Most Misused English Words

1.One commenter has grown increasingly frustrated with the misuse of “travesty,” saying, “Many people think that it is a synonym of ‘tragedy,’ and it’s not. It really means a mockery of something in a serious sense of the word.”

2.While not exactly one word, effect and affect get confused with each other so much they might as well be. One commenter jokes, “In effect, the effect of the effect effectively affects everyone.” Try saying that five times fast.

3. One commenter says “cynical” is misused far too much. “A lot of people confuse it with ‘skeptical.'” Another commenter clarified, “Being cynical means you are suspicious of other people’s motives.”

4. You’ve definitely used “defiantly” trying to spell something different before, and even spell check won’t save you. One commenter ponders, “What if it isn’t misused at all, we’re just having a radical increase of defiant people all of a sudden.”

5.People like to think that ‘ignorant’ and ‘stupid’ mean the same thing.” one commenter said. Another pointed out, “When people use it wrong, that makes them ignorant to the meaning of ignorant.”