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- majority/plurality majority is more than half of something; plurality plurality means the amount more than the lesser, but next, highest number
- maleficence/malfeasance maleficence is a quality or act of committing harm; malfeasance is midconduct or wrongdoing, especially by a public figure
- mantle/mantel: mantle is a loose, long, cloak-like garment; mantel is the wood or stone border of a fireplace
- masterful/masterly: masterful is forceful and dominant; masterly is having superior skill
- may/can/could: may suggests possibility; can most often applies to physical or mental ability; could carries a meaning of uncertainty
- mean / median / norm / average: mean is a figure at the center of two extremes calculated by added the series of numbers and dividing by the number of cases: The mean temperature of five days with termperatures of 77, 72, 78, 79, 74 is 76; median median is the mid number in a series of amounts arranged in order of size: the median age of 50, 55, 85, 88, 92 is 85 (the average is 74); norm implies a criterion of average performance for a given group: The youngster was above the norm for her age in math computation; average is the answer arrived at by dividing a sum by the number of numbers added: The average of 8, 12, and 19 is 39 divivided by 3, or 12;
- mediate / arbitrate : mediate is to seek to bring parties to an agreement after listening to all aspects of a situation; arbitrate is to present evidence for all aspects of a negotiation, with a decision following
- mishap/accident: mishap is always a bad thing, relatively (but negatively) unimportant, and not necessarily a surprise; accident can be good or bad and is a surprise
- monetary/fiscal: monetary applies to monetary supply; fiscal is about bugetary matters
- motor/engine: a motor is dependent on power from an outside source (such as with a hydraulic motor or electric motor); an engine produces its own power (typically through internal combustion or pressure of air, steam, or water interacting with a cogged wheel
- murder/manslaughter/homicide: murder is premeditated, malicious homicide and should not be used without qualification (accused of murder, tried for murder, convicted of murder); manslaughter is homicide without malice or premeditation; homicide is a legal term for killing or slaying
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