Here’s another installment of Word Knots, where we look at common instances of words that are often confused or misused. 

Our source for this installment is The Dictionary of Disagreeable English by Robert Hartwell Fiske (Chicago: Writer’s Digest Books). This is a great book to browse: I highly recommend it.

We avoid taking a stern ‘grammar police’ approach: we always try to simply point out examples of semantic confusion that should be considered “must to avoid.”

From Fiske:

stationary

Misused for stationery.

As Fiske says:

Stationary, an adjective, means not moving. Stationery means writing paper. 

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The error usually occurs out of sheer unawareness of the difference and a tendency to disregard subtle differences in spelling. Also note that this is a case where AI will be unlikely to catch it.

Let’s look at the most relevant Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary definitions:

stationary

adjective

1  a : fixed in a station, course, or mode : immobile

    b : not portable

    c : not having no moving parts

2    : unchanging in condition : stable, static

stationery

noun

1   : materials (such as paper, pens, pencils, ink, blankbooks, ledgers, and cards) for writing or typing

2   : letter paper usually accompanied with matching envelopes : writing paper

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Let’s look at examples of each.

The musicians in the tourist sector found it advantageous to remain stationary.

At the gym, I tend to use a stationary bike.

Now that I’ll resume writing letters, it’s time to buy some new stationery.

Greeting cards are often sold at stationery stores.

Paying attention to spelling beyond relying on spellcheck is critical. This is another case where consulting a legitimate dictionary may be advisable to ensure that your intended meaning is clear.

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