Choose the word or construction that says what you mean. These comparisons are curated
separately from glossary entries and checked against published sources.
73 curated results
Comprise / Compose / Include / Contain / Constitute
Usage
A whole comprises or contains its parts; parts compose or constitute a whole. Include introduces members or examples. Write “comprises”, not “comprises of”.
Comprise
The whole contains or consists of the parts.
“The working group comprises representatives from six agencies.”
Compose
The parts make up the whole, or the whole is made up of the parts.
“Representatives from six agencies compose the working group.”
Include
You are naming members or examples without relying on the word to signal a complete list.
“The review will include interviews with service teams and vendors.”
Contain
You mean hold something within a document, system, place or boundary.
“The annex contains the detailed risk assessment.”
Constitute
The parts collectively form the whole, especially in formal writing.
“These three workstreams constitute the transformation programme.”
Watch for
comprises of; is comprised of
Usage note
“Is comprised of” is common but still draws criticism. Use “comprises” or “is composed of” when you want wording that will travel cleanly.
Revert meaning “reply” is established in some varieties of English and familiar in Singapore workplaces. Reply is less likely to be misunderstood by an international audience.
Reply
You want the clearest widely understood word for answering a message.
“Please reply by Friday if you have comments.”
Revert
You mean reply in a variety of English where that established sense is familiar.
“Please revert with the cleared figures by Friday.”
Watch for
revert back
Usage note
Do not label the local use of revert as inherently wrong. Choose between the words based on audience and clarity.
Complement and complementary are about completing or enhancing; compliment and complimentary are about praise. Complimentary can also mean free of charge.
Complement / complementary
Something completes, enhances or works well with something else.
“The dashboard and written report provide complementary views.”
Compliment / complimentary
You mean praise or an admiring remark.
“The Chair complimented the team and sent a complimentary note.”
Use staff for the workforce collectively and staff member when referring to one person. Use staff members when a precise count matters.
Staff
You mean the employees of an organisation collectively.
“Staff were briefed before the service announcement.”
Staff member / staff members
You are counting or referring to individual employees.
“Three staff members will support the event.”
Watch for
a staff; each staff; every staff; three staffs
Usage note
Staffs can be correct when referring to separate groups of employees, such as the staffs of two agencies. It is usually not the plural for individual employees.
Compare to often draws an analogy; compare with often examines similarities and differences. In everyday usage they overlap, so prioritise clarity over enforcing a rigid rule.
Compare to
You are likening one thing to another or emphasising a resemblance.
“The Chair compared the recovery effort to a relay race.”
Compare with
You are examining similarities and differences, especially in analysis.
“Compare this quarter's processing time with the previous quarter's.”
Watch for
compared against; compared to the baseline; compare this with a relay race
Usage note
Use the same construction for comparable measures throughout a report.
Forgo means do without; forego traditionally means go before, as in foregoing. Forego is also an accepted variant spelling of forgo, but the distinction can improve clarity.
Forgo
You mean go without, give up or choose not to have something.
“The team agreed to forgo the optional review stage.”
Forego
You mean go before or precede, most often in the fixed form foregoing.
“The foregoing analysis supports the recommendation.”
Watch for
forego the fee; forgoing paragraph; foregoing the benefit
Usage note
If foregoing sounds legalistic, replace it with previous or above.
In systems and assurance work, verification asks whether the solution meets its specifications; validation asks whether it serves the intended use.
Verify
In a technical or assurance process, you are checking that specified requirements were met or that something was built correctly.
“The test team will verify the release against the approved requirements.”
Validate
In a technical or assurance process, you are checking that the result meets its intended use and user needs.
“Pilot users will validate that the service supports the real application journey.”
Watch for
verify user needs; validate against specifications; verification and validation
Usage note
Outside formal technical contexts, verify and validate have broader overlapping meanings. Use the definitions set by your profession, standard or assurance framework.
An estimate infers a population value from sample data for a previous reference period; a forecast states an expected future value; a projection shows a conditional future value under stated assumptions.
Estimate
You are inferring a population value for a previous reference period from data collected from a sample.
“The survey estimate puts service uptake in the previous quarter at 62%.”
Forecast
You are stating what you expect is likely to happen, based on evidence and assumptions about future events.
“The finance team forecasts a 4% increase in operating costs next year.”
Projection
You are showing what would happen if a stated set of assumptions or scenarios holds.
“Under the high-demand scenario, applications are projected to reach 80,000 by 2030.”
Watch for
projection presented as a prediction; forecast without assumptions; estimate without a reference period
Usage note
Disciplines define these terms differently. State the reference period, evidence, assumptions and uncertainty instead of relying on the label alone.
Confidentiality concerns authorised access and disclosure; sensitivity is the broader judgement about how much protection information needs.
Confidentiality
You mean protecting information from access or disclosure that is not authorised.
“Limit the case file to approved recipients to preserve confidentiality.”
Sensitivity
You mean the importance of information and the level of protection it needs.
“Assess the document's sensitivity before choosing its handling controls.”
Watch for
sensitive therefore confidential; confidentiality level when sensitivity is meant; non-confidential therefore non-sensitive
Usage note
Information may be sensitive because disclosure, alteration, loss or unavailability would cause harm. Do not use confidential as a general synonym for sensitive.
Cost savings reduce an existing or budgeted cost; cost avoidance prevents a new or higher future cost.
Cost savings
You have a measurable reduction in existing or budgeted expenditure with a direct financial effect.
“The consolidated licence reduced the approved annual budget by $80,000.”
Cost avoidance
You prevented or reduced a new future cost that would otherwise have been incurred.
“Negotiation prevented the supplier's proposed $80,000 price increase.”
Watch for
avoided increase reported as savings; savings without a baseline; combined benefits without classification
Usage note
State the baseline, time period, calculation method and whether savings are cashable. Do not add savings and avoidance figures together without explaining their different financial effects.
An OKR is the goal-setting framework; a key result is one measurable outcome within it; a KPI monitors performance over time.
OKR
You mean the goal-setting framework that combines an objective with measurable key results.
“The team's OKR pairs the service-improvement objective with three measurable outcomes.”
Key result
You mean a measurable outcome showing progress towards one objective in an OKR.
“Reduce median processing time from ten days to five by the end of Q4.”
KPI
You mean a metric used to monitor ongoing performance against a specific objective or expected result.
“Monthly service availability remains an operations KPI.”
Watch for
OKR used for a single metric; task presented as a key result; KPI and key result treated as always interchangeable
Usage note
A KPI can serve as a key result when it is attached to a defined target and timeframe. An activity or deliverable is not a key result unless it expresses the outcome to achieve.
Financial year / Year of Assessment / Basis period
Different meanings
The financial year is the accounting period; the basis period is the income period assigned to a tax assessment; the Year of Assessment is the tax year label.
Financial year
You mean the annual accounting period for which an organisation prepares its accounts.
“The company's financial year ends on 30 June.”
Year of Assessment
You mean the year in which income is assessed to tax in Singapore.
“Income earned in the financial year 2025 is generally assessed in YA 2026.”
Basis period
You mean the period of income and expenses used to calculate tax for a particular YA.
“The basis period for YA 2026 is the company's financial year ending in 2025.”
Watch for
AY when YA is intended; YA used for the income-earning period; financial year and Year of Assessment given the same year without explanation
Usage note
In Singapore tax writing, use the exact form Year of Assessment and the abbreviation YA. Do not reverse the words or substitute AY.
Biweekly can mean every two weeks or twice a week. Use fortnightly or every two weeks for the first meaning, and twice weekly or twice a week for the second.
Biweekly
Only when your audience has an established convention or the schedule is immediately clarified.
“The biweekly meeting takes place every other Wednesday.”
Fortnightly
You mean once every two weeks.
“The working group meets fortnightly on alternate Wednesdays.”
Twice weekly
You mean two times each week.
“The operations call is held twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday.”
Watch for
biweekly without clarification; fortnightly used for twice a week; ambiguous recurring deadline
Usage note
Every two weeks is often clearer than fortnightly for international audiences. State the actual days when the schedule affects deadlines, payroll or attendance.
Bimonthly can mean every two months or twice a month. Write the intended frequency explicitly.
Bimonthly
Only when your audience has an established convention or the schedule is immediately clarified.
“The bimonthly report is issued every two months.”
Twice monthly
You mean two times in each calendar month.
“Payments are processed twice monthly, on the 15th and final working day.”
Every two months
You mean once in each two-month interval.
“The steering committee meets every two months.”
Watch for
bimonthly without clarification; twice monthly treated as every two weeks; ambiguous payment schedule
Usage note
Twice monthly is not identical to every two weeks: a twice-monthly schedule has 24 occurrences a year, while an every-two-weeks schedule usually has 26.
E.g. means for example and introduces instances; i.e. means that is and restates the meaning. Prefer the English words in general workplace content.
E.g. / for example
You are introducing one or more examples rather than a complete restatement.
“Use a clear frequency, for example, every two weeks.”
I.e. / that is
You are restating, defining or clarifying exactly what you mean.
“Use an unambiguous frequency—that is, state the exact interval.”
Watch for
i.e. before a non-exhaustive list; e.g. before an exact restatement; eg or ie where accessibility matters
Usage note
If the shortened forms are necessary, retain the full stops. Do not use either expression when such as or including already introduces an incomplete list.
Add s without an apostrophe to make an abbreviation plural. Use apostrophe-s only for a singular possessive, and an apostrophe after s for a plural possessive, such as KPIs' owners.
FYs / KPIs / OKRs (plurals)
You mean more than one financial year, KPI or OKR.
“The paper compares KPIs across three FYs.”
FY's / KPI's / OKR's (possessives)
A singular abbreviation possesses or is associated with something; the apostrophe does not make it plural.
“Each KPI's owner must confirm the KPI's definition.”
Watch for
KPI's when several KPIs are meant; FY's used as a plural; OKR's listed without possession
Fortnightly means every two weeks; twice monthly means twice in each calendar month. They are not interchangeable.
Fortnightly
Something happens once every two weeks.
“The fortnightly payroll is processed every other Friday.”
Twice monthly
Something happens twice in each calendar month, usually on stated dates.
“Claims are paid twice monthly, on the 15th and final working day.”
Watch for
fortnightly treated as twice monthly; two pay dates every month described as fortnightly; schedule without actual dates
Usage note
A fortnightly schedule normally produces 26 occurrences a year, while a twice-monthly schedule produces 24. State the dates when timing affects pay, deadlines or attendance.