different between utilise vs consume

English

Alternative forms

• utilize (American, Canadian, Oxford British spelling)

Etymology

From French utiliser, from Italian utilizzare, from utile (“useful”), from Latin ?tilis, from ?t? (“use”). Attested c. 1810.

Verb

utilise (third-person singular simple present utilises, present participle utilising, simple past and past participle utilised)

1. To make use of; to use.
2. To make useful; to find a practical use for.
3. To make best use of; to use to its fullest extent, potential, or ability.
4. To make do with; to use in manner different from that originally intended

Usage notes

Many style guides have advised against utilize and utilise, arguing that the simpler verb use is always preferable (and analogously, that the noun use is preferable to utilization and utilisation). When used simply as a synonym in ordinary writing (as in “please utilise the rear door when exiting the aircraft”) it can strike readers as pretentious, and so should be used sparingly. American novelist David Foster Wallace calls it a puff word. Op-ed editor of The Los Angeles Time Juliet Lapidos "There are many bad words in English, but only one worst word. That word is utilize" . Another writer Stephen Heard asserts "there is never any good reason to use the word “utilize”" and provides extensive arguments against any utilisation especially in scientific writing .

It does not follow that because some speakers eschew a particular usage, it must be everywhere redundant. Utilise is suited to senses in which use would require circumlocution. Examples of such senses include “put to use”, as in “...utilise the production capacities of the local industries fully before ordering from foreign industries.” “exploit or consume”, as in “...utilise the support that the system provides, such as by making the most of tax exemptions and special supplies.” or “make best use of” (profitable, practical use, not just general use), as in “...farmers must utilise their land fully to boost food security”. Further, in American usage, utilize can imply use outside an object’s intended purpose, as in “...our airmen utilized damaged drop tanks in the field, cutting them open for bathtubs”.

Synonyms

• employ
• exploit
• use

Derived terms

• utilisation
• utilisable
• utiliser

Translations

References

French

Verb

utilise

1. first-person singular present indicative of utiliser
2. third-person singular present indicative of utiliser
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of utiliser
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of utiliser
5. second-person singular imperative of utiliser

English

Etymology

From Old French consumer, from Latin c?ns?mere.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, UK, General Australian) IPA^(key): /k?n?sju?m/
• (UK, General Australian) IPA^(key): /k?n??u?m/
• (US) enPR: k?n-so?om, IPA^(key): /k?n?sum/

Verb

consume (third-person singular simple present consumes, present participle consuming, simple past and past participle consumed)

1. (transitive) To use up.

   The power plant consumes 30 tons of coal per hour.

2. (transitive) To eat.

   Baby birds consume their own weight in food each day.

3. (transitive) To completely occupy the thoughts or attention of.

   Desire consumed him.

4. (transitive) To destroy completely.

   The building was consumed by fire.
5. (intransitive, obsolete) To waste away slowly.
   • 1748, Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, Letter 441:

     But, sir, you see how weak I am. You must see that I have been consuming from day to day […] .

   • 1899, Kate Chopin, The Awakening:

     He assured her the child was consuming at that moment in the next room.

6. (economics, transitive, intransitive) To trade money for good or services as an individual.

   In a materialistic society, individuals are taught to consume, consume, consume.

   If you consume this product while in Japan, you may be subject to consumption tax.

7. (transitive) To absorb information, especially through the mass media.

   The Internet has changed the way we consume news.

Synonyms

• (use): burn (of energy), use, use up
• (eat): devour, eat, swallow
• (occupy): occupy, overcome, take over
• (destroy): annihilate, destroy, devastate, eliminate, obliterate, raze (of a building), wipe out

Derived terms

• consumer

Related terms

• consumption
• consumptive

Translations

Anagrams

• Mounces, comunes, muscone

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k??.sym/

Verb

consume

1. first-person singular present indicative of consumer
2. third-person singular present indicative of consumer
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of consumer
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of consumer
5. second-person singular imperative of consumer

Anagrams

• écumons

Galician

Verb

consume

1. second-person singular imperative of consumir

Latin

Verb

c?ns?me

1. second-person singular present active imperative of c?ns?m?

Portuguese

Verb

consume

1. first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of consumar
2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of consumar
3. third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of consumar
4. third-person singular (você) negative imperative of consumar

Spanish

Verb

consume

1. Informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of consumir.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present indicative form of consumir.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present indicative form of consumir.

Verb

consume

1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of consumar.
2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of consumar.
3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of consumar.
4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of consumar.