The difference between "cozen" and "deceive", "surmise" and "guess", "venerate" and "worship" I learned some new words from GRE vocabulary. Quite confused with some of them, even after looking up the

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Kailin

The difference between "cozen" and "deceive", "surmise" and "guess", "venerate" and "worship" I learned some new words from GRE vocabulary. Quite confused with some of them, even after looking up the dictionary. 1.cozen & deceive & cheat 1.1 Can "cheat" replace "cozen" in this sentence? (I think so, but unsure of it.) She could cozen everything out of her grandpa, even his favourite jade lion. 1.2 Can "cheat" or "cozen" replace "deceive" in this sentence? (I think "cheat" can, but "cheat" sounds not formal. ) The government usually deceives the public by imposing limitations on the media and blocking foreign news. 2 surmise & guess Is surmise a literary term of "guess"? I rarely saw this word. 3 venerate & worship Can they be replacements in this sentence? "Most Chinese venerate/worship their ancestors; they believe praying to ancestors can bring them luck." My understanding: these two words can both be used regarding religions or your idols, but worship has an extra meaning as "love" or "admire". Please tell me whether it is right. Thank you very much!

Aug 20, 2014 8:11 AM

Answers · 6

You really don't need all these words, Kailin! Take my advice and forget about the first ones in each pair. I've never used any of those three words in my life and probably never will. 'Cozen' hasn't been used for hundreds of years. Forget it. 'Surmise' is pretentious, and rarely used outside legal situations. You'll never need it. 'Venerate' is more of an attitude, while 'Worship' is more of a behaviour. But it really isn't important.

August 20, 2014

In each case, the words in the pairs are close synonyms and nearly interchangeable. Do not use "cozen," many English speakers will not understand it! I sometimes use the word "surmise" myself but I AM old and the language I use IS sometimes pretentious. Academics sometimes use it in academic writing. "Worship" usually means a religious practice. You "worship" a god. "Venerate" is not as strong, and not necessarily religious. It can mean deep respect. For example, in U.S. culture, we do not "worship" our ancestors but we do "venerate" them.

August 20, 2014

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