how the person feels, at least in part because youve experienced those feelings yourself.The difference is huge. Sympathy is passive; empathy is active. Know the difference between sympathy and empathy, live the difference, and youll make a bigger difference in other peoples lives.CriterionandcriteriaA criterion is a principle or standard. If you have more than one criterion, those are referred to as criteria.But if you want to be safe and you only have one issue to consider, just saystandardorruleorbenchmark.Then usecriteriafor all the times there are multiple specifications or multiple criterion (OK, standards) involved.MuteandmootThink ofmutelike the button on your remote; it means unspoken or unable to speak. In the U.S.,mootrefers to something that is of no practical importance; a moot point is one that could be hypothetical or even (gasp!) academic. In British English,mootcan also mean debatable or open to debate.So if you were planning an IPO, but your sales have plummeted, the idea of going public could be moot. And if you decide not to talk about it anymore, you will have gone mute on the subject.PeakandpeekA peak is the highest point; climbers try to reach the peak of Mount Everest.Peekmeans quick glance, as in giving major customers a sneak peek at a new product before its officially unveiled, which hopefully helps sales peak at an unimaginable height.Occasionally a marketer will try to peak your interest or peek your interest, but in that case the right word ispique,which means to excite. (Piquecan also mean to upset, but hopefully thats not what marketers intend.)AggressiveandenthusiasticAggressiveis a very popular business adjective: aggressive sales force, aggressive revenue projections, aggressive product rollout. But unfortunately,aggressivemeans ready to attack, or pursuing aims forcefully, possibly unduly so.So do you really want an aggressive sales force?Of course, most people have seenaggressiveused that way for so long they dont think of it negatively; to them it just means hard-charging, results-oriented, driven, etc., none of which are bad things.But some people may not see it that way. So consider using words likeenthusiastic,eager, committed, dedicated,or even (although it pains me to say it)passionate.ThenandthanThenrefers in some way to time. Lets close this deal, and then well celebrate! Since the celebration comes after the sale,thenis correct.Thenis also often used withif.Think in terms of if-then statements: If we dont get to the office on time, then we wont be able to close the deal today.Thaninvolves a comparison. Landing Customer A will result in higher revenue than landing Customer B, or Our sales team is more committed to building customer relationships than the competition is.EvokeandinvokeTo evoke is to call to mind; an unusual smell might evoke a long-lost memory. To invoke is to call upon some thing: help, aid, or maybe a higher power.So hopefully all your branding and messaging efforts evoke specific emotions in potential customers. But if they dont, you might consider invoking the gods of commerce to aid you in your quest for profitability.Or something like that.ContinuouslyandcontinuallyBoth words come from the rootcontinue,but they mean very different things.Continuouslymeans never ending. Hopefully your efforts to develop your employees are continuous, because you never want to stop improving their skills and their future.Continualmeans whatever youre referring to stops and starts. You might have frequent disagreements with your co-founder, but unless those discussions never end (which is unlikely, even though it might feel otherwise), then those disagreements are continual.Thats why you should focus on continuous improvement but only plan to have continual meetings with your accountant: The former should never, ever stop, and the other (mercifully) should.SystemicandsystematicIf youre in doubt,systematicis almost always the right word to use.Systematicmeans arranged or carried out according to a plan, method, or system. Thats why you can take a systematic approach to continuous improvement, or do a systematic evaluation of customer revenue or a systematic assessment of market conditions.Systemicmeans belonging to or affecting the system as a whole. Poor morale could be systemic to your organization. Or bias against employee diversity could be systemic.So if your organization is facing a pervasive problem, take a systematic approach to dealing with itthats probably the only way youll overcome it.Impactandaffect(andeffect)Many people (including until recently me) useimpactwhen they should useaffect.Impactdoesnt mean to influence;impactmeans to strike, collide, or pack firmly.Affectmeans to influence: Impatient investors affected our rollout date.And to make it more confusing,effectmeans to accomplish something: The board effected a sweeping policy change.How you correctly useeffectoraffectcan be tricky. For example, a board can affect changes by influencing them and can effect changes by directly implementing them. Bottom line, useeffectif youre making it happen, andaffectif youre having an impact on something that someone else is trying to make happen.As for nouns,effectis almost always correct: Employee morale has had a negative effect on productivity.Affectrefers to an emotional state, so unless youre a psychologist, you probably have little reason to use it.So stop saying youll impact sales or impact the bottom line. Useaffect.(And feel free to remind me when I screw that up, because I feel sure Ill backslide.)BetweenandamongUsebetweenwhen you name separate and individual items. The team will decide between Mary, Marcia, and Steve when we fill the open customer service position. Mary, Marcia, and Steve are separate and distinct, sobetweenis correct.Useamongwhen there are three or more items but they are not named separately. The team will decide among a number of candidates when we fill the open customer service position. Who are the candidates? You havent named them separately, soamongis correct.And were assuming there are more than two candidates; otherwise youd saybetween.If there are two candidates you could say, I just cant decide between them.Everydayandevery dayEvery daymeans, yep, every dayeach and every day. If you ate a bagel for breakfast each day this week, you had a bagel every day.Everydaymeans commonplace or normal. Decide to wear your everyday shoes and that means youve chosen to wear the shoes you normally wear. That doesnt mean you have to wear them every single day; it just means wearing them is a usual occurrence.Another example isalonganda long:Alongmeans moving in a constant direction or a line, or in the company of others, whilea longmeans of great distance or duration. You wouldnt stand in along line, but you might stand in a long line for a long time, along with a number of other people.A couple more examples:a whileandawhile, andany wayandanyway.If youre in doubt, read what you write out loud. Its unlikely youll think Is there anyway you can help me? sounds right