To utilize or not to utilize? That is the question–or is it?
If I ever started a bumper sticker business, my first one would say, “Why use something when you can utilize it?” A college lecturer at Biola University first alerted me to this conundrum. Why do we utilize the word utilize so often when we could just use the word use? It is truly a puzzler. Then again, utilize does sound geeky, even technical. Like a large pink elephant in a small gray room, it draws the reader’s attention to itself for two more whole syllables than the word use, and it sounds sophisticated to boot.
According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the definition for utilize is “to use something for a particular purpose.” Even the definition of utilize uses the word use! What’s the difference then between using “something for a particular purpose” and just using something? Wouldn’t you have some “particular purpose” in using most anything? Does everyone who uses the word utilize always have a “particular purpose” in mind and everyone who utilizes the word use not always have a “particular purpose” in mind? Confused yet?
No matter how you slice it, the word use is shorter and more elegant than the word utilize. Utilize may stand out like a neon sign in a quiet neighborhood, proudly displaying the words “GEEK ALERT” for all to see, but how is it otherwise useful? (Utilizeful?) Let’s face it, utilize is gaudy and draws attention to itself; whereas, use just slips in there and gets the job done without any fanfare. The truth is that you can hardly find an application where you cannot substitute the word use for the word utilize with equal effect and greater subtlety.
Speaking of this, the lecturer at Biola University challenged us to show him a situation where we could not substitute the word use for the word utilize with equal effect. I believe I can finally answer his challenge. I can now show him a use for the word utilize. That is, I cannot imagine being able to write this post with any clarity by substituting my uses of utilize with the word use. At last I have found a use for the word utilize!
© M. D. McKinley, PHD 2015