爱华网Many people who’ve had to proof read documents start to develop a kind of compulsive “tutting” at misused words. Here’s my top ten words that are misused by either professional writers or public speakers who, let’s be honest, should really know better. I’m not being paid for this, so I don’t feel so bad if there are mistakes!
1、 Ultimate
1、 第一位：Ultimate
n. 终极；根本；基本原则
adj. 最终的；极限的；根本的
From the Latin, this means the last in a list of items. But it’s so widely used to indicate the best; a google search for “ultimate phone” gives 307 million hits. I’d argue that the last phone has yet to be made. This is probably the most misused word on the Internet; type “ultimate” into google and thousands of hits come up, pretty much all of them using it as “the best”. However, for a change, this is the ultimate entry in this list.
在拉丁语中，它用于表示列表中的最后一项，但却经常被用来形容“最好的”。在谷歌引擎上搜索“ultimate phone最好的电话”的次数高达30700万。对此我坚持认为是“最后一通电话”。该词可能是网上误用最多的单词了。在谷歌中输入“ultimate”，会出现上千个搜索结果，但大多数都把它用作“最好的”。不过，换个话题说，这的确是本文最后一个词目了。
2、Decimate
第二位：Decimate
vt. 十中抽一，取十分之一；大批杀害
Decimation was a Roman punishment where one in ten men was killed. So when something is decimated, it implies that ten percent of it is destroyed. “Devastate” is almost certainly a better word for most usages and yet: “New York City budget will decimate libraries”.
“Decimation”曾用来形容古罗马的一项刑罚：十个人中死一个。所以当 “decimate”用于形容一件事情时，它意味着毁灭了十分之一的程度。“纽约市的预算将会毁掉图书馆”中的“decimate毁掉”一词用“Devastate”更合适。所以相对来说，“Devastate”更常用。
3、Disinterested
第三位：Disinterested
adj. 无私的；公正的；冷漠的；廉洁的
v. 使不再有利害关系；使无兴趣（disinterest的过去分词）
Does “disinterested” mean the same as “uninterested”? No. Here’s an example of misuse: “TomTom Disinterested in Windows Phone 7 Too?”. “Disinterested” means that a party is independent; so a dispute might be settled by a disinterested party. “Uninterested” means the party has no interest. “I asked John if he wanted to go to the cricket, but he was completely uninterested.”
“disinterested”和“uninterested”意思相同吗?不是。这里有一个误用的例子，“汤姆对微软视窗系统“disinterested不公正”吗?” “Disinterested”意指公正;所以纷争可以通过公正的人来解决。而 “uninterested”是指没有兴趣。如，“我问约翰是否想去打板球，但他一点儿也’uninterested不感兴趣’。”
4、Panacea
第四位：Panacea
n. 帕那刻亚（古希腊医药女神）；万灵药；灵丹妙药
“Panacea” means a cure all; it comes from the same Greek root as “panorama”. It shouldn’t be used to imply a cure for a single thing, and yet here is a newspaper saying: “SOUTH AFRICA: Welfare payments – a panacea for poverty?”
“panacea”意指包治百病的灵药，它与希腊语“panorama全景”含有同一词根。它不能用来形容对单一事物的治疗，而有家报纸上却说“南非：社会福利——穷人的 “a panacea”一种灵丹?”
5、Literally
第五位：Literally
adv. 逐字地;照字面地;确实地，真正地;[口语]差不多，简直（用于加强语..)
This is such a widely known misused word that examples are less common, as most people know to avoid the term – which should be used to describe something that is actually happening (for example, “He literally danced with joy.”) but should not be used for emphasis (“Steam was literally coming out of his ears.”) This example quotes a, now deceased, reverend gentleman who seemed to rejoice in, frankly, daft opinions, including one about a “literal homosexual steamroller”:
这个词被错误使用的频率相当高，但大多人都选择词避而不用，因而错用实例不多。它本用来描述正在发生的某事，如，“他正高兴的手舞足蹈”。但是不能被用作强调，如“蒸汽确实从他的耳朵里冒出来。”坦白的说，这个例子形容已故绅士享受“literal homosexual steamroller(“正要扑倒对方的同性恋”)的愚蠢画面。
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