--- title: 30 Incorrectly Used Words That Can Make You Look Horrible description: Easy to get wrong. And easy to get right canonical: https://time.com/96982/incorrectly-used-words/ author: Jeff Haden article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-13T09:45:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T07:47:47.236Z article:section: World og:title: 30 Incorrectly Used Words That Can Make You Look Horrible og:description: Easy to get wrong. And easy to get right og:url: https://time.com/96982/incorrectly-used-words/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt78bb79f709cce8e0/69868f02d0b6f2a7e93043e7/79338440.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 79338440 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 30 Incorrectly Used Words That Can Make You Look Horrible twitter:description: Easy to get wrong. And easy to get right twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt78bb79f709cce8e0/69868f02d0b6f2a7e93043e7/79338440.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 30 Incorrectly Used Words That Can Make You Look Horrible by [Jeff Haden](/author/jeff-haden/) ## Jeff Haden May 13, 2014 9:45 AM CUT  Dictionary DictionaryImage Source—Getty Images/Image Source by [Jeff Haden](/author/jeff-haden/) ## Jeff Haden May 13, 2014 9:45 AM CUT _This post is in partnership with Inc., which offers useful advice, resources and insights to_ _entrepreneurs and business owners_. The article below was originally published at [Inc.com](http://www.inc.com/ "undefined"). While I like to think I know a little about [business writing](http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/10-quick-tips-become-better-writer.html "undefined"), I often fall into a few word traps. For example, _who_ and _whom_. I rarely use _whom_ when I should. Even when spell check suggests _whom_, I think it sounds pretentious. So I don’t use it. And I’m sure some people then think, “What a bozo.” And that’s a problem, because just like that one misspelled word that gets a [résumé](http://www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/hiring-challenged-sift-for-these-17-worst-and-15-best-resume-phrases.html "undefined") tossed into the “nope” pile, using one wrong word can negatively impact your entire message. Fair or unfair, it happens. So let’s make sure it doesn’t: ## **Adverse and averse** _Adverse_ means harmful or unfavorable; “Adverse market conditions caused the IPO to be poorly subscribed.” _Averse_ means dislike or opposition; “I was averse to paying $18 a share for a company that generates no revenue.” But you can feel free to have an aversion to adverse conditions. ## **Affect and effect** Verbs first. _Affect_ means to influence; “Impatient investors affected our roll-out date.” _Effect_ means to accomplish something; “The board effected a sweeping policy change.” How you use _effect_ or _affect_ can be tricky. For example, a board can affect changes by influencing them, or can effect changes by implementing them. Use _effect_ if you’re making it happen, and _affect_ if you’re having an impact on something someone else is trying to make happen. As for nouns, _effect_ is almost always correct; “Once he was fired he was given 20 minutes to gather his personal effects.” _Affect_ refers to emotional states so unless you’re a psychologist, you’re probably not using it. ## **Compliment and complement** _Compliment_ is to say something nice. _Complement_ is to add to, enhance, improve, complete or bring close to perfection. So, I can compliment your staff and their service, but if you have no current openings, you have a full complement of staff. And your new app may complement your website. For which I may decide to compliment you. ## **Criteria and criterion** “We made the decision based on one overriding criteria,” sounds pretty impressive but is wrong. Remember: one _criterion_, two or more _criteria_. Although you could always use _reason_ or _factors_ and not worry about getting it wrong. ## **Discreet and discrete** _Discreet_ means careful, cautious, showing good judgment; “We made discreet inquiries to determine whether the founder was interested in selling her company.” _Discrete_ means individual, separate or distinct; “We analyzed data from a number of discrete market segments to determine overall pricing levels.” And if you get confused, remember you don’t use “discreetion” to work through sensitive issues; you exercise discretion. ## **Elicit and illicit** _Elicit_ means to draw out or coax. Think of _elicit_ as the mildest form of extract or, even worse, extort. So if one lucky survey respondent will win a trip to the Bahamas, the prize is designed to elicit responses. _Illicit_ means illegal or unlawful. I suppose you could “illicit” a response at gunpoint … but best not. ## **Farther and further** _Farther_ involves a physical distance; “Florida is farther from New York than Tennessee.” _Further_ involves a figurative distance; “We can take our business plan no further.” So, as we say in the South, “I don’t trust you any farther than I can throw you.” Or, “I ain’t gonna trust you no further.” (Seriously. I’ve uttered both of those sentences. More than once.) ## **Imply and infer** The speaker or writer _implies_. The listener or reader _infers_. _Imply_ means to suggest, while _infer_ means to deduce (whether correctly or not). So, I might imply you’re going to receive a raise. You might infer that a pay increase is imminent. (But not _eminent_, unless the raise will be prominent and distinguished.) ## **Insure and ensure** This one’s easy. _Insure_ refers to insurance. _Ensure_ means to make sure. So if you promise an order will ship on time, ensure it actually happens. Unless, of course, you plan to arrange for [compensation](http://www.inc.com/will-yakowicz/how-to-talk-to-your-employees-about-salary.html?lc=int%5Fmb%5F1001 "undefined") if the package is damaged or lost — then feel free to insure away. ## **Number and amount** I goof these up all the time. Use _number_ when you can count what you refer to; “The number of subscribers who opted out increased last month.” _Amount_ refers to a quantity of something you can’t count; “The amount of alcohol consumed at our last company picnic was staggering.” Of course, it can still be confusing: “I can’t believe the number of beers I drank,” is correct, but so is, “I can’t believe the amount of beer I drank.” The difference is I can count beers, but beer, especially if I was way too drunk to keep track, is an uncountable total — so _amount_ is the correct usage. ## **Precede and proceed** _Precede_ means to come before. _Proceed_ means to begin or continue. Where it gets confusing is when an “ing” comes into play. “The proceeding announcement was brought to you by …” sounds fine, but _preceding_ is correct since the announcement came before. If it helps, think _precedence_: anything that takes precedence is more important and therefore comes first. ## **Principal and principle** A _principle_ is a fundamental; “We’ve created a culture where we all share certain principles.” _Principal_ means primary or of first importance; “Our startup’s principal is located in NYC.” (Sometimes you’ll also see the plural, _principals_, used to refer to executives or (relatively) co-equals at the top of a particular food chain.) _Principal_ can also refer to the most important item in a particular set; “Our principal account makes up 60% of our gross revenues.” _Principal_ can also refer to money, normally the original sum that was borrowed, but can be extended to refer to the amount you owe — hence principal and interest. If you’re referring to laws, rules, guidelines, ethics, etc., use _principle_. If you’re referring to the CEO or the president (or the individual in charge of the high school), use _principal_. And now for those dreaded apostrophes: ## **It’s and its** _It’s_ is the contraction of it is. That means _it’s_ doesn’t own anything. If your dog is neutered (that way we make the dog, however much against his will, gender-neutral) you don’t say, “It’s collar is blue.” You say, “Its collar is blue.” Here’s an easy test to apply: Whenever you use an apostrophe, un-contract the word to see how it sounds. In this case, turn _it’s_ into _it is_. “It’s sunny,” becomes, “It is sunny.” Sounds good to me. ## **They’re and their** Same with these; _they’re_ is the contraction for _they are_. Again, the apostrophe doesn’t own anything. We’re going to their house, and I sure hope they’re home. ## **Who’s and whose** “Whose password hasn’t been changed in six months?” is correct. “Who is \[the un-contracted version of _who’s_\] password hasn’t been changed in six months?” sounds silly. ## **You’re and your** One more. _You’re_ is the contraction for _you are_. _Your_ means you own it; the apostrophe in _you’re_ doesn’t own anything. For a long time a local nonprofit had a huge sign that said “You’re Community Place.” Hmm. “You Are Community Place”? Probably not. **Read more from Inc.com:** [How 4 Entrepreneurs Started Up (Really) Young](http://www.inc.com/carolyn-cutrone/do-children-make-successful-entrepreneurs.html?cid=readmore "undefined") [Firing an Employee–Even a Bad One–Is Hard to Do](http://www.inc.com/janine-popick/letting-go-is-hard-to-do.html?cid=readmore "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/96982/incorrectly-used-words/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/96982/incorrectly-used-words/"},"headline":"30 Incorrectly Used Words That Can Make You Look Horrible","datePublished":"2014-05-13T09:45:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:47:47.236Z","description":"Easy to get wrong. 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