Using a thesaurus: There are no perfect synonyms

Meaning can be manipulated by using words that seem to be synonyms but which have quite different connotations.

The Web site said that the Mukhabarat--the main intelligence agency--is "spying on foreign embassies in Iraq." The original read "monitoring foreign embassies in Iraq."

Another statement included the following phrase: "supporting terrorist organizations in hostile regimes." The original read "aiding opposition groups in hostile regimes."

Your word processor can check and correct most spelling errors but often only a proofreader or copyeditor (or the person you're sending the document to) will notice when you have used a real word that isn't the one you meant to use. If you have autocorrect turned on, it will probably "correct" definately to defiantly when you meant to spell definitely.

Take, for example, the following sentence: "Wants pawn term dare worsted ladle gull hoe lift widow murder inner muddle offer lodge, dock florist." Every word is spelled correctly, and spelling checker would not highlight a single one. However, it bears no resemblance to the following, correct version: "Once upon a time there was a little girl who lived with her mother in the middle of a large, dark forest."

The example is silly, but it illustrates the point that spelling checker has no understanding of word meanings.