Friday, October 11, 2013

amend, emend, mend

Amend or amend means to make better or improve--
He made a resolution to amend his behavior, especially his drinking.
This party is dull; maybe some music will amend the situation.

Emend or emend means to edit or correct text--
This paper has a lot of errors; it will take hours to emend.
Make sure to emend your paper before handing in the final draft.

Mend or mend means to fix or repair--
Will the dry cleaner mend the hole in your suit?
"How can you mend a broken heart...?"

Now that you know that, you can say--
"In an effort to amend his irresponsible behavior, and mend his reputation, he hired a professional to emend his report."

Note--"amend" is sometimes used to refer to written statements, particularly in the sense of altering the wording to make it more clear, or adding to the original text--
We can amend this by adding a a paragraph describing how the funding should be used.
Note # 2--"amend" is used as a noun in the familiar phrase "make amends", meaning to fix a social or personal argument or disagreement--
He hoped to make amends by sending her flowers.

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