The Words to be Used

accepts things on inadequate evidence, and is easily taken in. W hat is

credible is w orthy o f belief. The w ord has suffered lately from over-use
in contexts where it is little m ore than a term o f general approval, roughly
equivalent to effective or convincing.
On European integration I dont find his attitude credible.
This is the equivalent of saying I d o n t agree w ith his attitude to European
integration. The same looseness affects the w ord credibility.
The double lining is a guarantee of the jackets credibility in wet weather.
Here credibility presumably means reliability.
decimate
This w ord derives from Latin. The Latin verb was used o f the practice of
Roman generals to punish by killing every tenth man in a given force.
There are two current misuses of the word. The one occurs w hen use of
the verb implies that a body o f people has been all but w iped out. In that
case it is as though the meaning o f the verb is that a body of troops or a
section o f some population has been reduced to a tenth of its original
size, instead of to nine-tenths. The other misuse occurs w hen the w ord
decimate is seemingly confused w ith some other w ord such as devas
tate, as w hen a judge tells a criminal that he has decimated the lives of
tw o w hole families.
diagnose
An interesting case of changing usage is provided by the verb to diag
nose. The verb strictly means to identify something, most usually a
physical condition. Thus the doctor may examine a patient and diagnose
w hooping cough. It is the condition that is diagnosed, not the patient.
Yet over the past few years usage has veered confusingly. You should be
properly diagnosed by your doctor should be either: You should be
properly examined by your doctor, or: Your condition should
be properly diagnosed by your doctor. It is now com m on to speak of
someone having been diagnosed w ith epilepsy w hen, strictly speaking,
epilepsy has been diagnosed.
emerge
The verb em erge carries its ow n clear meaning, but it is now being
over-used as a means o f avoiding the verb to occur or to happen.