While this pair of very negative word confusions — insidious vs invidious — are not being used much these days, it’s still important to understand the difference between them. Well, besides there being a one-letter difference . . .
Insidious has a secret, gradual and cumulative negative effect. Something that develops so slowly that it’s well-established by the time it’s noticed. Think cancer or a tapeworm. Or a person who works subtly and secretly so as not to draw suspicion.
Invidious is a general term for something undesired but it’s done in the open.
Sure, both words can also be the other. A computer virus is insidious because it works subtly from within your computer to destroy your files, and by the time you know it’s there, it has already taken over. And it’s invidious because it’s so objectionable and because it causes harm.
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 noir for you from either end.
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| Insidious | Invidious |
|---|---|
Big Brother Is Watching You is Ventdorage‘s own work and is under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — It is insidious how many cameras are watching us. |
Please Stop Helping Us: How Liberals Make It Harder for Blacks to Succeed by Jason L. Riley is under the CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license, via Goodreads. — An invidious plot to keep Blacks down. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adjective | Adjective |
| Secret, gradual negative effect
Proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with harmful effects
Intended to entrap or beguile Stealthily treacherous or deceitful |
Open negative effect
[Of an action or situation] Causing, calculating, or intending to arouse or incur resentment or anger in others
[Obsolete] Envious |
| Examples: | |
| Sexually transmitted diseases can be insidious and sometimes without symptoms.
We had tangible proof of an insidious alliance. Nuclear disc lesions are of gradual or insidious onset, the history may be on and off back pain for weeks with the pain getting worse. The obstruction and harassment is subtle but insidious and seriously affects the ability of the aid agencies to do their job. Their cabal made for an insidious enemy. |
She’d put herself in an invidious position.
It seems invidious to make special mention of one aspect of his work. These 6,000 teachers are in an invidious situation. It has placed doctors in an invidious position — they knew the risks of injecting their patients with this caustic poison, yet they had no other option. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: uninsidious Adverb: insidiously. uninsidiously Noun: insidiousness |
Adjective: noninvidious Adverb: invidiously, noninvidiously Noun: invidiousness |
| History of the Word: | |
| Mid-16th century, from the Latin insidiosus meaning cunning, from insidiae meaning an ambush or trick, from insidere meaning lie in wait for, from in- (on + sedere (sit). | Early 17th century, from the Latin invidiosus, from invidia, which is from invidere meaning regard maliciously, grudge, from in- (into) + videre (to see). |
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.
Resources for Insidious versus Invidious
Apple Dictionary.com
Dictionary.com: insidious, invidious
Hollandbeck, Andy. “Confusables: Insidious and Invidious.” ACES News. 2 Aug 2017. Updated 18 Aug 2020. Web. 6 September 2020. <https://aceseditors.org/news/2020/confusables-insidious-and-invidious>.
Lexico.com: insidious, invidious
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Mercedes-Benz 170V Roadster by Andrew Bone from Weymouth, England, is under the CC BY 2.0 license. Its background was removed and the image flipped horizontally. Breadlines — Long line of people waiting to be fed, New York City, c. Feb 1932, is courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration, cataloged under the National Archives Identifier (NAID) 196506. Both images are via Wikimedia Commons.
