Correct Word Usage

At a glance 9 rules

1. 1Paraphrase each sentencePut each sentence in plain words, then ask if the word really means that there. The misused one is the sentence that needs a different word.
2. 2One word, many sensesBear can mean put up with, produce, carry a name or turn. Swap the meaning asked into each sentence and keep the one that still reads well.
3. 3Sound-alike swapThe wrong sentence often needs a word that sounds the same: wring wet clothes, not ring; a high tide, not tied; a bus fare, not fair.
4. 4Look-alike swapOr it needs a near-twin: corroborate (back up) for collaborate (work together), climactic (of a climax) for climatic (of climate).
5. 5Fixed partnersSome words take a set pattern: refrain from, make (never do) a mistake, refuse to do something but deny doing it or deny that it happened.
6. 6The word's chargeNotorious and infamous mean well known for something bad, never 'not famous'. For praise use renowned or celebrated.
7. 7Built-in conditionsSome words need a setting: unanimous needs a group in which everyone agrees, so one person can be firm or resolute but never unanimous.
8. 8Rare senses still countDon't mark a sentence wrong because the sense is new to you: fast colours do not run, fast asleep is deeply asleep, stuck fast is firmly fixed.
9. 9False friendsSome words mean what they don't look like: enervate (weaken), restive (restless, hard to control), penultimate (second-last), noisome (foul, offensive).