Word Confusion: About versus Approximate

Posted July 20, 2015 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
16 Oct 2022

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This word confusion arose from my own curiosity. When does one use about or approximate?

Not so surprisingly, both words are fairly similar, aaaand about is more, well, about location or movement. When about refers to numbers, it’s used in a very general way. “He’s about 35” which could be translated into “he could be anywhere from 30 to 37”. It’s more of a best guess.

Approximate is more scientific — the examples below certainly sound stuffy! Numbers-wise, approximate expects any “guesses” to be reasonably accurate.

Let alone the parts of grammar to which they belong!

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. Consider sharing this Word Confusion with friends by tweeting it.

About	Approximate
About is a much friendlier word.	Paris Peace Accords with the Approximate Cease Fire Lines is Smallchief’s own work under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
Part of Grammar:
Adverb; Preposition	Adjective; Verb, intransitive & transitive Third person present verb: approximates Past tense or past participle: approximated Present participle: approximating
Adverb: [Mainly British] Used to indicate movement in an area [Mainly British] Used to express location in a particular place [Used with a number or quantity] Approximately Preposition: On the subject of Concerning So as to affect Used to indicate movement within a particular area Used to express location in a particular place Used to describe a quality apparent in a person	Adjective: Close to the actual, but not completely accurate or exact Verb, intransitive: Come close or be similar to something in quality, nature, or quantity Verb, transitive: Come close or be similar to something in quality, nature, or quantity Estimate or calculate (a quantity) fairly accurately
Examples:
Adverb: Men were floundering about as if a tidal wave had hit. I’m slowly finding my way about. There was a lot of flu about this past winter. There’s a thief about in the hotel. It was reduced by about 5 percent. I dunno, he’s about 35. How’s about us havin’ a little fun? She’s just about here, Mac. Preposition: I was thinking about you. There was an article about yellow fever in the latest issue. It’s all about having fun. There’s nothing we can do about it. She looked about the room but didn’t find him. There were rugs strewn about the hall. He produced a knife from somewhere about his person. There was a look about her that said everything.	Adjective: The calculations are very approximate. Verb, intransitive: A leasing agreement approximating to ownership can be arranged. Verb, transitive: Reality can be approximated by computational techniques. I had to approximate the weight of my horse.
Derivatives:
	Adverb: approximately Noun: approximating
History of the Word:
Old English onbūtan, from on + būtan (outside of).	Late Middle English, in the adjectival sense of close, similar is from the late Latin approximatus, a past participle of approximare, from ad- (to) + proximus (very near). Early 19th century for the current adjectival sense. Mid-17th century, in the verb sense of bring close.

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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!

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