Dictionary of English - mutual or common
mutual or common
Mutual refers to a feeling that two or more people or groups have towards each other: the mutual love between husband and wife; We do not trust them, and the feeling is mutual; or to something that two or more people or groups do to or for each other: Nuclear war can only result in mutual destruction; a self-help group for mutual support.
Mutual is also often used to refer to a feeling, interest, etc that two people have about a third person or thing: a mutual love of sailing. Some people consider this to be incorrect, and would use common instead. Applied to people, mutual is more or less accepted, as common might suggest inferiority: We met through a mutual friend.
Avoid using mutual if the idea is expressed elsewhere in the sentence, for example by cooperate, each other or share: We shared a love of sailing.
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© RM 2012. Helicon Publishing is division of RM.
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