Using Precise Words
Common words such as play or run frequently have many meanings. For example the WordNet database documents over 57 different distinct meanings for the word "play" but only a single definition for the term dramatic play. Fewer definitions in a chosen word's dictionary entry is preferable. This minimizes misinterpretation related to a reader's context and background. The process of finding a good meaning of a word is called Word sense disambiguation.
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Famous quotes containing the words precise and/or words:
“... he held it one of the prettiest attitudes of the feminine mind to adore a man’s pre- eminence without too precise a knowledge of what it consisted in.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)
“That anger can be expressed through words and non-destructive activities; that promises are intended to be kept; that cleanliness and good eating habits are aspects of self-esteem; that compassion is an attribute to be prized—all these lessons are ones children can learn far more readily through the living example of their parents than they ever can through formal instruction.”
—Fred Rogers (20th century)