Insidious or invidious

Which word do you use when?

Below is a transcript of the video.

Insidious or invidious? Which word do you use and when?

They’re really easy to confuse - and not just because they sound similar, but because they both have negative connotations.

Here’s how to remember the difference - so you always pick the right word. 

 
Let’s start with insidious - with an s.

Now you should use insidious when you want to describe something that has a gradual negative effect that perhaps isn’t that obvious. One that creeps up on you in a way.

So we might talk about a disease as being insidious. In that its progress may be gradual. 

Or here’s a couple of examples of the word insidious from the BBC website. 

“The trope of the "angry black woman" is an old, insidious stereotype”

In other words, it’s subtle form of racism. 

Similarly:

“Domestic abuse is not only physical but can be much more insidious”

In other words, the abuse may be hidden from outsiders and chip away secretly.

So one way to remember insidious is to think of that s as a sort of slithering snake secretly sneaking up on you.

The etymology - that is the origin of the word ‘insidious’, can also help us understand and remember its meaning.

Ultimately, the word insidious comes from the latin “insidere" meaning to occupy - which itself comes from a combination of the prefix in- meaning ‘in’ and “sedere”- meaning sit. 

And you may be able to think of other words with the same roots. Like sedentary - a sedentary lifestyle is one where you’re sitting down a lot of the day. Or sedan, which might be a portable chair. 

So one way to remember the meaning of insidious is to picture something slow and sedentary, that’s waiting to pounce.

So what about invidious with a v? Well, like insidious with an s you’d use invidious with a v to describe something unpleasant. However, it doesn’t have the same connotations of something creeping up on you. Instead, it’s used of something that’s likely to cause unhappiness, offence or resentment.

For example, here’s another quote from the BBC: 

“medical staff had to make invidious choices between who they could treat and who they couldn't treat”

In other words, the staff were having to make unhappy or unfortunate choices that might cause resentment.

Similarly, a company might be described as having a “culture of invidious, opaque decision-making”.  

In other words, a culture where decisions may cause resentment or offence.

As with insidious, knowing the etymology or origin of the word invidious can help us remember its meaning.

Invidious comes from the latin word "invidia," meaning envy which in turn comes from the word “invidere”, meaning to look askance at or to envy.

So whereas insidious refers to something secret and unseen, invidious refers to something that is very much out in the open. People don’t just see it - they look askance at it.

So to remember the difference between insidious and invidious, think of the s in insidious as standing for something sneaky and secretive. And the v in invidious as something visible and viewable. 

Do that and you can’t go wrong.

I’m Dr Clare Lynch of Doris and Bertie. If you liked this video, hit the like button. Subscribe to the channel and share it with your friends.

For more writing advice, enrol in my online course, Writing With Confidence, available at the Doris and Bertie Writing School.

---