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List of English words with disputed usage
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<p>Some <a href="/facts/English_language/tpkxGt7b">English</a> words are often used in ways that are contentious among writers on <a href="/facts/Usage_(language)/arBgNK1u">usage</a> and <a href="/facts/Linguistic_prescription/B8KvsTEf">prescriptive commentators</a>. The contentious usages are especially <a href="/facts/Usus/xPIwwhd3">common</a> in spoken English, and academic <a href="/facts/Linguistic_description/Hs0halB8">linguists</a> point out that they are accepted by many listeners. While in some circles the usages below may make the speaker sound uneducated or illiterate, in other circles the more <a href="/facts/Standard_language/1AV0uont">standard</a> or more traditional usage may make the speaker sound stilted or pretentious. </p><p>For a list of disputes more complicated than the usage of a single word or phrase, see <a href="/facts/English_usage_controversies/MqQI6sUg">English usage controversies</a>. </p> Abbreviations of dictionaries cited<table><tbody><tr><th>Abbrev.</th><th>Dictionary</th><th>Further details</th></tr><tr><td>AHD4</td><td><a href="/facts/The_American_Heritage_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language/CjjotfoY">The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language</a></td><td>4th Edition</td></tr><tr><td>AHD5</td><td><a href="/facts/The_American_Heritage_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language/CjjotfoY">The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language</a></td><td>5th Edition, 2013, online</td></tr><tr><td>CHAMBERS</td><td><a href="/facts/Chambers_Dictionary/1CHW1uaL">Chambers 21st Century Dictionary</a></td><td>2006</td></tr><tr><td>COD11</td><td><a href="/facts/Concise_Oxford_English_Dictionary/71oH1xBX">Concise Oxford English Dictionary</a></td><td>11th Edition</td></tr><tr><td>COED</td><td><a href="/facts/Compact_Oxford_English_Dictionary_of_Current_English/RX8VLBBd">Compact Oxford English Dictionary</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Lexico/kfecTBwv">Lexico</a></td></tr><tr><td>ENCARTA</td><td><a href="/facts/Encarta/CfH3MGCT">Encarta World English Dictionary</a></td><td>online</td></tr><tr><td>FOWLER</td><td><a href="/facts/A_Dictionary_of_Modern_English_Usage/0As3CwSQ">The New Fowler's Modern English Usage</a></td><td>Revised 3rd Edition (1998)</td></tr><tr><td>MAU</td><td><a href="/facts/Garner%27s_Modern_American_Usage/aetcznFU">Garner's Modern American Usage</a></td><td>3rd Edition (2009)</td></tr><tr><td>M-W</td><td><a href="/facts/Merriam-Webster/yEt22M9H">Merriam-Webster</a></td><td>online</td></tr><tr><td>OED</td><td><a href="/facts/Oxford_English_Dictionary/qaxKX8Bc">Oxford English Dictionary</a></td><td>online</td></tr><tr><td>RH</td><td><a href="/facts/Random_House_Dictionary/GTyqgAKm">Random House Unabridged Dictionary</a></td><td>2006; on <a href="/facts/Dictionary.com/9BX5gY0V">Dictionary.com</a></td></tr></tbody></table>