Exercise, which can be a noun or a verb, most commonly means “working out the body” such as  running, walking, weight-lifting, yoga, and playing sports. More generally it can refer to almost any kind of “work,” especially work which is beneficial, for the person exercising: Changing the way one speaks can be a useful exercise. […]

Envoke is an alternative spelling of invoke, and must not be confused with evoke, an entirely different word (although related).   Invoke has several meanings: a) “to call upon a law, rule, or other idea,” b) “to appeal to authority,” c) “to use a magic spell for calling on a spirit,” d) “to put into effect or […]

Phrase and clause both have multiple meanings. We’ll focus first on how they refer to grammatical units of language; then we’ll look briefly at their other uses. Phrases include any groups of words that form grammatical and meaningful units that are not clauses or sentences. Here are some examples:         The little green men                (a noun phrase)         Eat pancakes […]

Weather is a noun referring to atmospheric conditions—i.e., rain, snow, storms, sunny, warm, etc. Whether is a word used much like the word if. In fact, they are a little different, but are interchangeable in most cases:         I don’t know whether / if she is coming to the party.         Who knows whether / if it will be warm tomorrow. However, whether can […]

Inimical comes from roots meaning “not-friendly,” while inimitable means “not-imitate-able,” i.e. unique, or extraordinary, in reference to people.Inimical can mean opposing, hostile, adversarial, or antagonistic: Sunshine is inimical to depression.Football fans are often inimical to fans of the opposing team. Inimitable describes people with unique personalities and abilities—people who cannot be imitated (at least not […]