4 ms·

There is a bit of nuance. "Utilize" is more like "make use of" (as in employing something that was otherwise sitting idle) rather than the more straightforward

There is a bit of nuance. "Utilize" is more like "make use of" (as in employing something that was otherwise sitting idle) rather than the more straightforward "use". It isn't much of a difference, but it is there.

stavros 3y ago
Sure, but consider this sentence (in the comment above): > It's interesting to see GPT being utilized in various ways, including helping with tweet replies. Not only is "utilized" not doing any extra work there, it's arguably the wrong word to use there, as "use" fits better.
- webmaven 3y ago
  Certainly. People utilize wrong words all the time. If I were to choose a fancier word than "used" for that particular sentence, I might go with "employed".
dragonwriter 3y ago
> "Utilize" is more like "make use of" (as in employing something that was otherwise sitting idle) rather than the more straightforward "use". Utilize means “make practical and effective use of”, the key difference from bare “use” being the “practical and effective” part. It is particularly useful in describing situations where the “practical and effective” would otherwise be contrary to some or all readers expectation, such as when describing the use of a tool about which there are widespread doubts or, a fortiori, one which is generally perceived as a bad fit for the use case being discussed, its also useful, as in the case upthread, when discussing a broad phenomenon of use to which one is reacting, to narrow that description to exclude uses thaf otherwise fit the description provided but which are bot practical and effective. The upthread use is both discussing a tool which is controversial in all uses and deecribing a broad phenomenon of use in a context where the narrowing od “utilize” is significant, so it seems to be very much the kind of circumstance where “utilize” is most useful and distinct from “use”.

stavros 3y ago

Sure, but consider this sentence (in the comment above): > It's interesting to see GPT being utilized in various ways, including helping with tweet replies. Not only is "utilized" not doing any extra work there, it's arguably the wrong word to use there, as "use" fits better.

webmaven 3y ago
Certainly. People utilize wrong words all the time. If I were to choose a fancier word than "used" for that particular sentence, I might go with "employed".

dragonwriter 3y ago

> "Utilize" is more like "make use of" (as in employing something that was otherwise sitting idle) rather than the more straightforward "use". Utilize means “make practical and effective use of”, the key difference from bare “use” being the “practical and effective” part. It is particularly useful in describing situations where the “practical and effective” would otherwise be contrary to some or all readers expectation, such as when describing the use of a tool about which there are widespread doubts or, a fortiori, one which is generally perceived as a bad fit for the use case being discussed, its also useful, as in the case upthread, when discussing a broad phenomenon of use to which one is reacting, to narrow that description to exclude uses thaf otherwise fit the description provided but which are bot practical and effective. The upthread use is both discussing a tool which is controversial in all uses and deecribing a broad phenomenon of use in a context where the narrowing od “utilize” is significant, so it seems to be very much the kind of circumstance where “utilize” is most useful and distinct from “use”.