Wordplay: Fazed, Phased, Pique, and Peak
I know I've made a post about one of these words before, but I still see it happening all the time so I thought I'd post it again with another one that's worth mentioning. Most of the time people don't even realize they're making a mistake between each word and its pair, so voila, be educated!
To be fazed is to be disconcerted or taken aback. To be phased is to be done in stages.
I see phased used instead of fazed all the time. You'd use fazed in a sentence like this one:
She was hardly fazed by his actions.
If you really wanted to, you could rewrite it like this:
She was hardly taken aback by his actions.
You'd use phased in a sentence like this:
The company phased out the defective model.
You could rewrite it like this:
The company gradually got rid of the defective model.
To remember which word you should use, think of it this way: if it's an action, it's probably phased. If it's a reaction, it's probably fazed.
Now on to the second word pair!
To pique is to garner interest. To peak is to reach the top. Both are generally used in the past tense, but not always.
I see people use peak instead of pique all too often, unfortunately.
You'd use pique in a sentence like this:
You've piqued my curiosity.
It can be rewritten like so:
You've gotten me interested.
You'd use peak in a sentence like this:
The athlete peaked at twenty-two.
You can rewrite it like this:
The athlete reached his prime at twenty-two.
It can be confusing because you are, in fact, at the peak of your interest when your interest is piqued. Just think of it this way: if the p-word in question modified a noun like "curiosity" or "interest," use pique. If you're describing the pinnacle or top or something, use peak.
(For you technical types: peak typically comes before a prepositional phrase, e.g. "the peak of his career," "the peak of my interest," "the peak of the mountain.")
Go forth, my pretties, and harness the English language correctly! (At least those four words of it, anyway.)
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