[ilya]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
You are right that there is a difference between the two words.

However, "use" is the better verb for your sentence.

As a side note, if the verb "utilize" really did have a connotation of "proper" employment (which it doesn't), the presence of "properly" in your sentence would be redundant.

As I have a degree in English literature from a very prestigious university, this discussion is hereby concluded.

[/ QUOTE ]

I accept what you have said, and defer to your knowledge of these things about which we discuss.

Humor me for just another moment or two, though, please.

Was the Professional Writing professor wrong?

If my intent (intention?) was to posit that utilize implies not merely the act of attempted employment, but to actually, oh, say, extract from a thing that for which the thing was designed, would I be any closer?

Lastly, is there any validity to the other poster's opinion that as a matter of good form alone it makes sense to vary your vocabulary, particularly when using/utilizing words which are close enough in meaning as to be only negligibly different connotatively?

I am sincerely curious.

[/ QUOTE ]

You've got it backwards. To utilize something is to use it for an unintended purpose. So, for example, you might use an umbrella when it's raining...but if you don't have one lying around, you might have to utilize a newspaper to keep yourself dry.

Your question about word choice is hard. The answer depends in large part on the interaction between your goals and your audience. If your goal is to articulate a difficult, original concept to a conference hall full of Ph.D.s, you should worry more about precision than about accessibility. If you're trying to sell your social security scam to a warehouse full of factory workers, and the last thing you want to do is to look like the Ivy-educated egghead that you are, you probably want to go light on the polysyllabic Latinate monstrosities. If you're trying to get a girl to sleep with you....well....actually, do you have any advice about that one?