...if "utilize" is a perfect synonym for "use" and vice versa. And she asked, "Well, isn't it?"
----------------------------------------------------------
The OED confirms my suspicion. Use means just to make use of whereas utilize means to make practical use of or use effectively. So I suppose you could use a hammer and just sort of whack away but if you utilized a hammer you would, perhaps, drive a nail effectively. Make sense?
Excuse me , my imagination has just run riot
wow