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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition.   2000.
 
Usage Notes.
 
  Usage Notes. The Usage Notes following many entries present important information and guidance on matters of grammar, diction, pronunciation, and registers and nuances of usage. For a detailed discussion of usage and our Usage Panel, see Geoffrey Nunberg's essay “Usage in The American Heritage Dictionary.   1
  Many Notes, such as those at epicenter and factoid, contain opinions of the Usage Panel about the acceptability or conventionality of words, especially as used in formal Standard English contexts. Others, such as those at criterion and principal, are more explanatory in nature and do not refer to Panel opinions. Entries of words discussed in the Notes have cross-references to the entry at which the Note appears. If an entry that has a Note is discussed in a Note at another entry, the cross-reference to that entry is given immediately following the Usage Note.   2
 
a2aberrantable
aboutabsoluteabsolutely
accessoryacquiesceact
acumenad hominemadmission
adoptadvanceadvise
affect1affinityagenda
aggravateain'talibi
allallegedall right
alludealongsidealso
alternativealthoughaltogether
alumnusA.M.Amerasian
American IndianAmerindianand
and/orAngloanticipate
antidoteanxiousany
anyoneapparentarchetype
as1as far asAsian
Asiaticassureauthor
awhilebackwardbad1
bait1balefulbanal
barbarismbarbituratebe
bear1becausebehalf
berdachebesidesbest
betweenbi–1black
Black Englishblatantboast1
bothbringbut
callouscan1cannot
capital1careencelebrant
celibatecentercertain
challengedChicanochild-directed speech
claustrophobiccohortcollective noun
colorcoloredcompact disk
comparecomplectedcomplement
completecompriseconflicted
contactcontemporarycontinuance
contrastcontrollerconvince
councilcouplecraft
credentialcrediblecrescendo
criterioncritiqueculture
czardaredata
deafdebutdeceptively
decimatedefinitedemagogue
denotedependdeprecate
dialoguedifferentdilemma
disableddiscomfitdisingenuous
disinteresteddisinventdistinct
dive1domestic partnerdouble negative
doubtdourdrunk
due toeacheach other
–ee1eitherelder1
elseempowerenervate
enormityenthuseenvelope
epicenterepithetequal
errescapeEskimo
–essEurasianevery
everyplaceexceptexceptionable
factfactoidfarther
Februaryfewfinalize
firstlyFirst Nationflammable
flauntflotsamfollow
footforegoneformer2
formidableforte1fortuitous
founder1fulsomefun
gambitgaygender
General Americangetglamour
goodgourmet.gov
governmentgraduategraffito
grievegroupgrow
handicappedhangharass
hardlyharebrainedhave
he1headquarterheadquarters
healthyhegemonyheight
helpherbhero
Hispanichistorichoi polloi
holocausthomosexualhopefully
host1howeverhyphenated
I1identicalidentify
ifimpactimpeach
importantimpracticableinclude
Indianindividualinfer
infiniteinfrastructureinput
insigniaintenseinterface
intrigueintuitInuit
ironicirregardlessits
JewJewesskabbalah
Kanakakilometerknot1
kudos!Kunglack
ladylateLatina1
lay1leave1legend
liablelifestylelight1
like2likelyliterally
literateloanlook
majoritymanmaster
masterfulmaterializemean3
mediummenmethodology
mid–migrateminimal
mistressmomentarilymonth
mootMs.mute
mutualmyriadmyself
nativeNative Americannauseous
needneitherNet
nonenonstandardnonwhite
nor1notnothing
nuclearnumberoblivious
octoroonofoff
officiateoftenold
ononeonly
or1orientalought1
over–pairparadigm
parameterparticipleparty
passpeoplepercent
percentageperfectperiodic
permitpersonperuse
phenomenonpill bugplead
plusP.M.politics
poorpossessedpracticable
practicallyprecipitatepremiere
preposition1presentlyprincipal
prioritizeprocess1protagonist
provequarterqueer
quickquoterace1
rarelyratherredundancy
referregardreplete
repulseresponsiblerestive
sacrilegioussafe sexsaid
salutationsamesaving
scarcelyschismScottish
seasonalseriesservice
set1shallshe
short-livedshouldslow
sneakso1so-called
somedaysometimesonorous
soonsplit infinitiveStandard English
statusstaunch1stomp
stratumstrengthsuch
sufferthanthat
themedtherethey
thisThree Age systemthusly
tighttill2together
tootortuoustoward
transpiretryun–1
unawareunexceptionableunique
utilizevariousverbal
veryvictualvirtual
wake1wantway
weweanweb
websitewell2what
whateverwhenwhence
wherewhichwho
whosewhy–wise
wishwithwreak
Xmasye1yet
zoology
 
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
 
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