Here’s another example of using the wrong word:
“You never needed George anyway,” my aunt said with indignity.
Oops. Let’s see. Indignity is a noun. It means “a loss of dignity or honor.” Was the aunt in the example above displaying a lack of dignity or honor?
No. She was expressing indignation, which is also a noun. Here’s an example of conveying this message with correct word usage:
“You never needed George anyway,” my aunt said with indignation.
Or, you could use the adverb form, which means “filled with or marked by indignation.” Here’s what it would look like:
“You never needed George anyway,” my aunt said indignantly.
Word usage is tricky. Be on your guard.
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