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Use of "orientated" - LK
Posted: May 28, 2010
I always thought that the proper term was oriented. I have one doctor that always says orientated. In looking it up, apparently it is the British version of oriented. Do you all transcribe as dictated when they orientated? For some reason that just grates on my ears, but I don't want to change it if it's an acceptable version.
It is acceptable. My docs say it too. - nm
[ In Reply To ..]-
We're Not In England - MT
[ In Reply To ..]We're not in England, we're in America. The word orientate in the English Dictionary (Merriam-Webster) means to face East. I don't know if the British are mispronouncing it or if their dictionary has that spelling for the meaning you are talking about, but nonetheless...
That being said, if your doctor is British, he/she deserves the courtesy of orientated, I suppose. Otherwise, it's oriented.
We always change it. - NM
[ In Reply To ..]x
we always use "orientated." Nothing wrong with it - omg /sm
[ In Reply To ..]Quick definitions (orientated)
â–¸ adjective: adjusted or located in relation to surroundings or circumstances; sometimes used in combination
I was taught that orientated is incorrect and...sm - oldtimer
[ In Reply To ..]always change it to oriented.
LOL, 50/50 split! - LK
[ In Reply To ..]No agreement on this one, I guess. Anyone else care to weigh in?
Merriam-Websters - MT
[ In Reply To ..]Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary is one of the most respected dictionaries in the country, and the word orientate is NOT in there. Granted, language evolves--heck, we'd all be speaking Gregorian if it didn't--but Merriam-Webster knows all that and it's not in there. Not mine, anyway--it's old, Tenth Edition, so if someone has a newer one (not some quickie Website), please advise.
That's good enough for me - LK
[ In Reply To ..]You make a very good point here. I also discussed this with my daughter, who is a senior English major, and she pointed out that this is strictly British usage and would not be used in any American publication because it is not standard American usage. So for the sake of clarity and consistency, it should also not be used in medical documents produced in the US.
I do find it in the on-lineMerriam-Webster's Collegiate - Dictionary
[ In Reply To ..]also, it gives two definitions. One was the face East thing but the intransient verb referred you back to oriented.
"orientated" is correct, oriented is just o.k. - outvoted
[ In Reply To ..]It is
"orientation" and "orientated"
General (21 matching dictionaries)
orientate: Compact Oxford English Dictionary [home, info]
orientate: American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language [home, info]
orientate: Macmillan Dictionary [home, info]
orientate: Merriam-Webster's Online
Dictionary, 11th Edition [home, info]
orientate: Wordnik [home, info]
orientate: Cambridge International Dictionary of English [home, info]
Orientate: Wiktionary [home, info]
orientate: Encarta® World English Dictionary, North American Edition [home, info]
orientate: Webster's New World College Dictionary, 4th Ed. [home, info]
orientate: Infoplease Dictionary [home, info]
Orientate, orientate: Dictionary.com [home, info]
orientate: Cambridge Dictionary of American English [home, info]
Orientate: Online Plain Text English Dictionary [home, info]
orientate: Webster's Revised Unabridged, 1913 Edition [home, info]
orientate: Rhymezone [home, info]
orientate: AllWords.com Multi-Lingual Dictionary [home, info]
orientate: Free Dictionary [home, info]
orientate: Mnemonic Dictionary [home, info]
orientate: WordNet 1.7 Vocabulary Helper [home, info]
orientate: LookWAYup Translating Dictionary/Thesaurus [home, info]
orientate: Dictionary/thesaurus [home, info]
for "oriented" only 18 entries, for "orientated" 21 entries - 21 :18 for orientated
[ In Reply To ..]General (18 matching dictionaries)
oriented: Macmillan Dictionary [home, info]
oriented: Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, 11th Edition [home, info]
Oriented, oriented: Wordnik [home, info]
-oriented, oriented: Cambridge International Dictionary of English [home, info]
Oriented: Wiktionary [home, info]
oriented: Cobuild Student Dictionary for Learners of English [home, info]
oriented: Encarta® World English Dictionary, North American Edition [home, info]
oriented: Dictionary.com [home, info]
oriented: UltraLingua English Dictionary [home, info]
-oriented, oriented: Cambridge Dictionary of American English [home, info]
Oriented: Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia [home, info]
oriented: Rhymezone [home, info]
oriented: Free Dictionary [home, info]
oriented: Mnemonic Dictionary [home, info]
oriented: WordNet 1.7 Vocabulary Helper [home, info]
oriented: LookWAYup Translating Dictionary/Thesaurus [home, info]
oriented: Dictionary/thesaurus [home, info]
(Dis)oriented: UVic Writer's Guide [home, info]
Oriented - Old MT
[ In Reply To ..]LOL. So now we decide what's proper according to a tally on the Internet? You can also find diabetes melitis and other interesting things on the Internet.
I always change it and have never been told I was wrong. - I think it sounds redundant and dumb to say
[ In Reply To ..]"orientated".
My opinion.
It is even................. - see inside
[ In Reply To ..]more redundant and dumber to insist that "orientated" is less correct than "oriented" when 21 sources confirm "orientated" to 18 sources "oriented."
Therefore:
Both versions are to be used, whereby "orientated" is the preferred and more used form, and "oriented" is the less preferred version.
I really do not care which is American and which is English, I have and want to use "orientated."
End of discussion.
Orientated NOT the preferred form - LK
[ In Reply To ..]You can use whatever you want, and if your employer accepts it, that's fine. But just because you can find it on the internet and count up numbers does not mean it is the preferred form. If you actually do some research, over and over it is stated in reliable sources that oriented is the preferred form in this country. That doesn't make orientated wrong, IF your employer accepts it. Some don't.
Check your Stedman's dictionary - antigone
[ In Reply To ..]In Stedman's Medical Terms and Phrases, there is a whole list of about 20 phrases under "oriented." Nowhere at all do you find the term "orientated." It is "alert and oriented." I would go by Stedmans before I would trust a bunch of random stuff on the internet.
I vote oriented....sm - Lilly
[ In Reply To ..]especially in a medical report. Alert and oriented. Oriented basically means adjusted or aligned. You are alert and adjusted. Orientated is a verb meaning to be adjusted. It doesn't make any sense to say, patient is alert and will be adjusted but is more logical to say patient is alert and adjusted. Orientated just sounds ridiculous and it makes no sense in that context.
Orientated is NOT an acceptable word . . . - Masters in English
[ In Reply To ..]Just because some people use a word does not mean that word is correct.
Unfortunately, it is true that often, over time, incorrect words become acceptable. It's like "crepitance." We know the correct term is crepitus; however, crepitance has been used for so long that it is now considered "okay." I think the bastardizing of words is more common in medicine that most anywhere else.
It's a sad state of affairs, in my opinion, when using the wrong word/term long enough causes it to eventually become accepted.
It is not a word at all - ...
[ In Reply To ..]... regardless of how many references have it or how many people use it.
People who say 'orientated' likely also say 'irregardless.'
They will also...sm - Lilly
[ In Reply To ..]say reoccur which is not a word. When a doc dictates that, I will always type recur. No such word as reoccur. LOL