4 ms·
Maybe just don't utilize "utilize" or "utilise" at all. There are very few cases where utilizing "utilize" or "utilise" is better than using "use".
by mayoff 10mo ago
Maybe just don't utilize "utilize" or "utilise" at all. There are very few cases where utilizing "utilize" or "utilise" is better than using "use".
- pitched 10mo agoI think they have slightly different meanings where “use” is more direct like a tool and “utilize” is more indirect like a system but that could be more about context than meaning. The words “usage” and “utilization” show this more where I would expect “usage” to be binary or integer and “utilization” to be fractional or percentage. That context and expectation is important for clear writing.
- anigbrowl 10mo agoI agree that utilize is distinct from use, in that it makes something useful in a novel way; you might utilize a flat stone to dig, where you would otherwise use a shovel. But I also agree with GP that many words like this are chosen just to sound more impressive, in the same way that people say 'at this time' instead of 'now.'
- pitched 10mo agoThis helped me understand what I was getting at so I’ll try explaining again now with that. The words are typically used in two different contexts, one more professional (utilize) and one more casual (use). The words can be chosen to hint at which context we’re in or shift the context locally if needed. For example, a story about a group of drunk guys could say that one of them utilized a flat stone to dig, to add humour since we’re clearly not in that professional context.
- griffzhowl 10mo agoIt's just different meanings. "Utilize" means to put something to a use which doesn't normally have that use.
- tensor 10mo agoI'm sure a lot of people would like this to be true, but it's right there in the definition of use: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/use https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/use. Anywhere you can use "utilize" you can also equally use "use." One subsumes the other. Personally, anytime I see the word "utilize" it makes me think the writer is just trying to sound smart or "put on airs." For me it has the opposite effect that the writer is trying to achieve.
- deleted 10mo ago[deleted]
- derriz 10mo ago“Never use a longer word when a shorter one would suffice” - a “joke” repeated many times by one of my high school English teachers.
- IAmBroom 10mo ago"The passive voice is to be avoided."
- echelon_musk 10mo agoIt doesn't have the same utility.
- zem 10mo agostrictly better than "uze" though
- inkyoto 10mo ago«Use» and «utilise» are not always interchangeable. «The burglar utilised the door to escape» would sound comical at best, or it would have the domain knowledge intrinsic to the forensics. But «utilise» is almost always interchangeable with «employ», which almost always has the same meaning.