Words Commonly Confused
Circle the correct word in the following sentences:
ABC
Cache / cachet
A cache (pronounced cash) is a hiding place or the items in a hiding place. Cachet (pronounced cash-ay) is a mark or quality of distinction or individuality.
“Successful independent senators like Nick Xenophon, Pauline Hanson and Jacqui Lambie have shown how independents seek to capitalise on their cache/cachet by building their brand and political power.”
Cite / sight
One cites a legal authority in support of a submission; one sights a legal document in order to prove identity.
“AFR Magazine has cited/sighted documents provided by Ledlin which show that he did indeed allow buyers to settle their off-the-plan purchases at the original price and walk away with a handsome capital gain.”
D
Disburse / disperse
Disburse, from Old French bourse, purse, means to pay out, spend; disperse means to distribute, spread over a wide area.
“At the end of June, the NIAA was sitting on a cool $1.5 billion in cash allocated for various government programs but not yet dispersed/disbursed” – Nick Cater.
E
Envious / enviable
Envious describes someone who feels envy; enviable describes something that is highly desirable or likely to be the object of envy.
“Mr Costello told The Australian the nation’s envious/enviable economic position – which began under the Hawke government and continued under the Howard government -had been erased, and that structural reform had become non-existent.”
F
Far from / far-flung
Far from means certainly not, not at all; far-flung refers to places that are a great distance away, or something that is spread over a very large area.
“[Dr O’Leary’s] conduct [is] far from/far flung from the proper scientific method, and falls short of an expert’s obligation to this Court” – Justice Natalie Charlesworth.
Forgo / forego
To forgo is to go without something you would rather have or do. “I’ll forgo the formality of requiring a co-signer.” The past participle forgone means refrained from or done without: “Revenue forgone as a result of various exemptions, concessions, rebates, given to sections of taxpayers.”
Words containing the prefix fore – forecast, foredoomed, foregoing, foregone, foresee, foreshadow, foreword – denote something preceding, antecedent, going before in time or place: a foregone conclusion, a result that is obvious before it happens. “The foregoing statement should not be construed as an endorsement.”
- Teens forego/forgo hard yakka.
- How much justice can we afford to forego/forgo?
- She decided to forgo/forego chocolate in the interests of her figure.
- Empty homes in popular suburbs: landlords forego/forgo tenants for tax breaks.
- G, which had resented K’s refusal to forego/forgo interest payments pending completion, served a notice to complete on K.
- Her claim doesn’t cover compensation for stress or frustration. Nor does it cover foregone/forgone investment opportunities.
- In the hope of everyone having a memorable adventure, I decided to forego/forgo the usual marked trails in favour of bit of bush-bashing.
- Mark Latham will not collect his federal parliamentary pension while he is in the NSW Parliament so will forego/forgo about $80,000 a year.
- Federal Court Judge Murray Aldridge wrote in his forward/foreword to the handbook that it had been greatly enhanced by the changes.
- The foreword/forward to the report will state the author’s concern that defence spending is not appropriate to the level of risk we now face.
- The decision to forego/forgo a connecting hallway on the small site maximised natural light, ventilation and garden aspect for both sides of the house.
- “[Muslim students] face the unfair choice of compromising religious beliefs or foregoing/forgoing higher education opportunities” – Canberra Islamic Centre.
- It will be much harder in coming years to argue that Tokyo should forego/forgo the offensive capabilities [missiles] that all the other north-east Asian states possess.
- The contractors are exposed to paying Transurban an undisclosed sum in liquidated damages for foregone/forgone revenue if it is late opening [NorthConnex].
- The purpose of the foregoing/forgoing discussion is to show that there is no jurisdiction in common law or equity to relieve against forfeiture of a reasonable deposit.
- What distinguishes professional photographers from mere amateurs is their willingness to forego/forgo sleep, warmth, comfort and meals for the chance of the ultimate shot.
- Western Australia will consider forgoing/foregoing hundreds of millions of dollars of royalties in a desperate attempt to save what is left of the State’s devastated nickel industry.
- A choice by the Bank to have its liability determined on the basis of fraud would be tantamount to a decision to forego/forgo the right to be informed of the case to be made against it.
- Every financial year, Federal Government foregoes/forgoes a significant amount of taxes from individuals and businesses as tax breaks which are treated as tax expenditures. These typically involve tax exemptions, deductions, offsets, concessional tax rates and deferral of tax liabilities. Revenue foregone/forgone because of negative gearing is estimated at $5 billion a year.
GH
Hearkened to / harked back to
Although “hark” and “hearken” can both mean “listen,” only “hark” can mean “go back.” “Hark back” means to remember or talk about something from the past, or to be similar to something from the past, or to take something from the past as a model.
“Mr Yoon’s surprising move hearkened/harked back to an era of authoritarian leaders that the country had not seen since its move to democracy in the 1980s.”
I
Imperial / empirical
Imperial means relating to an empire. Empirical means derived from experiment and observation rather than theory.
“In November, 20 nations of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) joined with the African Union to push the case for reparations from the former empirical/imperial powers.”
Incident / incidence
An incident is a single distinct event (plural: incidents). Incidence refers to the relative frequency or occurrence of something. Instances (not ‘incidences’) are examples: “Semicolons are not required in the first three instances given in your query.”
- There is no evidence to link the two incidents/incidence at this time.
- The incidents/incidence of SIDS has greatly reduced but there’s still work to be done.
- Police are investigating two incidents/incidence of someone shooting into occupied homes.
- The incidence/incidents of respiratory diseases and cancers is higher in people living near coalmines.
- “What you’re saying is sensational in that it outlines a culture of behaviour and conduct that goes beyond isolated incidences/incidents” – former Labor Senator Sam Dastyari.
- “If we were able to address those issues [drugs and alcohol] in a more constructive way at an earlier time then I think we would reduce the incidents/
incidence of youth crime even further” – President of the Children’s Court and District Court Judge Peter Johnstone.
- Pointing to an incident at the Chandler Highway upgrade which he alleged was botched, Mr Setka said, “Incidences/ incidents like these are often set up with lies and misinformation by builders hiding behind the ABCC in order to cut corners on safety to make an extra buck.”
JKLM
Militate (against) / mitigate
Militate literally means to war against, potentially to stop something from happening, and is always used with the preposition against; mitigate means to reduce the impact of something.
- The following aggravating factors mitigate against/militate against a non-custodial sentence.
- He homes in on the Prime Minister’s personality traits that mitigate against/
militate against his government operating as anything like an impressive team.
NOP
Prescribe / proscribe
These two words are opposite in meaning: prescribe means to state authoritatively or as a rule whereas proscribe means to forbid, especially by law.
“Where the Act proscribes/prescribes we must deliver the mail five days a week to every household in Australia, 98.5% on time, if the average consumer was asked, Is that important to you they would probably say, Not really.”
Q
Quash / squash
To squash is to physically squeeze or press down on something. To quash is to halt, suppress, put down, quell, subdue, quickly bring to an end, declare invalid or void something non-physical.
Captain Hobson hoped the presence of HMS Britomart and fluttering Union Jacks would squash/quash any sovereignty pretensions Captain Lavaud might have had.
RS
Sniffed out / snuffed out
To sniff out is to discover or detect where something or someone is by smelling. To snuff out is to extinguish, put a sudden end to; literally, to put out a candle by pinching the wick.
“Rebel factions that once operated under the banner of the Free Syrian Army from southern towns and cities that had been dormant for years but where the spark of rebellion had never entirely been sniffed out.”
Sympathise / synthesise
Sympathise literally means suffer with; synthesise means put together (as opposed to analyse, break down).
“Q. Did you synthesise / sympathise with the defendant?
- I sympathised / synthesised with both parties. It’s a shame when a newly married couple breaks up.”
T
Therefore / therefor
Therefore, meaning as a consequence or as a result, is commonly used in everyday language to indicate a conclusion or result. Therefor, meaning for that or for it, is rarely used and only in legal contexts. Knowing when to use which word will set you apart from your peers.
“While Member Plain’s findings contained reasoning that was not found in the delegate’s decision, it was not enough to assuage the general impression that the tribunal did not brings its mind to bear on the review afresh, free of the delegate’s conclusion and reasons therefore/therefor” – Justice Gostencnik, cited by Ellie Dudley.
UVW
Wrest / wrestle
Wrest and wrestle are both derived from Old English words ultimately from Proto-Germanic – as you can probably tell by the common Germanic consonantal combination wr- – and a Proto-Indo-European root meaning to turn, bend (compare wrist).
To wrest is to pull, detach (something); to take by force. To wrestle is to take part in a fight that involves grappling with one’s opponent and trying to throw or force them to the ground; figuratively, to struggle with a difficulty or problem.
French Romantic artist Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863) memorably depicts this twisting motion in his mural Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (1861):
“Besides wrestling/wresting back his art practice, the challenge is to ensure that Artist Support Pledge endures and grows while retaining its simple premise and essence.”
