Here is a great table of word substitutions for scientists to make when talking to non-scientists, or for non-scientists to mentally make when reading scientific articles. I saw it on Real Climate and, like the person who posted it there, thought that it deserved a wider audience. It comes originally from a lecture by Richard Somerville at UC San Diego on communicating climate science, part of this course.
Terms that have different meanings for scientists and the public
| Scientific term | Public meaning | Better choice |
| enhance | improve | intensify, increase |
| aerosol | spray can | tiny atmospheric particle |
| positive trend | good trend | upward trend |
| positive feedback | good response, praise | vicious cycle, self-reinforcing cycle |
| theory | hunch, speculation | scientific understanding |
| uncertainty | ignorance | range |
| error | mistake, wrong, incorrect | difference from exact true number |
| bias | distortion, political motive | offset from an observation |
| sign | indication, astrological sign | plus or minus sign |
| values | ethics, monetary value | numbers, quantity |
| manipulation | illicit tampering | scientific data processing |
| scheme | devious plot | systematic plan |
| anomaly | abnormal occurrence | change from long-term average |