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Quiz: Misused Words

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There are so many misused words in the English language that it would take a very long time to cover them all. Quite often, they are used incorrectly because the person doesn’t know the meaning of the word and is making a best guess. Unfortunately, other people tend to not explain the meaning, so there is no learning curve. 

The following are all words that are commonly used incorrectly. The words will be listed and your task is to match the word with the correct definition. This will hopefully be a fun way to learn the correct definition or to reinforce it in your memory if you already know the word.

The pictures have nothing to do with the quiz and are simply for your viewing pleasure.

  • Question of

    “Untenable” means

    • Unrentable
    • Painful or unbearable
    • unsustainable or indefensible
  • Question of

    Tortuous means

    • twisting
    • difficult
    • extraordinary
  • Question of

    Staunch means

    • sturdy or loyal
    • stop the flow
    • stinky
  • Question of

    Reticent means

    • reluctant
    • shy
    • ability to observe
  • Question of

    Simplistic means

    • Naively simple
    • easy
    • basic
  • Question of

    Hone means

    • converge upon
    • sharpen
    • getting closer
  • Question of

    Proscribe means

    • forbid or condemn
    • to direct
    • to recommend
  • Question of

    Nonplussed means

    • bored
    • unimpressed
    • stunned
  • Question of

    Ensure means

    • to buy or have insurance
    • to comfort or lend cofidence
    • to make certain
  • Question of

    Evoke means

    • to recall a memory
    • to call on a higher power
    • to take away

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Written by Rex Trulove

37 Comments

  2. 9/10 Great quiz, Rex! I should point out though, that staunch is an alternative spelling of stanch, and is (I think) more common on this side of the Atlantic 🙂

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    • Many people might misspell words, but that doesn’t mean that it is correct. Many people in the US also confuse staunch and stanch. They have different meanings, though. Stanch is to stop the flow. For instance, if a person cuts themselves, one of the first things they generally do is to try to stanch the flow of blood.

      On the other hand, staunch means sturdy or loyal. The US and the UK are staunch allies. If I am able to, I need to rebuild our storage shed because it isn’t very staunch.

      You did really good on this one, Norman!

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      • Fair enough, rex 🙂 But I’m not talking about a misspelling; rather I’m asserting that ‘staunch’ is a valid alternative spelling for ‘stanch’, and I suspect (though evidence evades me) that the version with -u- is more common outside America. Look at http://www.dictionary.com/browse/staunch?s=t and you will see the very first entry is for the verb’s alternative spelling.

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        • It appears that there is a difference in the dictionary that is used. Merriam-Webster defines stanch only as stopping the flow. (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stanch)

          Collins English Dictionary defines it in the same way. (https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/stanch) Collins does acknowledge that it is a variant spelling of staunch, but not that it is a correct variant spelling. In other words, “Lots of people spell it this way” but that doesn’t make it correct.

          There are quite a number of words that this is true of, regardless if it is America, Britain, or wherever. For instance, a lot of people still spell ‘clue’ as ‘clew’, but that isn’t necessarily correct even though ‘clew’ is a word and was once used instead of clue.

          Not that it makes much difference at all as long as people understand what is being meant and as long as proper English isn’t the subject. Of course, there *IS* a difference in US and British/Canadian spelling of a lot of words, but it is pretty easy to understand what is being said. There is also a substantial difference in slang terms, and that can also be quite interesting.

          It can also be fun. Elevators were invented in the US and they don’t use elevators in England. Instead, they use lifts. LOL

    • It isn’t so much age as it is lack of use, I think. If words aren’t used, it is easy to forget the meanings. These words are also among those that are commonly misused, too, so you aren’t the only one who has that issue.

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        • Two things that I’m reminded of. First, “If you don’t use it, you lose it.” Even an expert at something is likely to start forgetting information if it isn’t continually used. That’s why the Bible tells Christians that they should read the bible daily.

          Second, like it or not, we are influenced by the world around us. If we are repeatedly subjected to people who clearly define words incorrectly, it is only a matter of time before we pick up the mistakes. That’s why so many people today think that “decimate” means ‘totally destroy’ and use the word that way when decimate really means to reduce by a tenth.

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