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I've actually read four postings here in the past week in which a renegade spellchecker has rendered the word "definite" or "definitely" as "defiant"/"defiantly".
(If anyone's actually confused over the two words, a one-word definition of "definite" would be "certain", "defiant" would be "uncooperative".)
Anyway, for a spellchecker to get confused, it's clear that some of you are trying to put an "a" in definite. Please try to remember that there isn't one.
If it helps, remember that "definite" includes the word "finite". (FWIW, I used to have that problem with "existence" back when I was in school, until I realized that "existential" made the second "e" clear.)
Eric
I suspect...
That these are generated errors introduced by automated spellcheckers. It's quite likely that some other letter has been omitted, perhaps "defi(n)itely" or "defin(i)tely," and the automated idiot spell checker defiantly scrolls through its list of possible misspellings and chooses the first in alphabetical order. The "spell checkers" that underline potential misspellings in red are handy, although often wrong, but depending on a computer, almost all of whom are illiterate, to "correct" one's spelling is something like asking a dog's advice about whether carrot sticks or turds would make the better snack for a birthday party.
Cheers,
Puddin'
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Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style