Bryan A. Garner

rein; reign (2). Today: “hold the reins.” “Rein” and “reign” are also confused in the noun forms: one holds the “reins,” not the “reigns.” E.g.: o “Ron Low has a hold of the Oilers’ reigns [read ‘reins’] for now, but should he not work out, look for former Canucks and Flyers coach Bob McCammon to …

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Miscellaneous Entries. referable; *referrable; *referrible. The preferred form is “referable” (= capable of being referred to) — which, like “preferable,” is accented on the first syllable; otherwise, the final “-r-” would be doubled. “Referrable”* often mistakenly appears. Although the form is old, it has long been held inferior to “referable.” “Referrible”* is a needless variant. …

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reify. “Reify” (= to make material, or convert mentally into a thing) is a transitive verb — e.g.: o “In his first two years, Clinton’s single biggest mistake was seeking to reify, in one great leap, his panoramic revelation of the perfect healthcare system.” Ronald Brownstein, “Expect Newt Gingrich to Renew Debate About Government’s Role,” …

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regretful; regrettable. Errors made are “regrettable”; the people who have made them should be “regretful.” The most common error is to misuse “regretful” for “regrettable,” especially in the adverbial forms — e.g.: o “Yet regretfully [read ‘regrettably’], there may be less than full understanding that MARTA’s rail-service areas are really a function of trip volume …

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registrate. “Registrate” is an ill-conceived back-formation from “registration,” the verb “register” being standard — e.g.: o “Listeners can qualify by registrating [read ‘registering’] at various local sites.” “Tuned In,” York Daily Record, 10 May 1994, at 1. o “Those interested must apply and be interviewed before registrating [read ‘registering’] for the class.” “Hospice Training Scheduled,” …

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registrable. “Registrable (/REJ-is-truh-buhl/) is so spelled — e.g.: “The stakes are open to all AKC registrable pointing breeds.” Doug Smith, “Walleyes Are Hot on Mille Lacs,” Star Trib. (Minneapolis), 26 May 2002, at C19. “Registerable”* is a common misspelling — e.g.: o “[In] KanPopper, the inevitable deformation of the name . . . makes it …

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Miscellaneous Entries. redemptive; *redemptory; redemptional. “Redemptive” = tending to redeem, redeeming. “Redemptory”* is a needless variant. “Redemptional” = of or pertaining to redemption. red tape. Lawyers and government officials formerly used red ribbons (called “tapes”) to tie their papers together. Gradually during the 19th century, these red ribbons came to symbolize rigid adherence to time-consuming …

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register; registrar. Both terms designate a governmental officer who keeps official records. The Oxford English Dictionary notes that “register” was commonly used in this sense from 1580 to 1800 and that “registrar” is now the usual word. But in American English “register” retains vitality: various levels of government have “registers of copyrights,” “registers of deeds,” …

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regardless. “Regardless” (= without regard to) should not be used for “despite” (= in spite of). E.g.: o “Take heart. Regardless [read ‘Despite’] what happened Saturday, the Broncos will be performing in the Super Bowl Sunday.” Mark Wolf, “Get Over the Broncos: Others Need Support,” Rocky Mountain News (Denver), 7 Jan. 1997, at C2. o …

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regiment. “Regiment” (= a military unit made up of several battalions) is coming to be misused for “regimen” (= a systematic plan designed to improve health, skills, etc.) — e.g.: o “Wealthy people plagued with weak nerves and ‘auto-intoxication’ flocked to the San, as it was known, from all over the world to undergo a …

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regardless of whether. This is the idiomatic phrasing, not “regardless whether”* — e.g.: o “When he wanted to send troops to help end the civil war a year ago, President Clinton told a skeptical public and Congress that they would be withdrawn in December 1996 regardless whether [read ‘regardless of whether’] peace had been achieved.” …

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Miscellaneous Entries. recreational; recreative. “Recreational” is the standard adjective corresponding to the noun “recreation”; it’s about 1,000 times as common as its synonym “recreative,” a needless variant. But “recreative” is genuinely useful in the sense “tending to re-create” — e.g.: “The paradoxically destructive and recreative force of the mythical flood seemed as real to Friday’s …

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regard (2). Today: As a Verb in “highly regarded” and “widely regarded.” The verb “regard” commonly appears in these two combinations. The one phrase, “highly regarded,” is a vague expression of praise; the other, “widely regarded as,” usually leads to words of praise — though it would certainly be possible to say that someone is …

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refute. “Refute” is not synonymous with “rebut” or “deny.” That is, it doesn’t mean merely “to counter an argument” but “to disprove beyond doubt; to prove a statement false.” Yet the word is commonly misused for “rebut” — e.g.: “Ontario Hydro strongly refuted [read ‘denied’ or ‘rebutted’] the charges, saying none of its actions violate …

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reference, vb. “Reference,” as a verb meaning “to provide with references,” is defensible. E.g.: “The cross-referenced chapter contains two subsections.” The term has become a vogue word, however, as a synonym for “refer to” — e.g.: o “You can add notes (10K) to your items, import, or simply reference [read ‘refer to’ or ‘cite’] external …

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Miscellaneous Entries. recital; recitation. These words overlap, but are distinguishable. Aside from a (usually) solo musical or dance performance, “recital” may mean “a rehearsal, account, or description of some thing, fact, or incident” {a recital of all the incidents would be tedious}. “Recitation” usually connotes an oral delivery before an audience, whether in the classroom …

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refer back. “Refer back” is a common redundancy, “refer” alone nearly always being sufficient — e.g.: “Irons said he believes the judge’s latest ruling refers back [read ‘refers’] to an original order in 1991 that did order the removal of the cross.” Valerie Alvord & Gerry Braun, “San Diego Files Notice to Appeal Soledad Cross …

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reek; wreak (3). Today: “reek” misspelled “reak.”* “Reak” is a common misspelling of “reek” — e.g.: o “The oil company subsequently hired a firm to clean the oil, but after six weeks of work and a declaration the house was inhabitable, the house still ‘reaked [read ‘reeked’] of oil,’ Hansen said.” MaryAnn Spoto, “Suit Seeks …

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