Do you Utilize, or do you Use?
I love words
When I edit another person’s work I am careful not to intrude on their stylistic voice. For example, if a writer is a heavy user of “ly” words I look to see if this is part of their voice or can some adverbs be deleted, or the sentence rewritten with a verb that doesn’t need the adverb to create strength.
That said, there is one edit I will always do.
When a writer uses the word “utilize” in the wrong way, I will change it to “use.”
I know, I know. The words are used interchangeably today, but they shouldn’t be. We are missing out on a beautiful nuance in our English language when we use “utilize” the wrong way.
Utilize = “to make use of.”
This looks like a definition for “use,” but in reality, there is a difference. “To make use of” means to use something beyond its intended use.
For example, consider I use a hammer to drive a nail compared to I utilize a rock to drive a nail.
A hammer is designed to be used with nails. A rock is not, but if a rock is hard enough and in the right shape it can be utilized to do the job of a hammer. I’ve done this on a loose fence board.
When I read a sentence that says something like I utilize a hammer to drive a nail I wonder why did they…
