Words that sound formal without being better, and the ordinary words that do the job.
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The same sentence twice. Pick the one you would rather read, then check which one you actually write.
A. Prior to the scheme commencing, the council sought to ascertain whether a myriad of local firms would utilise the facility, whilst also considering a plethora of alternative sites.
B. Before the scheme began, the council tried to find out how many local firms would use the facility, while also looking at other sites.
Which would you rather read?
Almost everybody picks B. Then almost everybody writes A, because A looks like what an academic essay is supposed to look like.
B is thirteen words shorter and says exactly the same thing.
The one with a genuine sense, the one that is simply British, and the one that is a misuse rather than an inflation.
utilise is not simply a longer use. It has a narrower sense that use does not cover: to put something to practical use, often for a purpose it was not designed or intended for, or to make productive use of a resource that would otherwise be wasted.
The plant utilises waste heat from the adjacent incinerator to warm the greenhouses.
That sentence is doing real work. The heat was a by-product; somebody found a use for it. Uses would be accurate but flatter, and utilises is the precise choice.
Now the ordinary case:
Students utilise the library.→ Students use the library.
A library is for using. Nothing has been put to an unintended purpose. Here the long word adds nothing and costs a syllable.
The test: has something been put to a use it was not made for? If not, write use.
Eight long words. Match each to what it actually buys — and notice how few of them buy anything.
Terms
Definitions
Eighteen sentences in three buckets. The third bucket is not about length at all.
Sort each item into the correct category
Three chains. Twice the plain word wins, and once the long word is genuinely the precise one.
Chain 1
The sentence: Students ______ the library heavily during the examination period.
Candidates: use / utilise
Step 1 — Has anything been put to a purpose it was not made for?
Step 2 — Therefore the expert writes: Students the library heavily during the examination period.
Chain 2
The sentence: The district heating scheme ______ waste heat from the incinerator, which had previously been vented to the air.
Candidates: uses / utilises
Step 1 — What does the second half of the sentence tell you about the heat?
Step 2 — Therefore the expert writes: The scheme waste heat from the incinerator.
Chain 3
The sentence: The programme delivered a ______ of benefits to participating schools.
Candidates: plethora / range
Step 1 — Would too many fit in that slot?
Step 2 — Therefore the expert writes: The programme delivered a of benefits to participating schools.