Words Often Confused #4

explicit/implicit

explicit: Clearly expressed, nothing implied (he was quite explicit that his intention is to leave his job at the end of the month)

implicit: A statement or view implied or suggested but not expressly stated (it was implicit in his comments that he did not like my friend’s attitude regarding taking drugs); unquestioning or unreserved (he had implicit confidence in his friend’s ability to handle the situation) 

fewer/less

fewer: Used to indicate smaller numbers of people or things (we had fewer people nominated for positions on the council than last time)

less: Smaller in size or quantity (Andrew received less food on his plate than his brother) 

forego/forgo

forego: To go before; to precede

forgo: To abstain from doing something or to do without (Ken decided to forgo his lunch to make certain he would not be late for the meeting) 

imply/infer

imply: To suggest without stating explicitly: to hint (the politician seemed to imply that he was going to run for re-election)

infer: To draw a conclusion from (can I infer from what you just said that you intend to take action on the high numbers of underage drinkers?) 

later/latter

 later: Occurring or coming after the due or expected time (I will leave a key under the mat for you in case you get here later than 11, when I go to bed)

latter: The second of two options (I will accept the latter of the two choices you have given me); toward the end (the chapter you are referring to is in the latter part of the book) 

mediate/mitigate

mediate: To bring about an agreement between disagreeing parties (the court appointed an arbitrator to mediate a financial settlement between the two parties)

mitigate: To lessen in force or intensity (he was able to mitigate the pain by taking strong painkillers and remaining still; they could do nothing to mitigate the force of the wind and watched helplessly as a tree fell on their house) 

overdo/overdue

overdo: To carry to excess; to exaggerate or overreact (you always overdo everything, but that isn’t a criticism); to exert more than your strength (don’t overdo the lifting, or you might get a hernia)

overdue: Past the due time; late (the bank has advised that our monthly repayment wasn’t made on the due date and is now overdue) 

persecute/prosecute

persecute: To harass, torment, or cause suffering, often because of a perceived injustice or as a result of adherence to different religious beliefs or principles (it has been common practice over the centuries for religious institutions to persecute those whose beliefs are different from their own)

prosecute: To institute or carry out legal proceedings against an individual, company, etc. for an alleged crime or wrongdoing (the council decided to prosecute the owner of a noisy establishment after many complaints from nearby residents) 

prescribe/proscribe

prescribe: To lay down in writing a rule or a course of action that must be followed (the school will prescribe a list of books for summer reading); in medicine, to designate a course of action (the doctor will prescribe the correct medication for your condition)

proscribe: To condemn or prohibit (the court has deemed it necessary to proscribe the keeping of certain breeds of dogs that are considered dangerous to  humans) 

regretfully/regrettably

regretfully: Expressing sorrow or loss over something (regretfully, I will not be able to attend the funeral of our dear friend on Friday)

regrettably: To feel sorry or disappointed about something (regrettably, there has been a breakdown on the highway and you will have to wait here until the situation has been resolved) 

wreak/wreck

wreak: To inflict or execute (he was determined to wreak vengeance for the murder of his sister); to cause a large amount of damage or harm (they were aware that a tsunami could wreak havoc on the seaside towns and built large walls as protection)

wreck: The destruction, ruin of cars, buildings, ships, etc. (after the accident, our car was a complete wreck and was written off by the insurance company); colloquial: the visible effects on humans of physical suffering, disease, etc. (Simon was a total wreck after losing his business during the financial crisis)

Extracts taken from: “The Right Word ~ Correcting Commonly Confused, Misspelled, and Misused Words” by Elizabeth Morrison.