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I have never understood the attraction of the word 'utilise'. If I tell you that I am about to utilise my knife and fork, you will not think I am well educated, just that I am self-important or that English is my second language.
Without wanting to cause offence, some professions can't resist utilising 'utilise' when they could use 'use'. Worse, they often opt for 'utilize' because they have an American spell checker switched on.
By utilizing our database, clients typically increase throughput by 20%
Use our database and increase your throughput by 20%
The first of these examples has not yet been run through the pompous filter. The second is not only shorter but it also offers a direct call to action.
If you are a qualified accountant or solicitor and you're reading this, you may need to take baby steps first. 'Utilise' is far from the only dangerous word and you could start by weeding out 'aforementioned', 'thereby' and 'herewith' before attempting to write 'use' in place of 'utilise'. |
