Versus

“Resiliency” vs. “Resilience”

Nouns, Versus

I was wondering the other day about these two words.

Problem:
The two words mean exactly the same thing, but people don’t use one or the other consistently.

Explanation:
As defined by Wikipedia, “resilience” means the property of a material to absorb energy when it is deformed elastically.

Wikipedia automatically redirects to the “resilience” page when a visitor puts “resiliency” in the search box and clicks the [Go] button.

Similarly, Dictionary.com defines “resiliency” as resilience.

For fun, I searched Google for each of the following words (without the quotation marks) and got about the indicated numbers of matches:

  • “resilience” — 12,800,000 matches
  • “resiliency” — 3,770,000 matches

This tells me that Web authors favor “resilience” over “resiliency” by a ratio of 3.40:1.

Solution:
Use “resilience” instead of “resiliency” because the latter is more difficult to say and to be understood and because it means the former.

“Determinate” vs. “Determinant”

Adjectives, Common English Blunders, Mispronunciations, Nouns, Verbs, Versus

I sometimes hear these two words used interchangeably.

Problem:
These two words are not synonyms.

Explanation:
The primary definition of the word “determinate” as a verb is to make certain of. The primary definition of the word “determinate” as an adjective is having defined limits.

The primary definition of the word “determinant” as a noun is a determining agent. The primary definition of the word “determinant” as an adjective is having the power of deciding.

I believe that these words most often are used interchangeably because of sloppy pronunciation.

Solution:
When using each of these words as an adjective, think having defined limits for “determinate” and having the power of deciding for ” determinant”.

“Alternate” vs. “Alternative”

Common English Blunders, Nouns, Versus

I was wondering the other day about these two nouns.

Problem:
The basic definitions differ between these two nouns.

Explanation:
The primary meaning of the noun “alternate” is someone who is allowed to substitute for someone else.

The primary meaning of the noun “alternative” is a selection of one of two or more possibilities.

Solution:
Use “alternate” specifically when referring to a substitute person; use “alternative” otherwise.