Mistakes (part 3)

Nauseous
Undoubtedly the most common mistake i encounter. Contrary to almost ubiquitous misuse, to be 'nauseous' doesn't mean you've been sickened. It actually means you possess the ability to produce nausea in others. E.g., That week-old hot dog is nauseous.

Anxious
Unless yuo are frighned of them, you shouldn't say you're 'anxious to see your friends'. You are actually 'eager' or ' excited'. To be 'anxious' implies a looming fear, dread or anxiety. It doesn't mean you're looking forward to something.

Impactful
It isn't a word. 'Impact' can be use as a noun (e.g., The impact of the crash was severe) or a transitive verb (e.g., The crash impacted my ability to walk or hold a job.) 'impactful' is a made-up buzzword, colligated by the modern marketing industry in their endless attempts to decode the innumerable nuances of human behavior into a string of mindless metrics. Seriously, stop saying this.

Moot
Contrary to common misuse, 'moot' doesn't imply something is superfluous. It means a subject is disputable or open to discussion. E.g., The idea that commercial zoning should be allowed in the residential neighborhood was a moot point for the council.

Nor
'Nor' expresses a negative condition. It literally means 'and not'. You're obligated to use the 'nor' form if your sentence expresses a negative and follows it with another negative condition. 'Neither the men nor the women were drunk' is a correct sentence because 'nor' expresses that the women held the same negative condition as the men. The old rule is that 'nor' typically follows 'neither' and 'or' follows 'either'. However, if neither 'either' nor 'neither' is used in a sentence, you should use 'nor' to express a second negative, as long as the second negative is a verb. If the second negative is a noun, adjective, or adverb, you would use 'or', because the initial negative transfers to all conditions. E.g., He won't eat broccoli or asparagus. The negative condition expressing the first noun (broccoli) is also used for the second (asparagus).