在The Right Word at the Right Time的“序言”中，下面对词语选用的重要性作了一个很好的比喻：“Using the right word at the right time is rather like wearing appropriate clothing for the occasion：
it is a courtesy to others，and a favor to yourself-a matter of presenting yourself well in the eyes of the world.”
Do not write so that your words may be undetstood， but write so that your words must be understood.
著名美国作家马克?吐温说：“用词准确与用词几乎准确，这两者之间的差异就如闪电与萤火虫之间的差异。”(The difference between the right word and the almost-right word is as great as that between lighting and the lighting bug.)
He is in a state of deep depression as a result of his setback latest experiment.
The depression first hit almost all the small and medium-sized enterprises.
Transportation was at a standstill caused by the depressions in the highways after the earthquake in that area.
反之，也常常有几个词语可以表示类似的含义，如心理学上的“depression”也能用melancholia，the blues，the dismal in the dumps，low等词语表示。
要做到准确选择，有必要注意词语的两种意义：“基本意义”(denotation)和“引申意义”(connotation)。前者指该词语的本身，或客观的固有含义，后者指该词语在一定搭配或上下句中出现的其他意义，往往比较含蓄，带有词语使用者的主观态度或感情色彩。如inexpensive和cheap都表示便宜的基本意思，如顾客问营业员：“May I have some thing cheaper？”意思是希望要价钱便宜一点的，当然并不是说质量可以不好，但cheap在其他句式或使用场合可引出“低劣”、“平庸”、“吝啬”、“卑鄙”等多种意思，这类意思正是修辞上的“敏感地带”。
