Word Confusion: Vial versus Vile

Revised as of
12 Oct 2022

There is a great difference between vial and vile, hence my choice of the image for vile. It’s unfortunately not difficult to think of actions that are more vile than that of the Nazis in World War II, as there is too much evil perpetrated by man upon man. They are, however, the easier images to find on the Internet.

It may also make it easier to understand my frustrations when I run across this particular word confusion. Coming across a sentence such as he was a vial man simply doesn’t convey the same feeling as he was a vile man.

Personally, I like vials. They’re cute little containers. I do prefer small bottles that are more curvaceous and preferably more of a carved appearance than those displayed below. Those little bottles are so handy for holding essential oils and to use for travel. I also like them for holding small beads and sequins.

The only way I would feel vile toward my beads would be if they were spilling from a vial.

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.

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Vial	Vile
Headspace Vials are Mabschaaf’s own work under the CC-BY-SA-3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.	Bones of Anti-Nazi German Women Still in the Crematoriums in the German Concentration Camp at Weimar, Germany, by photographer, Army Pfc. W. Chichersky is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — What the Nazis did to people was absolutely vile.
Part of Grammar:
Noun; Verb, transitive Plural for the noun: vials Third person present verb: vials Past tense or past participle: vialled Present participle: vialling Alternate spelling: phial	Adjective
Noun: A small container able to be closed, typically cylindrical and made of glass Used especially for holding liquids Verb, transitive: To put into or keep in a vial	Extremely unpleasant, disgustingly or utterly bad Morally despicable or abhorrent Physically repulsive [Archaic] Of little worth or value
Examples:
Noun: He held up a vial of cocaine. She purchased a vial of expensive oil. The biology student held up a vial of swamp water. Verb, transitive: He vialled the potion and pocketed it. Vial the liquid and stopper it. They vialed the liquids into small vials.	He’s a vile, little man. Lord, that smells vile! You’re in a vile humor today. The Holocaust was a vile act by morally despicable, repulsive people. I am in no mood for your vile language.
Derivatives:
	Adjective: viler, vilest Adverb: viley Noun: vileness Verb, transitive: revile
History of the Word:
Middle English fiole from Anglo-French viole which is from Late Latin fiola, an alteration of the Latin phiala.	Middle English from the Old French which came from the Latin vilis meaning cheap, base.

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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 Vial versus Vile

Apple Dictionary.com

The Free Dictionary: vial

Merriam-Webster: vile

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Pinterest Photo Credits:

Poison by Andrew Kuznetsov (Flickr: Poison) is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.