Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content

38Learn Words You're Probably Misusing or Confusing with Other Words

Some words seem interchangeable with others because they sound similar, others because their meanings are confused in everyday usage. Here are some of the most commonly misused words in marketing writing.

First we'll deal with 20 pairs of seemingly interchangeable or similar sounding words. After that we'll take up usage confusion—for example, can you sub bring for take? Or is it, may you sub bring for take? Or should I simply rephrase the question to avoid revealing my inability to tell the difference?

Similar or Seemingly Interchangeable Words

1. Disinterested: impartial or unbiased.
2. Uninterested: don't care.

   You'll notice this confusion in news headlines (kind of like when you are thinking about buying a new Ford Fusion and you suddenly see it all over the place). I saw this headline the other day: “Woman Goes Missing; Disinterested Police ‘Guess’ She Eloped, Shut Case.”¹ That same day, I noticed this: “Eight in Ten SMEs [small and midsize enterprises] Disinterested in Seeking Finance.”² Both the police and the small business owners were actually uninterested—not disinterested.

3. Accept: agree to receive, as ...