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It is related to the word “infamy.” Humorists have for a couple of centuries jokingly used the word in a positive sense, but the effectiveness of the joke depends on the listener knowing

INFAMOUS/NOTORIOUS

“Infamous” means famous in a bad way It is related to the word “infamy.” Humorists have for a couple of centuries jokingly used the word in a positive sense, but the effectiveness of the joke depends on the listener knowing that this is a misuse of the term Because this is a very old joke indeed you should stick to using “infamous” only of people like Hitler and Billy the Kid

“Notorious” means the same thing as “infamous” and should also only be used in a negative sense

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INFINITE

When Shakespeare’s Enobarbus said of Cleopatra that “age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety,” he was obviously exaggerating So few are the literal uses of “infinite” that almost every use of it is metaphorical There are not an infinite number of possible positions on a

chessboard, nor number of stars in the universe Things can be innumerable (in one sense of the word) without being infinite; in other words, things which are beyond the human capacity to count them can still be limited in number “Infinite” has its uses as a loose synonym for “a very great

of magnitude involved When you are making quasi-scientific statements you do a disservice to your reader by implying infinity when mere billions are involved

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INFLAMMABLE

“Inflammable” means the same thing as “flammable”: burnable, capable of being ignited or inflamed

So many people mistake the “in-” prefix as a negative, however, that it has been largely abandoned as

a warning label

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INFLUENCIAL

INFLUENTIAL

If you have influence, you are “influential,” not “influencial.”

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INPUT

Some people object to “input” as computer jargon that’s proliferated unjustifiably in the business world Be aware that it’s not welcome in all settings; but whatever you do, don’t misspell it “imput.”

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INSTALL/INSTILL

People conjure up visions of themselves as upgradable robots when they write things like “My Aunt Tillie tried to install the spirit of giving in my heart.” The word they are searching for is “instill.” You install equipment, you instill feelings or attitudes

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INSTANCES/INSTANTS

Brief moments are “instants,” and examples of anything are “instances.”

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INTENSIFIERS

People are always looking for ways to emphasize how really, really special the subject under

discussion is (The use of “really” is one of the weakest and least effective of these.) A host of words have been worn down in this service to near-meaninglessness It is good to remember the

etymological roots of such words to avoid such absurdities as "fantastically realistic,” “absolutely relative,” and “incredibly convincing.” When you are tempted to use one of these vague intensifiers consider rewriting your prose to explain more precisely and vividly what you mean: “Fred’s cooking was incredibly bad” could be changed to “When I tasted Fred’s cooking I almost thought I was back

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INTERMENT/INTERNMENT

Interment is burial; internment is merely imprisonment

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INTERNET/INTRANET

“Internet” is the proper name of the network most people connect to, and the word needs to be

capitalized However “intranet,” a network confined to a smaller group, is a generic term which does not deserve capitalization In advertising, we often read things like “unlimited Internet, $19.” It would be more accurate to refer in this sort of context to “Internet access.”

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INTERFACE

INTERACT

The use of the computer term “interface” as a verb, substituting for "interact,” is widely objected to

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