It takes two people to have an affair. Despite this fact, there is a clear disparity in the way the public generally discusses extramarital relationships. Heterosexual men who have affairs are just heterosexual men who had affairs. But, the women with whom they have those affairs quickly get labeled with another term, one for which there is no effective male equivalent in English: mistress. As …
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 …
by John Kelly, Senior Research Editor at Dictionary.com During public health emergencies, like the outbreak of the coronavirus, it’s essential to stay informed. But a lot of that information, when it’s not misleading, can be overwhelming and confusing—down to the very words we use to talk about a crisis. What’s COVID-19? Is that the same thing as coronavirus? Is the disease an epidemic or pandemic? …
Just like people assume family members are inherently similar because they are related, people assume the same things about words: if they have similar spellings and soundings, they must be alike. As it is with people, the similarities between some related words that look and sound the same end there. Take ambiguous and ambivalent for example. They share the Latin prefix ambi-, which means “both,” …
Sometimes we’re at a loss for words, not because we’re speechless, but because no English term lends itself to the situation (or snack) at hand. At those times, we turn to other languages, celebrating them for the concepts we wish we could express so easily in English. Here are some of our favorite words from the Portuguese language. saudade This untranslatable Portuguese term refers to …
Cheap, expensive, lavish, meager, a steal, or a rip-off. These are just some ways to talk about an item that costs money. But there are two other words used to talk about money as well: economic and economical. These words have two different meanings, despite them both being adjectives. Plus they’re also only two letters off, adding to the confusion. It’s pretty likely you’re mixing …
English is full of homophones, or words that have the same pronunciation but vastly different meanings, origins, and spelling. Some of the most confused homophones include their/they’re/there; affect and effect; and complement and compliment. Let’s add another pair to the list: breach and breech. Are you a whale watcher? A lawyer? A gun owner? You might know the definition of these words. But do you know how …
