Word Confusion: Okay

Posted March 3, 2014 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
18 Jan 2023

I always run across this word confusion when I’m editing someone’s work. In fact, I usually run a Find/Replace macro to quickly fix ’em.

And, shockingly enough, there are all sorts of rules about okay, and the easiest way for you to cope with them is simply to always spell it out, okay?

Consistency

One of the essentials of writing is to maintain a consistency . . . and yes, this could backfire on you if you are writing dialect and some of your characters say okay differently from the others. That will be your problem and your editor/copyeditor/proofreader’s — do indicate this dialectical switch on your style guide and save yourself and your editor a load of frustration!

Use that Auto-Correct

Consider creating an Auto-Correct replacement in your word processing software (so your word choice/spelling is consistent), so you don’t have to remember from page to page, chapter to chapter, which version you are using. Be sure to indicate your preference (about using one of the acceptable versions) in the style guide you send along with your manuscript to whoever is editing your work.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

If you found this post on “Okay” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.

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Okay
Part of Grammar:
Adjective; Adverb; Exclamation; Noun; Verb

Plural for the noun: okays
Gerund: okaying

Third person present verb: okays
Past tense or past participle: okayed
Present participle: okaying

Adjective:
Satisfactory, but not exceptionally or especially good

Adverb:
In a satisfactory manner or to a satisfactory extent

Exclamation:
Expresses assent, agreement, or acceptance.

When used as an exclamation, always separate any variation of “OK” from the following text with a comma.

Noun:
Authorization or approval

Verb:
Sanction or give approval to

Acceptable Versions Unacceptable Versions
Standard:
OK
O.K.
okay
kay, ‘kay

Alternative English Spelling:
okey

Per Television Shows:

  • okie dokie (Little Rascals)
  • okely dokely, okely-dokely do (Ned Flanders from The Simpsons)
  • m’kay (Mr. Mackey in South Park)

Instant Messaging:
k, kk

Verb:
OK’s, OK’d, OK’ing

ok
Ok
Examples:
Adjective:
The food was okay.

Are you okay?

I’m not sure if it’s OK?

Adverb:
The computer continues to work okay.

That dress is okay.

He sings OK.

Exclamation:
OK, OK, I give in.

OK, let’s go.

Okay, I’ll pass on your message.

Noun:
When will they give us the okay?

We got the okay to go.

Do you know how long it takes for those pen-pushers to give us the OK?

Verb:
He’s OK’ing that now.

Did she okay it?

Despite objections, the committee okayed the construction.

History of the Word:
First recorded in 1839 from oll korrect, a.k.a., all correct, as used “in a Boston newspaper . . . as part of a vogue for humorous respellings” (Crystal, 223).

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Okay

Apple Dictionary.com

Crystal, David. Spell It Out: The Curious, Enthralling, and Extraordinary Story of English Spelling. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2012. Print.

The Free Dictionary: okay

Okrent, Arika. “What’s the Real Origin of ‘OK’?” Mental Floss. 11 April 2014. Web. 2 February 2020. <https://getpocket.com/explore/item/what-s-the-real-origin-of-ok>.

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Pinterest Photo Credits:

OK Sign by Apnoist wolfram neugebauer (de:Benutzer:Apnoist apnoist selbstfotografie) is under the GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0 licenses and Sky with Puffy Clouds Really by Imageman~commonswiki (it is assumed based on copyright claims) who states that “I, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.” Both images are via Wikimedia Commons.

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