Stop utilizing utilize! Try using utilize or even use.

I have really started to hate the word utilize. Well, that statement may be aimed at the wrong target. I don't actually have any issues with the word, in fact I think it's a great word, I hate the way people are over using it.

I've been sitting here trying to figure out why people utilize utilize so often and improperly. My grammar is far from perfect, but I think we can all try to speak and write more clearly and concisely. So far, I've really only come up with three reasons people utilize utilize improperly.

1. They want to sound smarter than you. I think this is probably the most common reason for the incorrect utilization of utilize. The syllable words are bigger than single syllable words (utilize vs. use), and therefore make you sound smarter (or like an idiot).

2. They want to speak better than you. I think some people actually have who problems that lead them to believe they are legitimately better than the rest of us (narcissism). I'll admit I do suffer from this issue sometimes, but please refrain from deliberately advertising your narcissism to the world.

3. They are too lazy to use a dictionary. This is probably pretty common as well. I don't know how often the average person picks up a dictionary before they use a new word, but its a practice that should be performed more often.

Believe it or not,  there are definitional differences between use and utilize. I'll let you look up the definitions, but I will share the way I understand it:

Use is used when something is used as it is intended.

Utilize is used when something is utilized in a way that it was never intended to be used.

Example: You use a hammer to drive a nail. You can not utilize a hammer to drive a nail.

You can utilize a rock to drive a nail.

There is some leeway when using use. There is no leeway when using utilize.