{"id":25703,"date":"2016-06-22T15:23:57","date_gmt":"2016-06-22T20:23:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/?p=25703"},"modified":"2016-06-22T15:23:57","modified_gmt":"2016-06-22T20:23:57","slug":"commonly-confused-words-part-vii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/2016\/06\/commonly-confused-words-part-vii\/","title":{"rendered":"Commonly Confused Words, Part VII"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here is my final set of commonly confused words. My other posts on commonly confused words are here<\/a> (that\/which\/who; more than\/over; few(er)\/less; amount\/number; farther\/further; since\/because\/as; among\/between; who\/whom; attain\/obtain), here<\/a> (a\/an\/the; counsel\/council; e.g.,\/i.e.; it\u2019s\/its; principal\/principle; then\/than; utilize\/use; you\u2019re\/your; affect\/effect; tortious\/tortuous; tack\/tact; capitol\/capital; motioned\/moved; flesh\/flush), here<\/a> (although\/while; assure\/insure\/ensure; complement\/compliment; rational\/rationale), here<\/a> (a couple, a few, some, several, and many), here<\/a> (born\/borne; good\/well; lay\/lie; pair\/pare\/pear; peak\/peek\/pique; precedent\/precedence; whether\/whether or not), and here<\/a> (disinterested\/uninterested; discreet\/discrete; elicit\/illicit; liable\/guilty; lead (lead)\/lead (led)\/led; loose\/loosen\/lose; plead\/pleaded\/pled; precede\/proceed; prescribe\/proscribe; site\/sight\/cite).<\/p>\n

Adverse\/averse<\/u> \u2013 Both of these words are adjectives; that is, they describe or modify nouns. \u201cAdverse\u201d refers to something\u2014or someone\u2014that prevents success or blocks our path. It could be, say, adverse<\/em> market conditions for certain investments; it could be an adverse<\/em> party in a lawsuit. \u201cAverse\u201d means hostile or opposed to or showing a strong dislike or distaste, and usually refers to feelings about something. E.g., Analiese is averse to cigarette smoke.<\/em> Or, Simon is risk-averse.<\/em> That is, Analiese strongly dislikes cigarette smoke and Simon really doesn\u2019t like taking risks.<\/p>\n

Allude\/elude<\/u> \u2013 \u201cTo allude\u201d is to suggest something indirectly. Like, Ryan\u2019s report on our last meeting alludes to what we discussed the first time we met.<\/em> \u201cTo elude\u201d is to evade or escape, usually in a skillful or clever way. (Thus, you can remember e<\/em>lude = e<\/em>vade\/e<\/em>scape.) E.g., The prisoners eluded the sheriff for a week before they were finally captured.<\/em><\/p>\n

Assume\/presume<\/u> \u2013 My father used to have a saying about the word \u201cassume,\u201d which he once explained to me by drawing with his favorite pen on a napkin in a restaurant. It involved placing slash marks at two points in the word to show what happens when one assumes. \u201cTo assume\u201d is to suppose or to believe, but without any proof. I assume that Jess won\u2019t mind if we leave now <\/em>means that I believe Jess won\u2019t mind if we leave now, but really I don\u2019t know for sure. I could be wrong. And if I am, well, there\u2019s where my father\u2019s diagram comes in.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo presume\u201d is to suppose or to believe, but with some probability. If it\u2019s 7:45 p.m. and I say I presume it\u2019s too late to make it to the 8:00 show <\/em>when I live 20 minutes from the theater, I\u2019m saying that I believe with some probability (almost certainty) that it\u2019s too late for us to make it to the 8 p.m. show.<\/p>\n

In law, we also have legal presumptions<\/em>\u2014things we presume to be true\u2014and such presumptions carry legal weight. Some presumptions are conclusive and some are rebuttable. A conclusive presumption is presumed true whether it is true in fact. For example, in Wisconsin, children under the age of 7 are conclusively presumed to be incapable of being contributorily negligence. See Wis. Stat. \u00a7 891.44.<\/a> Even if all evidence points to a child who is 6 years, 6 months old being contributorily negligent, the law says simply that she can\u2019t be.<\/p>\n

Rebuttable presumptions are those that we presume to be true, but one side or the other can show that they are not. The most common example here would be child custody in divorce. The court presumes that joint legal custody is in the best interest of the child, but either side can show that joint custody would, in fact, not be in the child\u2019s best interest. See Wis. Stat. 767.41(2)(am).<\/a><\/p>\n

Deprive\/deprave<\/u> \u2013 A single letter makes a world of difference here. \u201cTo deprive\u201d is to deny something to someone. \u201cTo deprave\u201d is to make someone immoral, wicked, perverted. To say that he was a deprived child<\/em> means something very different than he was a depraved child.<\/em> In the first example, the child was denied of something in some way\u2014maybe of material resources, maybe of emotional support. In the second example, the child is immoral in some way.<\/p>\n

Evoke\/invoke<\/u> \u2013 \u201cTo evoke\u201d is to bring something to the surface, to draw something out of others; for example, a really good movie might evoke<\/em> some emotion. \u201cTo invoke\u201d is to cite to or appeal to something for support\u2014such as, David invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent<\/em>\u2014or to call upon someone (a deity, perhaps) for help or assistance\u2014such as, Judith invoked St. Jude when praying for her daughter.<\/em> Be careful not to mix these two up: a good movie does not invoke emotion and David would not evoke the Fifth Amendment.<\/p>\n

Imply\/infer<\/u> \u2013 \u201cTo imply\u201d is to subtly suggest something rather than to explicitly say it. Tim wrote the fact section of his brief in way that implies negligence. <\/em>\u201cTo infer\u201d is to deduce or conclude. The judge reading Tim\u2019s brief can infer<\/em> (that is, deduce or conclude) from the facts as Tim has written them (subtle suggestion) that there is negligence.<\/p>\n

Jealous\/envious\/zealous<\/u> \u2013 These words seem interchangeable, but they\u2019re not. To be \u201cjealous\u201d is to feel unhappy or upset because you feel someone is trying to take something that you feel is yours and that you don\u2019t want to lose. Bryan A. Garner, in The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style <\/em>251 (2d ed. 2006), says that \u201c[j<\/em>]ealous <\/em>properly applies only in romantic relationships.\u201d I agree\u2014in part. The word is most often used in the context of romantic relationships (e.g., Tom gets jealous when his girlfriend talks to other guys<\/em>), but I don\u2019t want to characterize romantic relationships as ownership of another. Jealous<\/em> could also apply to how you feel when you think someone is trying to take something of yours, like your clothing style.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnvy\u201d is what you feel when someone else has what you wish you had. E.g., Dawn envied Pat\u2019s vacation in London.<\/em> Dawn isn\u2019t jealous of Pat; she doesn\u2019t have or possess a vacation in London and she isn\u2019t in danger of losing one. Instead, she wishes she could go on one, too; therefore, she\u2019s envious<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cZealous\u201d comes up frequently in law because of often-used prescription to be a \u201czealous advocate.\u201d To be \u201czealous\u201d is neither being jealous nor envious; instead, it means to show zeal, passion, energy. Do note that being zealous does not <\/em>mean being a zealot. See also Rocklin et al., An Advocate Persuades <\/em>17 (2016). A \u201czealot\u201d is certainly passionate about his beliefs (and in that sense, perhaps, is zealous), but he goes further: he\u2019s a fanatic<\/a> who wants others to share those views.<\/p>\n

Rein\/reign<\/u> \u2013 \u201cRein\u201d and \u201creign,\u201d at base, mean essentially the same thing: control. But one of those words applies to a sovereign. \u201cRein\u201d as a noun is the strap you use to control a horse. \u201cRein\u201d as verb means essentially the same thing: controlling something, as in We need to rein in spending.<\/em> Conversely, you may want to give up control: The supervising attorney gave the intern free rein to come up with her own arguments. <\/em>\u201cReign\u201d is also about control, but that of a sovereign like a king or queen. Queen Elizabeth II reigns over England. <\/em>Perhaps on way to remember the difference is to remember that \u201creign\u201d equates to \u201csovereign,\u201d which contains the word \u201creign.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheer\/shear<\/u> \u2013 Though pronounced the same, one word (sheer<\/em>) is most often used as an adjective and the other (shear<\/em>) is a noun. \u201cSheer\u201d describes something that is transparent, like a sheer blouse<\/em>, or it describes something very steep, like a sheer cliff<\/em>. \u201cSheer\u201d can also be an adverb and when used as an adverb means complete or absolute. E.g., I won that contest through sheer luck. <\/em>\u201cTo shear\u201d is to cut or clip, like shearing a sheep<\/em>.<\/p>\n

With these seven posts, I\u2019ve created quite a long list of commonly confused words. There certainly are more, though these seem to be the ones I see most. I hope that my explanations and examples in all of these posts will help you to be more precise in your writing and speaking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here is my final set of commonly confused words. My other posts on commonly confused words are here (that\/which\/who; more than\/over; few(er)\/less; amount\/number; farther\/further; since\/because\/as; among\/between; who\/whom; attain\/obtain), here (a\/an\/the; counsel\/council; e.g.,\/i.e.; it\u2019s\/its; principal\/principle; then\/than; utilize\/use; you\u2019re\/your; affect\/effect; tortious\/tortuous; tack\/tact; capitol\/capital; motioned\/moved; flesh\/flush), here (although\/while; assure\/insure\/ensure; complement\/compliment; rational\/rationale), here (a couple, a few, some, several, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,42,122],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legal-practice","category-legal-writing","category-public","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25703\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}