The Ridiculousness of Some Words

Many English words have multiple meanings, sometimes opposite ones, as I noted in my post on contronyms. These differences can pose huge problems for readers trying to understand ideas, intentions, or instructions. Take a look at this seemingly clear email from a work supervisor to his manager:

I lack staff so production will presently slow down. I should leave momentarily to ask Ava if her staff could give me a hand.

In those two brief sentences, the writer uses the four words below. What do they mean?

1. lack

A) not enough

B) not at all

2. presently 

A) now

B) soon

3. should

A) obligation

B) possibility

4. momentarily

A) in a moment

B) for a moment

If you answered both A and B for all four words, you would be correct. These contrasting meanings can pose heaps of clarity issues for the reader. Does the supervisor have fewer staff than usual or no staff where he writes lack? Where he writes presently, does he mean the production will slow down by the time his manager reads the email for an undetermined time or for just a short while, which could end by the time she reads his email? Is he demanding or requesting a leave from his workstation where he writes should? Does he want to leave in a moment or for a moment to ask Ava for support where he uses momentarily?

For these reasons, a more careful writer would have sent this email:

I have two fewer team members, so production is decreasing by 25%. I will leave at 8:30 a.m. to ask Ava for support, and I'll return by 8:50 a.m.

Be precise, especially when words have clashing meanings, by finding substitute words that eliminate some of the ambiguity.