10、Refute
第十位：Refute
“Refute” means to “disprove with evidence” and yet it’s commonly used, even by professional writers, to mean “rebut” which carries a similar meaning but isn’t quite so strong, as it can also mean “argue against.” The example here （“Simon Cowell refutes ‘scandalous’ claims he helped billionaire hide assets from wife he was divorcing”） is from a recent Daily Mail article. For those outside the UK, the Daily Mail is a newspaper which regularly rages against falling educational standards. A special mention to Sarah Palin who invented a new word “refudiate”; the usage suggests she meant repudiate.
“Refute”意为“通过证据来反对”，然而它常被普通人甚至职业作家当作“rebut（反驳）”一词使用。尽管两者意思相近，都会有 “反驳”之意，但“rebut”的语气不如 “refute”强。有个例子来自近期的每日邮报文章：西蒙•科威尔 “refute驳斥” “丑闻”，声称他帮百万富翁私藏财产，躲过前妻视线。对于那些没有生活在英国的人来说，每日邮报只是个不定时抱怨一下教育水平下降的报纸。值得一提的是，莎拉•佩林创建了新词汇“refudiate（否认）”, 用法等同于 “repudiate”，意为“否认”。
9、Instant
第九位：Instant
Nowadays, it’s almost universally assumed that “instant” actually means “quickly” or “without intervention.” Obviously, it doesn’t. It actually refers to a precise moment in time. Google Instant is a good example of this word being abused.
如今，几乎所有人都认为“instant”就是“迅速”或“连续”的意思，但显然不是这样。它事实上是指在精准的时间内。谷歌即时搜索就是一个滥用该词的典型例子。
8、Enormity
第八位：Enormity
“Enormity” means “extreme evil”, but it’s often used to mean “enormousness”. US President, George HW Bush missed this one when he said after being elected that he “Couldn’t believe the enormity of the situation.” A perfect example of irony （which, in the context I have just used it, is correct）.
“Enormity”意为“穷凶极恶”，但它却常用来指“巨大”之意。美国前总统，乔治•沃克•布什，曾经误用过该词，在就职典礼上，他发言道“没想到任务如此之大。”这是个具有讽刺意味的例子。
7、Less
第七位：Less
Less is used when comparing quantities that can’t be counted; for example, “I’d like less milk.” If you’re comparing quantities （like bagels, for example） then “fewer” should be used. But you don’t win many competitions with a tie break if you point out that “25 words or less” should actually be “25 words or fewer.” The antonyms “more than” and “greater than” get similarly misused. Programmers will know the comparison operators are referred to as “greater than and less than”; it should really be “greater than and fewer than”.
“Less” 用于形容不可数名词，如“我想喝一点牛奶。”如果形容可数名词，如百吉饼之类，这时，那就应该用 “fewer”。 但如果你比赛平局时你指出“25字或less（更少）”其实就是 “25字或fewer（更少）。”这种误用同样也出现在反义词 “more than” 和 “greater than”。程序员知道指代 “greater than and less than（比。。。大，比。。。小）”的比较运算符实为 “greater than and fewer than（比。。。大，比。。。小）”。
6、Chronic
第六位：Chronic
Chronic is originally a medical term meaning “long term”; it has the same root as “chronometer”. Someone suffering from chronic pain has long term pain. It’s often used to mean “very bad” – in fact “acute” should be used instead. Despite that, it’s easy to find recent examples: “O’Brien: INM in ‘chronic’ state”.
“Chronic” 原为医学术语，意指“长期”，它与 “chronometer精密计时器” 含有相同的词根。如“患慢性病的人，承受着长期痛苦。”但它却常被用于形容“严重的”— 事实上， 应该用 “acute”一词来替代。除了这个错用之外，还有其他的事例，如最近的奥伯里恩说道“INM 为一种慢性病。
5、Literally
第五位：Literally
This is such a widely known misused word that examples are less common, as most people know to avoid the term – which should be used to describe something that is actually happening （for example, “He literally danced with joy.”） but should not be used for emphasis （“Steam was literally coming out of his ears.”） This example quotes a, now deceased, reverend gentleman who seemed to rejoice in, frankly, daft opinions, including one about a “literal homosexual steamroller”:
这个词被错误使用的频率相当高，但大多人都选择词避而不用，因而错用实例不多。它本用来描述正在发生的某事，如，“他正高兴的手舞足蹈”。但是不能被用作强调，如“蒸汽确实从他的耳朵里冒出来。”坦白的说，这个例子形容已故绅士享受“literal homosexual steamroller（“正要扑倒对方的同性恋”）的愚蠢画面。加拿大华人网 http://www.sinoca.com/
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