The Right Words and the Wrong Words

her deeply). To effect is to bring about ( The teaching o f Tolstoy

effected a revolution in his thinking).
allusive I elusive
The verb to allude means to refer to something indirectly or just to
m ention it. An allusion therefore is a passing reference (In the whole
speech there was only the slightest allusion to his ow n desperate state of
health). The verb to elude is to escape something or avoid it, very often
something w hich ought not to be evaded ( For seven years he managed
to elude the police). The balancing noun elusion is now obsolete. The
adjective allusive means rich in allusions and is often used of literary
style. One m ight apply it to the prose o f Joyces Ulysses. The adjective
elusive refers to w hat easily escapes attention or is difficult to get
hold of. It m ight be applied to the narrative content o f Joyces Finnegans
Wake.
ambiguous I ambivalent
The element am bi, based on the Latin w ord for both, occurs for
instance in am bidextrous, meaning equally skilled w ith both hands.
Something w hich is am biguous is open to m ore than one interpretation,
and the w ord is used primarily of statements, but also of actions. The
w ord ambivalent is not a synonymous alternative to am biguous, as
some writers seem to think. An attitude w hich is ambivalent involves
two different and perhaps conflicting em otions, not interpretations.
( There was ambivalence in her attitude to the man w ho had both aided
and injured her.)
amend I emend
To am end is to improve, make better. God am end us, God am end!
says Berowne in Shakespeares Loves Labour's Lost. In the House of Commons
efforts are made to am end bills being put before members w hen they
think an am endm ent advisable. The verb to em end is used in a m ore
specialized way o f correcting errors or making textual improvements in
manuscripts and printed material. The correction is an em endation.
amoral I immoral
The prefixes a- and im - cancel out the meaning of the w ord m oral
in two different ways. W hat is im m oral transgresses moral laws and the
w ord is used generally o f unethical and corrupt behaviour. W hat is