Impact Does Not Mean to Affect

This grammar error is becoming more popular than pointed ears at a Star Trek convention.  I know that this is going to come as a surprise to many people, especially those in the media (since they’re the ones who seem to love to use it the most), but impact is not a verb that is synonymous with the verbs affect or influence.

Although impact can be used as a verb, its meaning is to strike forcefully or to fix firmly as if by packing or wedging. So, The meteor impacted Earth means that the meteor struck Earth forcefully. It does not mean that the meteor influenced or affected Earth.

I’m not sure why people have started to use this so much, but it seems that the people who use it think that it sounds more important and more dramatic than using the correct words. If you mean to affect or to influence, then how about using the words affect or influence?  

Power in speech comes from choosing the appropriate words, which already exist in our vocabulary, not from changing the meanings of words.

Sherry

Sherry’s Grammar List and Paul’s book–Literally, the Best Language Book Ever