With the constant drift of meaning in language, it's important to look at some of the really powerful words that are frequently misused--and get them right.
Part of the allure of being a writer is the ability to do whatever you want. Entire planets can be created on a whim, or a brand new government. Postulations about the economy of the future—or maybe what it was like in the past—bloom on the page as you unleash your imagination and let it show off its stuff.
Words are the fuel of thoughts. We can emote, sure; even babies do that. But our actual thought processes are powered by the combination of, in the case of English, twenty-six squiggles and lines that we call the alphabet. With those twenty-six figures (and the extra ten for numbers, and then the additional signs we use for punctuation can also count) brand new ideas, age old concepts, and everything in between can be expressed. With such a versatile tool, it’s no wonder that there are countless books on the face of the planet!
But since words are all that writers really have, it’s immensely important to use the correct verbiage. In fact, a lot of potentially great writers erroneously think that, just because they speak English correctly, they can also write it correctly, a syndrome that’s reminiscent of an eighth-grade mentality. The following brief list contains some real crushing words—words that move, strike, smite, and all the other things you want in your prose. The problem is, they are (technically) problematic.
Decimate
Like the word decimal, decimate has to do with a tenth—ten percent, actually. So saying, “The whirlwind ripped through the town, decimating Farmer Oleander’s only crop of ripe asparagus and causing general havoc,” will actually weaken your prose to a discriminating reader. In reality, you sad that the poor crop of asparagus was only reduced by ten percent—not much of a whirlwind, really, and not fitting in with the rest of the sentence, either. Now, general usage will probably let this slide—certainly if you’re talking to a friend in a casual conversation. Rather than worry about people misunderstanding what, precisely, you’re trying to say, recast your sentence using synonyms for the word destroy. Problem solved.
Enormity
Interesting word, that. If you are talking about the overwhelming sentiments that your protagonist feels as he realizes that he’s the only one who can find the cure to the virus that’s running rampant through the population, then there’s an enormous responsibility: he feels the enormousness of the situation. The reason for this is the same as why we say that person acts with kindness, not kindity, which isn’t even a real word. Furthermore, enormity means grossly wicked, or morally wrong and reprehensible. If your protagonist needs to release the said virus that’s going to be running rampant through the population, then he really would feel the enormity of his responsibilities—provided your protagonist has a conscience.
Aggravating
The more fool you if you use aggravating to be a perfect synonym for irritating. To put it baldly, it’s not. Irritating things are pesky, annoying nuisances. Aggravating things make matters worse or exacerbate the situation. The difference is slight, subtle, and important if you want your tools of words to maintain a perfectly sharp edge. Don’t fall into the trap of saying something as unintelligent as this: “My constant losses at bingo were getting to be very aggravating.” Irritating performs the desired task much better, and it also keeps you in good graces of distinguishing and discriminating readers.
Perhaps you aren’t terribly concerned about these fine differentiations between words. That’s fine, so long as you are aware of them. After all, you can’t break the rules if you don’t know them!
