Synonyms – Difference Between ‘Use’, ‘Utilize’, and ‘Employ’

synonymsword-usage

The situation is I'm writing a paper, and I want to use different words to express the meaning of "adopt" a method or approach.

All the three words "use", "utilize" and "employ" have the meaning of

to make use of something

So, is there any difference of the three words in aspect of expressing this meaning. And is there a best word to use in some specific conditions?

Best Answer

There is a subtle difference. For example, I can use an ice cream maker, but I can utilize the ice cream maker's ability to make ice cream. Employing, on the other hand, is fairly similar to the word "Use", but it is also harder to explain, so I apologise if I get this part wrong.

When employing something, one is exicuting it, so, for example, if I were to say, "I employed the ice cream maker for churning." I would be saying that I used the ice cream maker much in the same way one would use "use". The only difference I can see it that use is more of a passive word, but employed tends to signify more of an involvement, as well as more of an emphesis of the action being done; though they are, almost always, interchangeable.

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