The English language has evolved over the centuries, incorporating terms from many other languages, and changing the way words are spelled, pronounced, and used. There are many words that still cause confusion even for native speakers, but which, when learned and used correctly, will give your spoken and written communication that extra polish and professionalism which will help you advance in your career.

Prescribe v. Proscribe

To help you achieve this command of the language, we prescribe daily study using the Ultimate Vocabulary system. Prescribe means to direct or order something to be done. This can be a recommendation or a command.

A good doctor will only prescribe the medication that is absolutely necessary for treatment.
My personal trainer prescribes an exercise regimen involving swimming, running, and weights.

When something is prescribed, it’s encouraged. When something is proscribed, it’s forbidden. A synonym for proscribe is prohibit.

Strict Catholic doctrine proscribes the eating of meat during the season of Lent.
Many native villages in Alaska are “dry” and proscribe the selling of alcohol in stores.

Elicit v. Illicit

Even though it’s forbidden to sell alcohol in a “dry” town, there are usually still places where people can make illicit purchases of beer or whiskey. Illicit means unlawful or illegal, acting against the rule of law or the rules of society.

Several politicians have resigned recently when their illicit affairs became public knowledge.
The broker was fired after his illicit trading of client stock holdings was discovered.

When someone’s caught breaking the law, it generally elicits a negative response from other people. Elicit means to call forth or draw out, or to evoke.

She was able to elicit a smile from the anxious child by giving him a soft and colorful toy.
It took repeated questioning for the attorney to elicit the answer he wanted from the witness.

Discrete v. Discreet

Many extramarital affairs are found out because the participants are not able to be discreet. The word discreet means unobtrusive or hidden. It can also be used in a positive way, to describe a person or an action that is modest or restrained, not causing problems for other people.

The waiter was so discreet in his service that we almost didn’t realize he was there.
Janet gave Thomas a little discreet assistance in his lab work so the teacher wouldn’t penalize him for being slow.

Though spelled almost identically, discrete has an entirely different meaning than discreet. In fact, that’s the definition of discrete: distinct, separate, apart.

The United States government was designed to have three discrete branches: judicial, executive, and legislative.
In mathematics, integers are also known as discrete numbers.

We hope you’re clear now on the distinctions between the words in these commonly-confused pairs. Review the earlier posts (part 1, part 2, and part 3) and get ready for tomorrow’s quiz!