Before you dive into the unknown, there’s one thing you should clear up: are you preparing to venture into uncharted or unchartered territory? We’ll make it easy for you: the answer here is uncharted, since you’re going to explore the unknown. So then what is unchartered? Keep reading for more on how to use each of these words and when. What does uncharted mean? The adjective …
by John Kelly, Senior Research Editor at Dictionary.com It’s easy to confuse disinfectants and antiseptics. They have a lot in common, after all. Both are chemical agents used to reduce the risk of infection from germs and help stop the spread of disease. But, disinfectants and antiseptics also have differences in their use—differences that can be critical to your health and safety. Here’s the key …
Are you staring at piles and piles of junk and becoming increasingly concerned about the accumulation in, uh, someone‘s apartment? No judgment if you’re asking for “a friend”! We’re here to help you use the right words to describe this problem. To properly examine the issue, we’ve got to get the vocabulary pinned down: does this chaos signal a problem with hoarding? Or the tendency …
Although similar and often incorrectly swapped for each other, literally and figuratively have different meanings that can’t really be interchanged. So even if you feel like you literally can’t help confusing the two, this exaggeration may help explain why figuratively is actually the right word in many cases. What does figuratively mean? Figuratively is an adverb of the adjective figurative that means “of the nature …
We hear it all of the time: working out is essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. But is it exercise or exorcise that healthcare professionals constantly remind us is good for our health? Although some do believe in the importance of exorcise because it means “to free evil spirits,” it’s exercise that has to do with bodily movement that helps to keep us physically and …
Although we’d all love to think we’ll be able to live forever, at some point, we will die. And there’s no way of knowing exactly when that will be. Yes, it’s gloomy to think about this … but is it our morbidity or our mortality that we need to come to terms with? The correct answer here is mortality—although the topic is quite morbid. These …
They say that opposites attract, and that’s usually true for introvert–extrovert couples. We all have that one friend who can strike up a conversation with anyone, who does well in large groups, and who loves being around people. On the other hand, we also know those who prefer quiet one-on-one activities with friends, like visiting a museum or watching a movie, when they socialize. In …
by John Kelly, Senior Research Editor at Dictionary.com In our article on virus vs. bacteria, we noted that vaccines can work on both viruses and bacteria. Antibiotics, however, are only effective against bacteria. But what is an antibiotic, exactly, and how is it different from another, frustratingly similar word: abiotic? And how do both of these words compare to antibody and antigen? This is a …
It’s easy to confuse viruses and bacteria. They are both extremely tiny, for one thing, and, depending on what kind of bug you get, they can make you sick. OK, “extremely tiny” and “make you sick”? We do have technical words for these things. Viruses and bacteria are microscopic, meaning they are too small to see with the unaided eye. And pathogens are “disease-producing agents,” …
by John Kelly, Senior Research Editor at Dictionary.com Words that are hard to spell, sound alike, aren’t commonly used everyday, and have very technical meanings? They’re confusing! And the trio asymptomatic, asymptotic, and asystematic? Well, they make for a perfect storm of confusion. Let’s break down these words, all the way down to their nuts and bolts. Now, don’t be too daunted by all the …
This one’s for you, DIY fans. Jury-rigged means something was assembled quickly with the materials on hand. Jerry-built means it was cheaply or poorly built. Jerry-rigged is a variant of jury-rigged, and it may have been influenced by jerry-built. While some people consider it to be an incorrect version of jury-rigged, it’s widely used, especially in everyday speech. What does jury-rigged mean? The word jury has …
In any election, there’s a ton of information to get a handle on. When can you vote? Can you vote early? Where can you vote? And oh yeah, who and what are you voting for? On top of all that, the electoral process in the US can be just plain confusing—no matter how much attention you, ahem, paid in American Government class. There’s the general …