tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2804757366135244776.post4893451139985105605..comments2024-02-24T22:22:10.312-05:00Comments on The Common Parlance: Obviate; ObfuscateUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2804757366135244776.post-41515335480021304752008-07-20T23:40:00.000-05:002008-07-20T23:40:00.000-05:00Roger,Thanks for your observations. From a "meta"...Roger,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your observations. From a "meta" level, however, one could make a "need" unnecessary, and therefore make an action voluntary rather than compulsory, as well as make the action unnecessary, and therefore, remove it entirely from ever being done. For example, changing the plan obviated the need to go to the beach. That doesn't mean that you couldn't still go to the beach; just that you don't _need_ to. As opposed to obviating going to the beach, which would eliminate the activity entirely. To use your example, changing the regulation might obviate the need to make the modification to the factory, but an environmentally conscientious corporation might still make the modification even though the regulation no longer requires it (or because the work was already in progress, or any number of other reasons), rather than the change in regulation obviated making the modification to the factory, which would signify that the modification would no longer be done. Food for thought.Laurenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12284076278305267300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2804757366135244776.post-30214673169334240382008-07-16T13:53:00.000-05:002008-07-16T13:53:00.000-05:00The useage "obviate the need to..." seems incorrec...The useage "obviate the need to..." seems incorrect to me. The word means "to render unnecessary." So the sentence would mean "render unnecessary the need to ..." which is redundant. I think the useage should be a sentence such as "The change in the regulation obviated the planned modification to the factory." Not: "The change in the regulation obviated the need for the planned modification to the factory."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com