14 words even the smartest people get wrong

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How good is your vocabulary?

It might be pretty good, and yet there are almost certainly some words, perhaps many words, that you're using incorrectly because most people do.

To pick out some of the best, I got help from perhaps my favorite word expert in the world, Anu Garg, whose site Wordsmith.org is beloved by logophiles (i.e. word lovers) everywhere, including me.

I'd stake my vocabulary against most people's and yet Garg's entertaining A Word a Day emails have taught me many words I didn't know.

I invited Garg to send me his top picks for words most people get wrong, and he sent me a list, along with a caveat: Sometimes if enough people use a word incorrectly, it makes it into dictionaries and its new, formerly incorrect definition becomes acceptable.

"Language grows organically, it doesn't work by diktat," Garg explains. So any of the wrong meanings for these words could someday become correct if dictionaries decide to render them legitimate.

But for now, you'll be better off — and look smarter — if you make sure to use these with their correct meanings:

1. Bemuse

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Many people use this to mean amused, or maybe amused-at-someone-else's-foolishness. But it means neither of those things. "To bemuse is to bewilder or confuse," Garg says. "It has nothing to do with amuse."

2. Disinterested

You might think this means you aren't interested in something, but that's not right. "Disinterested does not equal uninterested but impartial," Garg explains. Think of it this way: If you're having a debate with a friend or co-worker, you may ask a disinterested third party to weigh in. That person may be deeply interested in the subject, but you're counting on his or her objectivity.

3. Electrocute

Have you ever accidentally stuck your finger in a live socket and thought that you "electrocuted" yourself? I have, but we were both wrong. "Electrocute equals electricity plus execute," Garg explains. "People use it (incorrectly) in instances where someone is injured by electricity."

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