Originally posted by robgski Yes, that sentence shows the best usage of impact as a verb, something literally hit something else.
Otherwise , the lazy usage is smething had an effect on something else, but the use of "impact" doesn't convey what that effect was, though it implies a negative effect. This is where the misuse of the word really gets me, Often the effect is positive, but instead of using a word like bolster, enhance, advance, support, the word impact is used a lazy verb with a now nebulous meaning.
There was a time when one could improve one's vocabulary and grammar by reading newspapers and periodicals, now it appears that most of those use dumbed-down language.
The internet now rocks words like impact to bait clickers to stream that one weird trick insurance companies don't want you to know.
My pet peeves:
- "strategic" being used as a synonym for "important"
- "tactical" being used as a adjective for police or army gear
- "exponential" being used as a adjective for anything that is fast growing/increasing
But the biggest trend in sloppy writing is the false use of time-relationship words such as "while," "since," and "as" to describe causal relationships (e.g., "I don't want a black car since black absorbs too much heat.")