error · Section 1: Words
Rule 1.3: Use approved words with their approved meanings only
Use each approved dictionary word only with the approved meaning or meanings the STE dictionary assigns it, even where standard English allows broader or different meanings. Some approved words have more than one approved meaning; use any of those, but never a standard-English sense the dictionary does not list.
What a checker looks for
A clear deviation from the rule.
- Flag a dictionary-approved word used with a standard-English meaning that is broader or different from all of its STE-approved meanings (e.g. 'follow' approved only as 'come after, go after', not 'obey').
- Check common confusable pairs where the word chosen carries an unapproved sense (e.g. follow vs obey).
What this rule does not cover
- A word used in any one of its approved senses is compliant, even in an unfamiliar-looking sentence.
- 'Fall' is approved with the exact meaning 'to move down by the force of gravity' — do not flag it in that sense (e.g. 'Make sure that the tools do not fall into the engine.').
How to fix it
Replace the misused word with the STE word whose approved meaning actually matches the intended sense (e.g. 'obey' for compliance with instructions, keeping 'follow' only for physical or sequential succession).
Constraints on the fix
- Do not introduce a replacement word whose own approved meaning also fails to match the intended sense.
Examples
Not STE: Follow the safety instructions.
STE: Obey the safety instructions.
Related rules
Where this fits in AI governance
A rule a checker can test is a rule a model can be held to. The same discipline, on the governance side of this site.
- Hallucination
An approved word used in an unapproved sense is the controlled-language version of a plausible wrong answer. - Misinformation and confabulation
The register entry for text that reads correctly and is not. - Output validation guardrails
A controlled language is a checkable output constraint. This is the control that treats model output as something to be checked rather than trusted.
Source
ASD-STE100 Issue 9, Section 1 - Words, page 1-1-4.
This page is commentary and does not reproduce the standard. About this rule pack.