When I first entered the workforce, I asked an older, wiser friend to review my resume. She chastised me for using the word telephony, laughing at my “made-up word.”
Even though I used it correctly and my prospective employers would (likely) understand it, my friend’s mirth and Master’s degree intimidated me, so I removed telephony from my resume.
Another time, I heard about a man who correctly used the word niggardly, which means stingy, but people thought he made a racial slur; he was fired over it. (Read about some other confusing words.)
Recently I learned a word I really want to use: theocrasy. This would fit nicely in a book I’m working on, but I fear readers will misread it or think I made a typo and meant theocracy, which conveys a different idea. (It doesn’t help that both words are pronounced the same.)
My conclusion is that being right doesn’t matter if people misunderstand what you’re saying.
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Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is a full-time, career author. He’s published scores of books, hundreds of articles, and thousands of blog posts, with experience as a publisher, editor, and commercial freelance writer. A passionate wordsmith, his goal is to change the world one word at a time. Learn more at PeterLyleDeHaan.com.
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