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A.D.
The initials A.D. do not stand for "After Death", but Anno Domini. This is Medieval Latin for "In the year of the/our Lord". The full term is Anno Domini Nostri Iesu Christi.
aha or ah ha?
One word, written aha, as in "aha moment".
a historic or an historic?
a historic: The use of 'an' before words such as historic is one of those things that self-appointed pedants like to tick other people off for not using. They will argue until they are blue in the face that it should be 'an'. They are wrong.The fact that BBC news newsreaders and correspondents are some of the more frequent abusers of this so-called 'rule' does little to quell the hysteria surrounding its use.
Do not be afraid to use the correct 'a historic', 'a hotel', 'a historian' or even 'a hotelier'. The only exception to this would be a direct quote where the speaker says "an historic". Although journalistic praxis is to not correct grammar abusage in reported speech, such as in "I never did nothing", sometimes journalists (or subs) will iron out obvious grammatical errors that don't such as the the wrong use of a word (affect,effect). If I had my way, the proper use of the direct quote should be to follow "an historic" with the very useful "(sic)". That would soon put paid to this old wive's tale.
No matter how many people use 'an historic', including on the BBC, they are still wrong to do so. It's a historic for the same reason that it's: a happy, a house, a hippy, a harvest, a habit, a hobbit, a handbag, a half, a handle, a health centre, a heart, a hill and a horrible, hotblooded-hoodie holding her househusband hostage. How much more convincing do you need?
abettor or abetter?
Abetter is the commonly used spelling in British English, whereas abettor is only used in legal contexts (English law). In the US the one and only spelling is abettor.
able to
A sentence such as 'The fireman was able to break down the door in order to rescue the kitten' would be by some sub editors/copy editors be edited to The fireman broke down the door to rescue the kitten. (See also in order to.) Others might even change it to The fireman broke down the door and rescued the kitten. Avoiding unnecessary words and using active sentences makes writing clearer and more direct.
Now, a second thing to watch out for – if you insist on using able to – is to apply it to people and not objects, as in 'the boat was able to withstand the worst of the storm'.
aboriginal or aborigine?
The only correct word is aboriginal, as both noun and adjective.
abridgement or abridgment?
Abridgementin the UK and abridgmentin the US.
absorbtion or absorption?
Although the word comes from absorb, take care to spell it absorptionwith a p.
absorption or adsorption?
In scientific terms, watch out for absorptionand adsorption, with a d. The former involves sucking in and taking on a property, the latter involves sticking to a surface.
acceptor or accepter?
depends: Accepter is the normal usage for a person accepting something; acceptor is the spelling in used for law, commerce, electronics and chemistry.
access
There might be some who complain that access is not a verb, at least never was, but those people are in a tiny minority. .
accessary or accessory?
Accessory in British English, is what many women like to buy to go with an outfit, and an accessary is the legal sense of having helped someone commit a crime. In American English, accessory is the only form and has both meanings.
accidently or accidentally?
This word is often wrongly spelt as 'accidently', but stemming from the word 'accidental' rather than 'accident' it is correctly spelt accidentally.
acclimatise or acclimatize?
It is acclimatise in British English (unless using z-spellings) and acclimatize in US English.
according to
according to them/it/her: According to the Bible, according to the schedule and according to the president are all acceptable, but according to me is not.
Why?
'According to means' that certain information came from a third-party source, like another person or a book, and also means that it should be taken as fact. So 'according to me' does not work. Also, don't use 'according to' in conjunction with a person's view, opinion or belief -- it is no longer fact, so you can't say "According to his opinion".
accurate or precise?
While most people witll use these as synonyms, be aware that in scientific writing they each have more precise meanings. A person might accurately be described as being two metres tall, but precisely measured at 1.95 m.
action and actionable
Please resist any attempt to use action as a verb. It is horrible to hear "We will action your request as soon as possible". The only usage of the word actionable should be in legal contexts, but not used to mean possible.
actor or actress?
Politically correctness will insist that all men and women are treated equally. Therefore, the need for the suffix -ess is regarded as superfluous by some and derogatory by others. The current advice is to use actor for both genders. The same rule applies to words all other words in this class. What would the late Prince Diana have thought?
acknowledgement or acknowledgment?
The most widely preferred spellling is acknowledgement, which is to be preferred in British and Australian English. The alternative acknowledgment is also very common in American and Canadian spelling.
across or throughout?
There is a trend towards throughout the country, but careful writers would choose across the country. The difference is in the degree of permeation. Across is a better word when speaking about an area, throughout a better word when speaking of volume..
actually
This word, though useful, can actually get too much use. Unless you mean "Actually, that's not what I meant", there probably isn't any reason to insert it in a sentence.
administration
Be careful not to spell it "adminstration".
ad, add or advert?
The correct abbreviation of advertisement is ad, not 'add'. It is also common in the UK to use advert.
ad nauseam or ad nauseum?
The best rule for using Latin is: if you are going to use it, know what you are saying. The correct spelling is ad nauseam.
adoption or biological?
There is a valid point in arguing the need to even mention that some one is adopted, unless they expressly wish this fact to be known. It is also recommended that terms like "biological father" and "biological parents" be used instead of "real father" and "real parents".
adrenaline or Adrenalin?
Adrenalin is a trademark name for a brand of the hormone adrenaline. The latter is naturally occurring and the former is either extracted from animals or synthesised and used in medicine.
adultry or adultery?
Unlike the words sultry and husbandry, cheating on your spouse is correctly spelt as adultery, not 'adultry'. This is adulterous behaviour.
advance or advanced?
Use advance to mean in advance, and advanced to mean at a high level. It would be wrong to advertise 'advanced tickets'.
adverse or averse?
The easiet way to remember the difference between these two words is that adverse is likely to be the word you want (meaning difficult). The word averse, on the other hand, is less frequently used and means to have dislike of or strong feelings against something.
advisor or adviser?
Adviser is preferred spelling in both the UK and the US. Advisor remains an alternative spelling. Some Americans will also tell you that both spellings are fine, but in the UK only adviser is the standard spelling.
advocate or advocate for?
The mistake to avoid here is advocate for. When used properly, advocate means support or recommend, not campaign for. You can be advocates of and advocates for something, but it is not a verb.
aeroplane or airplane?
The correct British spelling is always aeroplane, while the correct spelling is airplane in the US, as well as the Canadian spelling. Both languages use aircraft and the shorter plane. You might as well be aware that the word deplane, to exit an aircraft, is only used in the US. Use disembark instead, or simply leave or exit.
affect or effect?
This can be a tricky aspect of english usage to remember, and it may not be of any use to be told the difference between a verb and a noun. Instead, think of them in terms of special effects, which affect your emotions. Make sure to learn the correct spelling for each.
affinity between, with, to or for?
In general terms it is correct to use affinity between (plural) and affinity with (singular), but not 'affinity to' or 'affinity for'. The use of affinity of/to is often seen in scientific writing – almost to the point of being standard – but there is no reason why the normal rules shouldn't apply also here.
Afghans
Although neighbouring Pakistan's inhabitants are Pakistanis, people from Afghanistan are Afghans. They are not 'Afghani', but there money is. British people are not called pounds, so why should Afghans be called Afghanis?
African American or African-American?
Even though you write African American without a hyphen, common usage prefers African-Caribbean. Don't ask why, but do remember that it's never 'Afro-American'. An Afro, nowadays, is an old-fashioned hairstyle.
aggravate
To aggravate means to make worse, it has nothing to do with aggression or "aggro". It would be silly to think that an unsterilised and rancid bandage would annoy or intimidate a wound, rather than aggravate it.
aged or age?
It is British custom to write aged 30; it is US custom to write age 30. As in: The policeman questioned the man, aged/age 30.
aging or ageing?
The British spelling is always ageing (without the -e- looks more like "agging"). It is US custom to spell it aging.
ahead of
Corporate and PR English loves to speak of things like: 'There is expected to be a surge in demand ahead of Monday's announcement.' Careful writers and speakers, however, prefer to use in advance of, or simply before.
AIDS or full-blown AIDS?
AIDS, of course, stands for Acquired Immune-Deficiency Syndrome (scientific and medical types aren't big users of the compound hyphen, by the way). Careful writers will use people with AIDS rather than AIDS victim or AIDS sufferer, just because the subjective nature of their plight is not always relevant – let alone known. AIDS patient is objective, and therefore quite acceptable.
To speak of full-blown AIDS is another matter. AIDS does not have stages. You either have it or you don', in the same way that.yYou aren't in a "full-blown marriage". You either are, or you aren't
airforce or air force?
Write it, air force, with two words.
air hostess
The correct term these days is cabin attendant, cabin crew, cabin staff, cabin personnel, flight attendant. Take your pic, but don't use air hostess, and remember that air crew and flight crew refer to those flying the aircraft.
akimbo
To stand akimbo means to have your hands on your hips and your elbows out, but if you know the word (and therefore the posture), you only have to use akimbo. Also, there is no such thing as "legs akimbo" (sic), even if you can get your feet to touch your hips.
alibi or excuse?
Having an alibi means knowing where you were at a particular time, this ruling you (usually) out of probable suspicion. This is different from having a reason or an excuse.
all-around or all round?
It is all-round in British English and all-around in American English (e.g. all-round tan and all-around tan).
all of the or all the?
The 'of' in both 'outside of' and 'inside of' is superfluous (in British English, at least), just as 'all of the' is considered less correct than all the in US and British English, especially in formal writing. That said, all of the is very common and many have argued for it to be less frowned on than it currently is.
all right or alright?
To many people, the word alright might seem to have earned a place in the dictionary by now -- surely? Alas, no. In Britain, the correct spelling is the two-word variant. All right?
alter ego
Make sure that you don't spell it 'altar ego', or that would be wrong, even if people knew what you meant.
ambiance or ambience?
The correct UK spelling is ambiance and the correct US spelling is ambience.
America and Americans
Some people will argue, with some merit, that America is not just the United States of America, so we should not use America or Americans to only mean people of that nation. But America and Americans in this context have been used for 400 years, and there is no doubt that we mean Americans and not Canadians or Mexicans. Although some Mexicans may like to be called Americans, there are many Canadians who do not wish to be called Americans. When Americans say "God bless America," they really only mean themselves. Americans mean Americans, and we should too. Rarely are North America and South America referred to in terms of one cohesive unit, accept by geologists and geographers, so why should we? It's just the way it is. Don't be bullied into thinking otherwise.
amidst or amid?
Like 'whilst', 'amidst' and 'amongst', 'unbeknownst' harks back to an older form of English that sounds overly formal and stilted in today's usage. Few people say 'hither' and 'thither' like they did not so long ago; we say 'here and there'. Using -st forms like these are still popular -- championed, even -- in pretentious language. The more modern forms are while, among, amid and unbeknown. It is much easier to say "amid the confusion" than "amidst the confusion".
Take note, too, that the -st forms are rarely encountered in American English, no matter how much they are loved by a minority few in Britain. Use superfluous -st endings by all means, if you really want to, but there is absolutely no need for you to use them -- nor obligation. If you insist on using amidst, then you really should also insist on using drunkard instead of drunk.
See also the full-length article English usage: whilst or while?
amongst or among?
There is no need to use amongst, among will do. See also the full-length article English usage: whilst or while?
among or between?
There are some who say that between can only refer to two people or parties, and that a conversation between a group of people should always be among. This is just another untruth. It is absolutely correct to speak of a peace treaty between several countries, not just two. The difference between the two words is one of relation: something happening between people is reciprocal, no matter have many there are; something happening among people is going to be distributive, where something is being shared.
amok, amock or amuck?
Use amok for UK English and amuck for US English.
analyse or analyze?
Analyse is always the British spelling, regardless of whether you use -se or -ze spellings, while analyze is the only US spelling.
any more or anymore?
any more:
anyplace
"Anyplace" is an informal US word -- where it is not liked in formal circles -- and will, with any luck, stay that way. The same goes for "everyplace".
antenna or antennae?
Insects with more than one antenna have antennae; a radio with more than one antenna has antennas.
anti- or ante-?
depends: ante means 'before' and has the opposite meaning of 'post-', while anti- has the meaning 'against' and is the opposite of 'pro-'. The easiest way to remember this is to think of 'anti-abortion/pro-abortion' and 'antenatal/antenatal'.
anti-Christ or Antichrist?
Antichrist:
anticipate or expect?
PR types love to speak of how they or their clients anticipate (sic) such and such, but to anticipate means to do something because you expect a certain action. What they really mean is that they expect such and such. If I anticipate someone's move, it's because I already expect it. The two words are not synonyms, and careful writers make the distinction in their writing.
any time or anytime?
It is good English usgae is to write any time.
appal or appall?
Appal (UK) and appall (US). Both spell appalling and appalled.
apart from or aside from?
apart from is the preferred UK usage, while aside from is more commonly used in the US.
Arab or Arabic?
Arab is used to describe nouns, such as Arab culture and Arab history. The word Arabic is used when speaking of the Arabic language or its literature. So, Arabic newspapers describe newspapers written in Arabic, while Arab Media would describe media (regardless of language) produced in the Arab region, possibly even by Arabs.
are able to
Just use can.
Arctic or Artic?
Arctic:
ardor or ardour?
Spell it ardour in the UK and ardor in the US.
Argentine or Argentinian?
Use Argentine as an adjective to describe things from Argentina. Use Argentinian to describe people from there. That said, when in doubt Argentine is also the preferred choice in the UK while in the US many stick to Argentinian (also Argentinean) for everything.
arguably
Careful writers omit using this word, not just because it can argue that it doesn't add anything, but because it's arguably really very literally, and frankly, basically quite overused. Why not just say that it's overused. If, on the other hand, you are not going to sit on the fence, use I would argue instead, and say it more forcefully Why else would you argue about it? Everything is arguable.
around or round?
I want to travel round the world. I have so many friends around the world. Use round when you mean a direction of movement, and use around in the surrounded sense. Americans only tend to use around for everything.
arse or ass?
Brits only ever use the word arse. Americans call it an ass.
artifact or artefact?
The choices are: artefact (UK spelling and Australian spelling) and artifact (American spelling and Canadian spelling).
arms length or arm's length?
The correct spelling is always arm's length, with an apostrophe.
asexual
...
aside from or apart from?
Although these two expressions are used in both British English and American English, the strong British preference is definitely to use Apart from and the strong American preference is to write Aside from. They both mean the same thing, the only difference is where they are most commonly used.
asylum seeker or illegal immigrant?
First, there can be no such thing as an "illegal asylum seeker". An asylum seeker only becomes an illegal when they ignore an order to leave the country they seek to remain in, but then they become a illegal immigrants. Despite what the tabloid-reading British public think, asylum seekers and immigrants are not the one and same. A British couple who move to France to retire are immigrants; footballers from abroad who sign up to play with teams in the UK are also immigrants. They all want a better life, but only asylum seekers seek asylum.
at the end of the day
Can we please stop using the overused and (often) meaningless phrase?
at this point in time
Oh, you mean "now"? Can we please stop using the overused and (often) meaningless phrase?
Australianism
Australian English has its own vocabulary. Words like crook (sick), chook (chicken) and sook (whinger) are used regularly but are not understood in, for example the US or UK. See also Briticism and Americanism, which are treated slightly differently.
a while or awhile?
The difference between these two is subtle, but significant. Use a while to mean 'for a period of time' and awhile to mean 'a period of time'. Don't get it? It might take you a while to remember which is which. Compare with The pain only hurts awhile. Also remember not to write 'for awhile'.
axeing or axing?
The British spelling is axeing (as a verb, to fire, or with an axe (ax US)) and the American spelling is axing.