Welcome to the new series, 7 Words to Know Wednesday. As previously announced, I plan on rolling out seven new and exciting words that will improve your writing skills. Let’s begin, shall we? This week’s theme is Words Commonly Misused Around the Internet.
1. Article
The word article has two definitions. One definition of an article is a write-up of information on a particular topic, concept, or idea. The other definition has a grammatical usage:
Any member of a small class of words, or, as in Swedish or Romanian, affixes, found in certain languages, as English, French, and Arabic, that are linked to nouns and that typically have a grammatical function identifying the noun as a noun rather than describing it.
This means that instead of learning how to write article, you learn how to write an article. Why not check out this post on how to use articles correctly?
2. Killer
The word killer means:
a person or thing that kills.
It also happens to be a device used at the post office. However, the word killer is a noun. As slang came about, we got the adjective form. Nevertheless, there are 50 other words you can use to describe something remarkable. Why not use them?
3. Unique
These days, you want to offer unique content. However, that’s harder than you think. You see, unique content is not just content that passes Copyscape. Unique means:
having no like or equal; unparalleled; incomparable.
How about it, is your article unparalleled?
4. Improvise
The word improvise has nothing to do with the word improve. I’ve seen this particular mistake various times on the web, and I mean to put a stop to it. The definition of the word improvise is as follows:
to compose and perform or deliver without previous preparation
Now, while I try not to improvise on my content most days, I work hard to improve, haha.
5. Creative
This one is like killer. Creative means:
resulting from originality of thought, expression, etc.; imaginative
Unlike the word “killer,” creative isn’t even used as a noun in slang. So, internet community, please stop making up words. If you want to be creative, fine. But you cannot be a creative.
6. Freelancer
Freelancer is an actual noun (woohoo!) and the actual meaning sometimes feels a little unknown to the majority. The definition of freelancer is as follows:
a person who contends in a cause or in a succession of various causes, as he or she chooses, without personal attachment or allegiance.
Your “cause” can be writing, designing, construction, bridge building, reading, whatever. As long as you pick the clients you work with and have no personal attachment to a certain party, you’re a freelancer. (So yes…prostitutes without pimps are freelancers). The important thing to note is the part about allegiance. Freelancers are not employees.
7. Bonus: Common and Uncommon Words that are Often Misused
To be totally honest, I couldn’t think of a 7th for this week’s theme. However, Blogging Tips came to the rescue and posted 8 words that are commonly misused and mistaken. It’s a great resource and they have a preceding post with even more. Check them out!
What Do You Think?
Was this post helpful? What words might you want to know the definition of? Share your thoughts and opinions below!
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