Titivate – English editing.
The verbs titillate and titivate sound alike but do not have the same meaning, and to use the wrong one could be unfortunate. Titillate is the commoner word and means…
Till – English editing.
In most contexts, till and until have the same meaning and are interchangeable. The main difference is that till is generally considered to be the more informal of the two…
Thankfully – English editing.
Thankfully has been used for centuries to mean ‘in a thankful manner’, as in she accepted the offer thankfully. Since the 1960s it has also been used to mean ‘fortunately’,…
Prove – English editing.
For complex historical reasons prove developed two past participles; proved and proven. Until recently, in British English proved was generally used for the past participle, and proven survived only in…
Presently – English editing.
Presently has two meanings. The older, meaning ‘now’, dates from the 15th century and is the dominating meaning in American English, as in he is presently chair of the committee.…
Number – English editing.
The construction of the number of + plural noun should be used with a singular verb, as in the number of people affected remains small. This is because it is…
Noun – English editing.
A noun is a word that names a person, animal, or thing. Common nouns name persons, animals, or things of which there is not just one example, (bridge, girl, sugar,…
Nonplussed – English editing.
In standard use nonplussed means ‘surprised and confused’, as in she was nonplussed at his eagerness to help out. In North America, English a new use has developed in recent…