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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Last year's bunnies have not yet reappeared.
The groundhog fled to the woods as we neared.
The squirrels continue their race unabated.
The cardinals rest ...
10 years ago
