depreciate/deprecate DEPRECIATE/DEPRECATE To depreciate something is to actually make it worse, whereas to deprecate something is simply to speak or think of it in a manner that demonstrates your low opinion of it. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/depreciate.html03/09/2005 15:37:30 desert/dessert DESERT/DESSERT Perhaps these two words are confused partly because “dessert” is one of the few words in English with a double “S” pronounced like “Z" ("brassiere” is another). That impoverished stretch of sand called a desert can only afford one “S.” In contrast, that rich gooey extra thing at the end of the meal called a dessert indulges in two of them. The word in the phrase “he got his just deserts” is confusingly pronounced just like “desserts.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/desert.html03/09/2005 15:37:31 device/devise DEVICE/DEVISE “Device” is a noun. A can-opener is a device. “Devise” is a verb. You can devise a plan for opening a can with a sharp rock instead. Only in law is “devise” properly used as a noun, meaning something deeded in a will. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/device.html03/09/2005 15:37:33 dialogue DIALOGUE DISCUSS “Dialogue” as a verb in sentences like “the Math Department will dialogue with the Dean about funding” is commonly used jargon in business and education settings; but abhorred by traditionalists. Say "have a dialogue” or “discuss” instead. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/dialogue.html03/09/2005 15:37:33 dieties DIETIES DEITIES This one is always good for a laugh. The gods are deities, after the Latin deus, meaning “god.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/dieties.html03/09/2005 15:37:33 differ/vary DIFFER/VARY “Vary” can mean “differ,” but saying “our opinions vary” makes it sound as if they were changing all the time when what you really mean is “our opinions differ.” Pay attention to context when choosing one of these words. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/differ.html03/09/2005 15:37:33 different DIFFERENT THAN DIFFERENT FROM/TO Americans say “Scuba-diving is different from snorkeling,” the British sometimes say “different to” and those who don’t know any better say “different than.” However, though conservatives object, you can usually get away with “different than” if a full clause ollows: “Your pashmina shawl looks different than it used to since the cat slept on it.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/different.html03/09/2005 15:37:34 dilemma DILEMMA DIFFICULTY A dilemma is a difficult choice, not just any difficulty or problem. Whether to invite your son’s mother to his high school graduation when your current wife hates her is a dilemma. Cleaning up after a hurricane is just a problem, though a difficult one. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/dilemma.html03/09/2005 15:37:34 dire straights DIRE STRAIGHTS DIRE STRAITS When you are threading your way through troubles as if you were traversing a dangerously narrow passage you are in “dire straits.” The expression and the band by that name are often transformed by those who don’t understand the word “strait” into “dire straights." See also straightjacket/straitjacket. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/dire.html03/09/2005 15:37:34 disburse/disperse DISBURSE/DISPERSE You disburse money by taking it out of your purse (French “bourse”) and distributing it. If you refuse to hand out any money, the eager mob of beggars before you may disperse (scatter). List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/disburse.html03/09/2005 15:37:36 [...]... in its editorial pages, often incongruously next to ads containing the patented spelling “disc”; but now even it has given in List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/disc.html 03/ 09/2005 15 :37 :38 . deeded in a will. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/device.html 03/ 09/2005 15 :37 :33 dialogue DIALOGUE DISCUSS “Dialogue” as a verb in sentences like “the Math Department. “discuss” instead. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/dialogue.html 03/ 09/2005 15 :37 :33 dieties DIETIES DEITIES This one is always good for a laugh. The gods are deities, after. meaning “god.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/dieties.html 03/ 09/2005 15 :37 :33 differ/vary DIFFER/VARY “Vary” can mean “differ,” but saying “our opinions vary” makes