Word Choice Proscribe vs. Prescribe - Proofread My Paper

Word Choice Proscribe vs. Prescribe - Proofread My Paper Word Choice: Proscribe vs. Prescribe How big a difference can one letter make? Well, if its a choice between having a â€Å"bowl of chili† or a â€Å"bowel of chili,† we’re pretty sure which one we’d pick. Definitely preferable. (Image: Carstor/wikimedia) Likewise, confusing â€Å"proscribe† and â€Å"prescribe† in your written work, although less painful, would be pretty disastrous. This is because â€Å"proscribe† and â€Å"prescribe† are actually opposites, despite looking similar written down. Make sure you know what each words means. Proscribe (To Forbid) To â€Å"proscribe† something is to forbid it or make it illegal, usually because it’s harmful: The sale of alcohol was proscribed throughout the United States. Not everyone took the ban that seriously, though While â€Å"proscribe† is a verb, the noun form is â€Å"proscription† (i.e., a ban upon something) and the adjective is â€Å"proscriptive† (i.e., the quality of banning something). Prescribe (To Make a Rule) As mentioned above, â€Å"prescribe† is the opposite of â€Å"proscribe.† As such, it means â€Å"set down as a rule† and applies mainly to recommending something: Safety guidelines prescribe wearing protective goggles. Or doggles, if youre of the canine persuasion. Another common use of â€Å"prescribe† is in medicine, where it refers to approving a course of treatment: It turned out it was an allergy, so the doctor prescribed antihistamines. In both cases, the noun form is â€Å"prescription.† Something which sets down rules to be followed, meanwhile, can be described as â€Å"prescriptive† (like how this blog post is â€Å"prescriptive† about using the word â€Å"prescribe†). Proscribe or Prescribe? It’s understandable that these words get confused, because the prefixes â€Å"pro-† and â€Å"pre-† can both mean â€Å"beforehand† or â€Å"in advance.† This is how they’re used in â€Å"proscribe† and â€Å"prescribe,† since both words refer to setting down rules to govern behavior. The difference is that â€Å"proscribe† means setting down rules about what not to do, while â€Å"prescribe† means setting rules for recommended behavior. Remember: Proscribe = Forbid or make illegal Prescribe = Recommend or set as a rule Keep in mind that the â€Å"pro-† in â€Å"proscribe† is the same as in â€Å"prohibit,† which also means to â€Å"forbid† or â€Å"ban† something. Likewise, if you think of a doctor’s prescription pad, you can remember that â€Å"prescribe† means â€Å"recommend a course of action†.