COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS

COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS

1.      ABDICATE, ABROGATE:

We abandon things when 'abdicating'.

We 'Abrogate' things when we abolish them

Example: 'The king has abdicated (not abrogated) his throne and 'abrogated' (not abdicated) monarchy.

 

2.      ACCEPT, EXCEPT:

'Accept' means 'to receive'. Example: Please accept my gift.

'Except' means 'not including' Example: I brought all the gifts except yours

 

3.      ADOPTIVE, ADOPTED:

Children are 'adopted', but parents are 'adoptive'.

 

4.      ADVERSE, AVERSE:

Adverse is 'unfavorable, bad. Example: He continued to live in the mountains during winter despite the adverse living conditions.

'Averse' means 'strongly disliking or opposed to'. Example: I am not averse to helping out.

 

5.      ADVICE, ADVISE:

'Advice' is an 'opinion about what should be done'. Example: She gives good advice.

'Advise' means 'to recommend'.

'Advice' is the noun and 'Advise' is the verb. Example: People advise others by offering advice.

 

6.      AFFECT, EFFECT:

'Affect' means 'to influence' or 'cause to produce a result'. Example: Do not let the loss affect you.

An 'Effect' is a result'. Example: The loss did not have an effect on me.

Treat 'Affect' as a verb and 'Effect' as a noun.

 

7.      AGGRAVATE, IRRITATE:

'Aggravate' means increasing the seriousness of something.

'Irritate' means 'annoy'.

Example: 'Tom's manner irritated (not aggravated) his family', but 'Tom's eating habits aggravated his colitis.

Do not use it 'aggravate' as a synonym for 'irritate'.

 

8.      AID, AIDE:

'Aid' means 'help'. Example: One must aid people who are in difficulty

An 'Aide' is a special assistant. Example: He is the President's aide for foreign affairs.

 

9.      ALL READY, ALREADY:

'All ready' means 'everything is ready'. Example: We are all ready to move

'Already' means 'previously' or 'by the time mentioned'. Example: We already moved our things yesterday.

 

10.  AMBIGUOUS, AMBIVALENT:

'Ambiguous' primarily means having more than one meaning, 'open to different interpretations'.

'Ambivalent' means having mixed feeling

 

11.  AMORAL, IMMORAL:

'Amoral' means 'not concerned with morality

'Immoral' means 'not conforming to accepted standards of morality.

 

12.  AMOUNT, NUMBER:

Use 'Number' when things can be counted. Example: 'Perot received a surprisingly large number of votes'.

When things are lumped together use 'Amount', Example: 'Perot aroused a great amount of voter attention.

 

13.  ANXIOUS, EAGER:

'Anxiety' is unpleasant

'Eagerness' is joyous

They are not synonyms

 

14.  APPRAISE, APPRISE:

'Appraise' means assess

'Apprise' means inform

 

15.  AROUND, ABOUT, APPROXIMATELY:

Do not substitute 'Around' for 'About' or 'Approximately'

'Around' refers to the surroundings of something. Instead of writing, 'Around two billion people watched the academy awards broadcast', write 'Approximately (or about) two billion people watched the academy awards broadcast'.

 

16.  ASSUME, PRESUME:

We 'Assume' things in the absence of evidence, Example: He erroneously assumed that she wished to pay the restaurant bill.

We 'Presume' things when it is reasonable to do so and there is no evidence to the contrary. Example: 'The court presumes that a person with more than five ounces of marijuana possesses it for purpose of selling it'.

 

17.  AUGUR, AUGER:

'Augur' means 'be a sign of (a likely outcome)'

'Auger' is a tool used for boring

 

18.  BAD, BADLY:

If you have lost the sense of touch say, 'I feel badly'.

If you are ill, say 'I feel bad'.

In the latter example, the word 'bad' is a predicate adjective, not an incorrect use of an adjective.

 

19.  BLOND, BLONDE:

Anyone can be 'blond' (having white, golden hair)

A woman who is blond is called a 'blonde'

 

20.  BUY, BY:

'Buy' means 'to purchase'. Example: Please buy me a ticket.

'By' means 'beside', Example: The book is by the table.

 

21.  CAN, MAY:

'Can' refers to one's ability.

'May' concerns whether one has permission.

Hence, 'you can drive a car, but you may not drive it till you are eighteen years old'.

 

22.  CAPITAL, CAPITOL:

The 'Capital' is the location of the government.

The 'Capitol' is the building that government leaders occupy.

 

23.  CENSURE, CENSOR:

'Censure' means 'express strong disapproval of'.

'Censor' means 'suppress unacceptable parts of a book, film, etc'.

 

24.  CHAUVINIST, MALE CHAUVINIST:

A 'Chauvinist' is anyone (male or female) who is excessively 'patriotic, nationalistic or bigoted'.

Male 'Chauvinism' refers to one who believes in the superiority of men.

 

25.  CHOOSE, CHOSE:

'Choose' means 'to select'. Example: Today, I will choose a new house.

'Chose' is the past tense of 'Choose'. Example: Yesterday, I chose a new house.

 

26.  CLIMACTIC, CLIMATIC:

'Climactic' means 'forming a climax'.

'Climatic' means 'relating to climate'

 

27.  COMPARE, CONTRAST:

You 'Compare' like objects for both similarities and differences. You always 'compare to. Example: He compared the two letters for their writing styles.

You 'Contrast' any two things (like or unlike) by identifying dissimilarities. You always 'Contrast with', Example: He contrasted the dietary rules of Islam and Hinduism.

 

28.  COMPLACENT, COMPLAISANT:

'Complacent' means 'smug and self satisfied.

'Complaisant' means 'willing to please'.