Booher's Rules of Business Grammar - Dianna Booher 2009

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Misspelled and misused words

NAUSEATED VERSUS NAUSEOUS

This pair of troublesome words slipped into the book above other difficult pairs for several reasons. People seeking advice on how best to advise people about improving their language and writing skills can call disinterested parties for help. (Those troublesome words are actually easy: Advice is a noun, while advise is a verb.) Disinterested parties are those objective, impartial people willing to help, while uninterested parties are those who aren’t willing to give them the time of day.

The nauseated/nauseous pair also beat out others in the crunch for space for this reason: Our consultants frequently counsel clients by phone on such matters. In fact, your own organization may have a Grammar Council set up in corporate headquarters for this very purpose. I’m sure they’re discreet in pointing out errors so that no one is embarrassed to ask for document reviews. In fact, they may even be able to set up discrete funds (separate, distinct from the total) for each individual employee to pay for outside writing training. They could disburse these funds when employees meet certain criteria. (Good intentions are often dispersed to the wind, however, and these learning opportunities are never followed up in a formal way.)

But I digress about my decision. Back to the point: Considering space limitations and your options for gaining knowledge on other confusing twosomes, this chapter focuses on the commonly confused pair nauseated/nauseous.

Incorrect:

I’m not going to do the presentation because I’m feeling nauseous.

Correct:

I’m not going to do the presentation because I’m feeling nauseated.

Nauseated (adjective: sick):

Our CEO becomes nauseated before each board meeting.

Nauseous (adjective: sickening):

The smell of coffee is nauseous to me.

Memory tip

Nauseated contains “seated” within it. When you feel nauseated, you should be seated.