Frequently Misused Adjectives in Scientific Writing

Certain commonly used English words can have a more narrow meaning when they are used in an academic context. Using an adjective incorrectly in technical writing can have unintended consequences, as when an accidentally misused word leads to a follow-up query from a disoriented reviewer. Using words deliberately, with a nuanced understanding of what they mean in the context of your paper, will impress your readers and add polish to your writing.

This article offers a quick overview of frequently used adjectives that can have diverging meanings when used in scientific and colloquial contexts.

Significant: When used in everyday speech, “significant” means noteworthy, remarkable, or important. However, in an academic article, “significant” can carry the connotation that a result is statistically significant. This can lead to misunderstandings when “significant” is used carelessly: if you state that a result is significant, a reader might want to know which statistical tests were conducted. It’s best to avoid stating that data or results are significant unless you have the p-values to back it up.

Vital: Colloquially, “vital” can mean “essential” or “crucial”. It’s appropriate to use it in this manner in an academic paper, especially to vary the usage of “important,” a term that’s often overused. In a biomedical context, “vital” should be used with care because it can also mean “necessary to life maintenance.” (“Vital” comes from the Latin word vita, which means “life.”) This definition is invoked in related terms such as “vital capacity,” “vital organs,” and “vital signs,” which all have distinct meanings related to life-sustaining functions.

Speculative: In scientific writing, “to speculate” can mean “to hypothesize” or “to conjecture”. For example, a scientist might offer a “speculative” explanation for a specific phenomenon observed in the course of an experiment. Importantly, in colloquial speech, “speculative” can also mean “based on guesswork or opinion rather than fact,” and thus refer to a more fanciful or uncertain idea than would be suitable in a technical writing context.

Proven: "To prove" is to demonstrate the truth or existence of a statement by evidence or argument. In technical and academic writing, “prove” and “proven” can be thorny words. In most scientific fields, a scientific conclusion on a topic is provisional given the accumulated evidence to date, and describing a widely agreed upon fact as “proven” can be surprisingly controversial. Mathematics and logic are noteworthy exceptions: theorems, for example, can be both proved and proven. However, in most fields, it's best to replace "prove" with a softer word, such as "strongly suggest", "show," or "demonstrate," and “proven” with “known” or “widely held.”

Safe: In daily life, if something is “safe”, it often means that it’s protected from harm or danger. In scientific writing, “safe” is often more narrowly defined and refers to the risk to humans or the environment associated with a specific substance or device. For example, although all pesticides are poisonous, a pesticide might be defined as “safe” based on a “reasonable certainty of no harm” when used industrially. Similarly, if a drug is “safe,” that might mean that it’s been approved by a regulatory agency that determined its benefits outweigh its risks when used in a specific population for a specific purpose, and not that it’s completely risk-free.

The meanings of words can vary depending on the context in which they are used. Therefore, when writing for an academic audience, make sure to use words that have multiple (and sometimes contradictory) meanings with intention and precision.