For years I've been seething about the incredibly common use of the awkward, flow-breaking, three-syllable word "utilize". It pops up everywhere in conversation and on the written page. I came across this linguistic black head five times in the New York Times Op-Ed section this morning and that prompts this post.
Why the hell is "u-til-ize" spoken and written so often when a simple, one-syllable, three letter word works so much better? Is it bureaucratic or academic pretentiousness at fault? A disdain for the simple? I don't know, but I do know that substituting "use" in its place drops any hint of pretentiousness or complexity.
There is, properly, a use for "utilize". That is when the speaker or writer intends to modify the word "use" with "profitably", or "constructively"; e.g., "I brought the wrong tools so I couldn't utilize my time." But "utilize" is used wrongly so frequently that the proper distinction between the two words is now lost. As a result I think it would be better to go with "I brought the wrong tools so I couldn't use my time effectively".
Come on folks, it's time to stop utilizing "utilize" when a simple "use" will do just fine.
Maryland
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10 years ago
I am so with you on this. The other one that bugs me is the overuse of the word resides. It sounds stilted, formal and cold while the word lives works perfectly well and feels warmer while implying more that just a residence.
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