Let’s continue with Word Knots, where we discuss common instances of words and phrases that are often confused or misused. In this installment we cover two words that are completely different, but are often used interchangeably, particularly in conversational contexts.

Once again our source for this is installment is The Dictionary of Disagreeable English by Robert Hartwell Fiske (Chicago: Writer’s Digest Books). It’s a great book: Check it out.

Rather than take a stern ‘grammar police’ approach we always try to keep it light and in each installment point out examples of semantic confusion that should be considered “must to avoid.”

From Fiske (excerpted):

mute

Misused for moot.  

As Fiske says:

Mute (MYOOT) means unable to speak; not speaking or not spoken; a silent, or unpronounced letter in a word. Moot (MOOT), as an adjective, means open to discussion; debatable. It has come to mean not worthy of discussion because the matter has been settled or is too hypothetical.

■

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

mute

adjective

1  : characterized by the inability to speak specifically 

2  : characterized by absence of speech: such as

   a : unable for a limited time to speak (as from astonishment, grief, shock, or other strong emotion)

   b : felt or experienced but not expressed 

moot

adjective

1  a : open to question : subject to discussion : debatable

    b : subjected to discussion : controversial, disputed

■

This comes up most often in conversation, when people mean moot, but say mute. One danger here is in AI-driven voice to text applications: If you say “mute” when you mean “moot,” the text will read “mute” and be incorrect.

Examples: 

On the allegations brought forth during the investigation, the suspect remained mute.

His attorney tried to introduced unrelated evidence, which the judge declared moot.

Note that currently, the most common use of moot is what Fiske mentions: “not worthy of discussion because the matter has been settled or is too hypothetical.”

Once again, details are critical, which is why checking your work is an important step toward ensuring that your intended meaning is clear.

Like this post? Follow Virtus Publishing on LinkedIn!