Choose Your Words eminent / imminent mean / median / average

https://www.vocabulary.com/articles/chooseyourwords/
eminent / imminent / immanent medal / meddle / mettle
Caught between words?
empathy / sympathy metaphor / simile
Make the right choice.
endemic / epidemic moral / morale
entitle / title morbid / moribund
abhorrent / aberrant
entomology / etymology nauseated / nauseous
accept / except
envelop / envelope naval / navel
ado / adieu
envy / jealousy objective / subjective
adopt / adapt
epigram / epigraph optimistic / pessimistic
adverse / averse
epitaph / epithet palate / palette / pallet
affect / effect
especially / specially paradox / oxymoron
afflict / inflict
exalt / exult parameter / perimeter
aggravate / irritate
exercise / exorcise parody / parity
allude / elude
expedient / expeditious peak / peek / pique
allusion / illusion / delusion
extant / extent peddle / pedal / petal
alternate / alternative
facetious / factious / fatuous persecute / prosecute
ambiguous / ambivalent
farther / further personal / personnel
amicable / amiable
faze / phase pitiable / pitiful / piteous /
amoral / immoral
ferment / foment pitiless
amuse / bemuse
fictional / fictitious / fictive pore / pour
anecdote / antidote
figuratively / literally practical / practicable
appraise / apprise
flair / flare pragmatic / dogmatic
assume / presume
flaunt / flout precede / proceed
assure / ensure / insure
flounder / founder precedent / president
aural / oral / verbal
formerly / formally predominate / predominant
bare / bear
formidable / formative premier / premiere
bazaar / bizarre
fortunate / fortuitous prescribe / proscribe
breach / breech
gibe / jibe pretentious / portentous
bridal / bridle
gig / jig principal / principle
capital / capitol
gorilla / guerrilla prophecy / prophesy
censor / censure
grisly / gristly / grizzly prostate / prostrate
cite / site / sight
hale / hail quote / quotation
climactic / climatic
healthful / healthy rebut / refute
complement / compliment
hero / protagonist regrettably / regretfully
compose / comprise
historic / historical reluctant / reticent
concurrent / consecutive
hoard / horde respectfully / respectively
confident / confidant(e)
homonym / homophone / sac / sack
connotation / denotation
homograph scrimp / skimp
connote / denote
hone / home sensual / sensuous
conscious / conscience
imply / infer simple / simplistic
contemptible / contemptuous
incredible / incredulous stationary / stationery
continual / continuous
indeterminate / indeterminable statue / statute
correlation / corollary
indict / indite than / then
council / counsel
inflammable / inflammatory that / which
decent / descent / dissent
ingenious / ingenuous their / there / they're
definitely / definitively
insidious / invidious tortuous / torturous
demur / demure
instant / instance turbid / turgid
didactic / pedantic
intense / intensive / intent unconscionable / unconscious
disassemble / dissemble
introvert / extrovert unexceptional / unexceptionable
discomfit / discomfort
irony / satire / sarcasm venal / venial
discreet / discrete
it's / its veracious / voracious
disillusion / dissolution
laudable / laudatory wave / waive
disinterested / uninterested
lay / lie weather / whether / wether
dual / duel
loath / loathe who / whom
economic / economical
lose / loose who's / whose
elusive / illusive
luxuriant / luxurious your / you're
emigrate / immigrate / migrate
marital / martial
abhorrent/aberrant
Abhorrent describes something truly horrible like finding a dead rat in your soup, but something aberrant is just
abnormal, like a cat in a pink fedora.
accept/except
To accept is to receive, and except is to exclude, usually. Both are busy little words skipping around to different
meanings, but they never run into each other.
ado/adieu
An ado is a fuss, and adieu is French for farewell. They sound similar but aren't exactly twins. Ado sounds like "uh-
doo" and adieu is like "a-dyoo," you know, in a cool French accent.
adopt/adapt
"Adopt, adapt, and improve," says the thief in a Monty Python skit when he robs a lingerie shop instead of a bank.
Adopt is to take something over, and to adapt is to change something to suit your needs. Its helpful advice when
you ask for money and get a pair of granny panties.
adverse/averse
Adverse and averse are both turn-offs, but adverse is something harmful, and averse is a strong feeling of dislike.
Rainstorms can cause adverse conditions, and many people are averse to rain.
affect/effect
Choosing between affect and effect can be scary. Think of Edgar Allen Poe and his RAVEN: Remember Affect Verb
Effect Noun. You cant affect the creepy poem by reading it, but you can enjoy the effect of a talking bird.
afflict/inflict
Both afflict and inflict cause pain, but afflict means to cause suffering or unhappiness, something a disease does, but
inflict means to force pain or suffering, like if you smack someone upside the head.
aggravate/irritate
Aggravate means to make something worse, and irritate is to annoy. But if you use aggravate to mean annoy, no
one will notice. That battle has been lost in all but the most formal writing.
allude/elude
Allude is coy, to allude is to refer to something in an indirect manner. But eludes favorite thing to do is hide from
the cops; it means to evade. Because the accent is on the second syllable in both words, its easy to get them mixed
up.
allusion/illusion/delusion
Novelists, magicians, and other tricksters keep these words busy. Novelists love an allusion, an indirect reference to
something like a secret treasure for the reader to find; magicians heart illusions, or fanciful fake-outs; but tricksters
suffer from delusions, ideas that have no basis in reality.
alternate/alternative
To alternate is to take turns; an alternative is an option. When you wear your checkered blazer, the black and white
squares alternate. But if youre not feeling like an 80s guitar hero, the green plaid jacket is a nice alternative.
ambiguous/ambivalent
Something ambiguous is unclear or vague, like the end of a short story that leaves you scratching your head. But if
you're ambivalentabout something, you can take it or leave it. Whatever.
amicable/amiable
Amicable refers to a friendliness or goodwill between people or groups. Amiable refers to one persons friendly
disposition. A group might have an amicable meeting, because the people there are amiable.
amoral/immoral
Both have to do with right and wrong, but amoral means having no sense of either, like a fish, but the evil immoral
describes someone who knows the difference, doesnt care, and says mwah ha ha while twirling a mustache.
amuse/bemuse
People often use the word bemuse when they mean amuse, but to amuse is to entertain, and to bemuse is to
confuse. In Alice in Wonderland, the White Rabbit amuses Alice as he frolics, but then the Cheshire Cat bemusesher
when he tells her to go two directions at once.
anecdote/antidote
An anecdote is a funny little story; an antidote counteracts poison. Tell someone an anecdote about your close
encounter with a rattlesnake and how the cute park ranger had to get you the antidote for snake venom right away.
appraise/apprise
To appraise is to estimate the value of something, but remove the second a, and you have apprise, which means
to tell. If you hire someone to appraise your house, you might have to apprise your family of the fact that you now
owe the bank more than your house is worth.
assume/presume
Assume and presume both mean to believe something before it happens, but when you assume you're not really
sure. If someone bangs on your door in the middle of the night, you might assume it's your crazy neighbor. If your
neighbor knocks on your door every night at 6:30, at 6:29 you can presume she's coming over in a minute.
assure/ensure/insure
Although these three often show up at the same party, giving hugs, theyre not the same, thank you very much. To
assure is to tell someone everythings ok, to ensure is to make certain, and to insureis to protect financially. Have it
straight now? Are you sure?
aural/oral/verbal
Aural refers to the ear or hearing, and oral to the mouth or speaking. Something verbal is expressed in words, either
spoken or written. Listen to the aural sensations of songs from outer space when youve been gassed for your oral
surgery. Then stay non-verbal because you cant use words for a long time after the dentist wakes you up.
bare/bear
Bare means naked, but to bear is to carry something. A bear is also a brown furry animal, but most people keep that
one straight.
bazaar/bizarre
Bazaar and bizarre might sound alike but a bazaar is a market and bizarre describes something kooky. There could be
a bizarre bazaar run by monkeys selling people feet.
breach/breech
If you break a contract, it's a breach. If you're talking about pantaloons, guns, or feet-first babies, use breech with a
double "e."
bridal/bridle
Bridal is related to a bride, but bridle refers to a part of a horses harness and what you do with it. Although the
words sound the same, they run in different circles unless youre getting a horse ready for her wedding.
capital/capitol
Aha! A capital is a stash of money or the government headquarters of a state. Oh, a capitol is a building.
censor/censure
A censor hides information. A censure is harsh criticism. Theyre both judgments and they both stink.
cite/site/sight
All are good for research papers: cite is short for citation, site is a place, and sight is what your eyeballs are for. The
Web has a lot to answer for, good and bad. One item in the minus column is the increased popularity of site and
people throwing these sound-alikes all over the place!
climactic/climatic
Climactic describes the high point, the most intense part of a movie, play, song, or, well, anything. Climatic refers to
the climate, like the climatic changes that turned Santas workshop into a sauna for elves.
complement/compliment
Both are awesome on a first date complement means to complete something, and a compliment is flattering. If
you feel you and your new friend complement each other, maybe its because hes been giving you so many
compliments like when he says you look like a supermodel.
compose/comprise
Compose is to make up a whole, and comprise is to contain parts. Poodles compose the dog class because the class
comprises poodles. The parts compose the whole, and the whole comprises the parts. Confused? Everybody else is!
concurrent/consecutive
Bad guys dont like these words because they often describe jail terms: concurrentmeans at the same time, and
consecutive means one after the other in a series. Con artists would rather serve concurrent terms and get them
over with, instead of consecutive ones.
confident/confidant(e)
Confident is how you feel on a good hair day, but a confidant is the person you tell when youre secretly wearing a
wig. It's no wonder that these words are so easily confused: they were once both confident.
connotation/denotation
A connotation is the feeling a word invokes. But take note! A denotation is what the word literally says. If these
words were on a trip, connotation would be the baggage, and denotation would be the traveler.
connote/denote
Dont let the rhyme fool you to connote is to imply a meaning or condition, and to denote is to define exactly.
Connote is like giving a hint, but to denote is to refer to something outright.
conscious/conscience
Both words have to do with the mind, but its more important to be conscious, or awake, than conscience, or aware
of right and wrong. Remain conscious while listening to your friends moral dilemma so you can use your conscience
to give good advice.
contemptible/contemptuous
Something contemptible is worthy of scorn, like the contemptible jerk whos mean to your sister; but contemptuous
is full of it, like the contemptuous look you give that guy as he speeds away in his gas guzzler.
continual/continuous
The words continual and continuous are like twins: they both come from continue, but they get mad if you get them
confused. Continual means start and stop, while continuous means never-ending.
correlation/corollary
A correlation is exactly what it sounds like: a co-relation, or relationship like the correlation between early birds
waking up and the sun rising. But corollary is more like a consequence, like the corollary of the rooster crowing
because you smacked it in the beak. Both words love the math lab but can hang with the rest of us, too.
council/counsel
A council is meeting for discussion or advice, but to counsel is a verb meaning to give advice. They sound exactly the
same, but the language council met and decided to counsel you on how to keep them straight.
decent/descent/dissent
Decent is all buttoned up. Descent has all the fun because it gets to climb down a mountain. Dissent is what you do
when the glee club wants to get matching red outfits but you like purple.
definitely/definitively
Use definitely and definitively when there's no doubt, but save definitely for emphasis and definitively for the final
say. If you definitelywant to go to a party, but your mom definitively says no, then you aren't going. Quit asking.
demur/demure
To demur is to show reluctance or to hesitate, like not quite getting in the car when someone opens the door, but
demure isalways an adjective describing a modest, reserved, or shy person, and sounds like the mew of a tiny kitten.
didactic/pedantic
Both words relate to teaching, but didactic teaches a lesson and pedanticjust shows off the facts.
disassemble/dissemble
Disassemble is to take something apart, like an old car motor, but dissemble is sneaky it means to hide your true
self, like the guy who said he was a mechanic but had never actually seen a motor, much less put one back together.
discomfit/discomfort
To discomfit is to embarrass someone. Say it with a Southern accent while sipping sweet tea. Discomfort is a noun
meaning uncomfortable, like the feeling you get when you realize you put salt instead of sugar in Mamas tea.
discreet/discrete
Discreet means on the down low, under the radar, careful, but discrete means individual or detached. They come
from the same ultimate source, the Latin discrtus, for separated or distinct, but discreet has taken its own advice
and quietly gone its separate way.
disillusion/dissolution
To disillusion someone is to rid her of an illusion, like lifting up the curtain to show that the wizard is just a man.
Dissolution, on the other hand, is when everything falls apart. Both are disappointing.
disinterested/uninterested
If youre disinterested, youre unbiased; youre out of the loop. But if youre uninterested, you dont give a hoot;
youre bored. These two words have been duking it out, but the battle may be over for uninterested. Heavyweight
disinterested has featherweight uninterestedon the ropes.
dual/duel
Seeing double? Not quite! Dual is two, or double, but a duel is a fight. If youre getting sick of your fair-weather
friends dual personality, perhaps you should throw down your glove and challenge him to a duel at high noon.
economic/economical
Economic is all about how money works, but something economical is a good deal. You might take an economic
studiesclass to understand the ebb and flow of cash in the world, but if you buy a used textbook for it, youre being
economical.
elusive/illusive
An elusive fairy is one you can't catch, but an illusive one was never really there at all. It was just an illusion!
emigrate/immigrate/migrate
Going somewhere? Emigrate means to leave one's country to live in another. Immigrate is to come into another
country to live permanently. Migrate is to move, like bird in the winter.
eminent/imminent
No, it's not the name of the latest rapper from Detroit eminent describes anyone who's famous. But imminent
refers to something about to happen, like the next big thing's imminent rise to the top. These two words sound the
same to some, but they're unrelated.
eminent/imminent/immanent
No, it's not the name of the latest rapper from Detroit, but it could describe one eminent describes anyone who's
famous. Imminent refers to something about to happen. And anything immanent (with an "a" in there) is inherent,
like that good attitude you were born with.
empathy/sympathy
Empathy is heartbreaking you experience other peoples pain and joy. Sympathy is easier because you just have
to feel sorry for someone. Send a sympathy card if someones cat died; feel empathy if your cat died, too.
endemic/epidemic
Endemic and epidemic are both words that diseases love, but something endemic is found in a certain placeand is
ongoing, and epidemic describes a disease thats widespread.
entitle/title
To entitle means to give someone a rank or right, like if your perfect attendance entitles you to free ice cream at
lunch. A title is the name of something, like the title of a song you wrote about ice cream.
entomology/etymology
Dont bug out! Entomology is the study of insects, but etymology is the study of words. They sound similar and both
end in -logy, which means the study of, but dont mix them up unless you like completely confusing people.
envelop/envelope
To envelop is to surround something completely. But an envelope is a piece of paper you put your love note in and
lick to seal. With enVElop, the accent is on the second syllable, while with ENvelope, the accent is on the first.
envy/jealousy
Its no fun to feel envy or jealousy because both make you feel inadequate. Envy is when you want what someone
else has, but jealousy is when youre worried someones trying to take what you have. If you want your neighbors
new convertible, you feel envy. If she takes your husband for a ride, you feel jealousy.
epigram/epigraph
An epigram is a little poem or clever statement, but an epigraph is a specific kind of epigram: a witty statement
that's inscribed somewhere, such as on a building or at the beginning of a chapter or book.
epitaph/epithet
An epitaph is written on a tombstone. An epithet is a nickname or a description of someone. Halloween graves often
combine them: Here lies Fearsome Frank, who bet that he could rob a bank.
especially/specially
The words especially and specially, have just a hair's breadth of difference between them. Both can be used to mean
"particularly."
exalt/exult
To exalt, means to glorify or elevate something, but to exult is to rejoice. Exaltyour favorite pro-wrestler, Jesus, or
your status in the world. Exult when you get the last two tickets to see your favorite band.
exercise/exorcise
While both words can refer to ways to get rid of something belly fat, Satan that's where the similarities end.
Exercise is physical activity but to exorcise is to cast out evil.
expedient/expeditious
Something expedient is helpful to you. If you vote your friend in for student body president just because you know
shell hook you up thats an expedient choice. But expeditious is speedy, like your expeditious exit from the voting
booth because you know didnt do the right thing.
extant/extent
They sounds similar and both have exes, but extant means still here, and extent refers to the range of
something. People get them mixed up to a certain extent.
facetious/factious/fatuous
The word facetious describes something you don't take seriously. Remove the middle "e," and factious describes a
dissenting group. And finally there's fatuous, which is a fancy way to say dumb.
farther/further
Use the word farther when you mean physical distance, like if you run farther than your friend. Use further for
basically everything else. Further refers to abstractions like ideas or thoughts.
faze/phase
To faze is to disturb, bother, or embarrass, but a phase is a stage or step. It could faze your family if your princess
phase lasts well into your college years.
ferment/foment
When change is a brewin', remember: to ferment is to cause a chemical change to food or drink, like turning grapes
into wine, but to foment is to stir up trouble, like turning a group of people into an angry mob.
fictional/fictitious/fictive
Fictional, fictive, and fictitious all branch off the "fiction" tree, but fictional is literary, fictive is specific, and fictitious
is just plain fake.
figuratively/literally
Figuratively means metaphorically, and literally describes something that actually happened. If you say that a guitar
solo literally blew your head off, your head should not be attached to your body.
flair/flare
Flair is a talent for something, like what the pro-wrestler Nature Boy Ric Flair had back in the day. Flare is on a candle
or the shape of bell-bottoms that kids rocked back in the heyday of wrastlin.
flaunt/flout
Flaunt is to show off, but flout is to ignore the rules. Rebels do both they flaunt their new pink motorcycles by
popping a wheelie, and flout the law by running a red light.
flounder/founder
To flounder is to struggle, but to founder is to sink like a stone and fail. Both are fun as nouns, not so fun as verbs.
formerly/formally
Formerly is something that happened before, like when a pop star changed his name to a squiggle, he became
known as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince. But formally comes from formal, or fancy, like the prom.
formidable/formative
Formidable describes a foe youre slightly afraid of, but formative describes what formed you. Perhaps a formidable
gymteacher scared the pants off you during your formative years in grade school, and now youre a world-class
athlete. (Or a bookworm, depending on how you react to formidablefoes.)
fortunate/fortuitous
Get our your lucky rabbits foot! Fortunate is lucky, but fortuitous means by chance or accident. Silly rabbit, these
words arent the same.
gibe/jibe
To gibe is to sneer or heckle, but to jibe is to agree. Funny thing is, though, jibe is an alternate spelling of gibe, so
surprise! People get them mixed up.
gig/jig
Gig with a hard "g" is a job. Jig, on the other hand, is a dance. The kind a band might do when they land a gig
headlining Madison Square Garden.
gorilla/guerrilla
You might see a gorilla in a zoo, but a guerrilla (sometimes spelled with one r), is someone who belongs to a group
of independent fighters. If you remember your high school Spanish, youll know the difference.
grisly/gristly/grizzly
Blood, guts, and man-eaters, oh my! Faint of heart turn back now! Grisly means relating to horror or disgust, gristly
means related to gristle or cartilage, and grizzly is a big ol' bear. That can eat you.
hale/hail
Hale describes someone hearty and healthy. Rarr. All hail the next word! To hail is to greet enthusiastically. And
when it hails, ice falls from the sky and hits those hale people on the head.
healthful/healthy
Healthful describes something that will create good health, like apples, yoga, and fresh air. Healthy describes
someone fit, trim, and utterly not sick.
hero/protagonist
A hero is the firefighter who pulls you out of a burning car. The protagonist is the main character in the story you
write about it.
historic/historical
>Something historic has a great importance to human history. Something historical is related to the past. People
with big egos get them mixed up if they say they had a historic family background. Unless they helped win a war, it
was probably just historical.
hoard/horde
To hoard is to squirrel stuff away, like gold bricks or candy wrappers. A horde is a crowd of people, usually, but it can
also be a gang of mosquitoes, robots, or rabid zombie kittens.
homonym/homophone/homograph
This word set can be confusing, even for word geeks. Let's start with the basics. A homograph is a word that has the
same spelling as another word but has a different sound and a different meaning.
hone/home
To hone is to sharpen a knife or perfect a skill. Home is where you live, where your stuff is, is where the heart is, and
all that.
imply/infer
Imply and infer are opposites, like a throw and a catch. To imply is to hint at something, but to infer is to make an
educated guess. The speaker does the implying, and the listener does the inferring.
incredible/incredulous
Incredible describes something you cant believe because its so right, like an incredibledouble rainbow. Incredulous
describes how you feel when you cant believe something because its so wrong, like when someone tells you
leprechauns left two pots of gold.
indeterminate/indeterminable
Understanding the nuances of this word pair, indeterminate and indeterminable, hinges on understanding the
words' parts. The root word, determine, means to establish something.
indict/indite
If you're using indite to talk about people being formally accused of lawbreaking, you're using the wrong word: it's
indict.
inflammable/inflammatory
Inflammable and inflammatory can be confused with one another, but they also offer their own source of confusion
with the prefix in-.
ingenious/ingenuous
Ingenuous means innocent, artless, simple, while ingenious refers to something original, creative, inventive.
insidious/invidious
Neither insidious nor invidious are happy words: insidious describes something that lies in wait to get you, and
invidiousis something offensive or defamatory. Cancer can be insidious, lurking in your body without your knowing
it. Invidiousdoesnt hide; its hateful right away.
instant/instance
Around the Vocabulary.com office, we might like an instance of tea, but we vehemently oppose instant tea.
intense/intensive/intent
If your teacher offered you a choice between an intense course or an intensive one, which one would you choose?
And would you wonder what his intent was?
introvert/extrovert
These two personality types are opposites introverts focus inward, into their own thoughts, and extroverts focus
outward, into the world. But don't get too excited; most people are a little bit of both.
irony/satire/sarcasm
Irony, satire, and sarcasm all fall into the category of, "That's funny but I'm not sure what my English teacher wants
me to call it."
it's/its
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's is short for "it is"! But its simply owns something it's soooo possessive. Its is the
possessive form of "it."
laudable/laudatory
Something worthy of praise is laudable.Something or someone that gives praise is laudatory.
lay/lie
The verbs lay and lie are total jerks. People often say lay when they mean lie, but it's wrong to lay around. You have
to lay something, anything lay an egg if you want. But you can lie around until the cows come home!
loath/loathe
Confusion between loath ("unwilling or reluctant") and loathe ("to hate") is a growing trend.
lose/loose
Lose sounds like snooze. If you lose something, you dont have it anymore. Add an o and loose rhymes with
gooseand describes something thats not attached.
luxuriant/luxurious
In yet another attempt to reduce English to features and selling points, advertisers often use luxuriant to describe
their products or services.
marital/martial
Marital and martial look almost alike, but the only time they overlap is when you declare war on your spouse.
Marital has to do with marriage, and martial is concerned with fighting.
mean/median/average
Wordsmiths sometimes dislike numbers, or at least have a hard time grasping them. These words offer us an
opportunity to better understand numbers and use their terms more precisely in writing and speaking.
medal/meddle/mettle
Here we have a trio of words that sound the same (at least in American English) but mean very different things:
medal, meddle, and mettle.
metaphor/simile
Both make comparisons, but a metaphor compares one thing to another straight up, while a simile uses "like" or
"as."
moral/morale
A moral is the lesson of a story. Add an "e" and you have morale: the spirit of a group that makes everyone want to
pitch in and do better.
morbid/moribund
Morbid describes something gruesome, like smallpox or Frankenstein's monster. Moribund refers to the act of dying.
Goths love both. What fun!
nauseated/nauseous
If youre nauseated youre about to throw up, if youre nauseous, youre a toxic funk and youre going to make
someone else puke. These words are used interchangeably so often that it makes word nerds feel nauseated!
naval/navel
Your navel is in the center of your belly, while naval ships belong out at sea.
objective/subjective
Anything objective sticks to the facts, but anything subjective has feelings. Objective and subjective are opposites.
Objective: It is raining. Subjective: I love the rain!
optimistic/pessimistic
An optimistic person expects all the best things to happen! Is it raining money yet? A pessimistic person is a downer.
Who cares if it's raining money? They'll never get any.
palate/palette/pallet
Palette can refer to a range of colors. A platform used for moving things is a pallet. And your preference of flavors in
food is your palate.
paradox/oxymoron
A paradox is a logical puzzle that seems to contradict itself. No it isn't. Actually, it is. An oxymoron is a figure of
speech words that seem to cancel each other out, like "working vacation" or "instant classic."
parameter/perimeter
Parameter is a limit that affects how something can be done, and perimeter is the outline of a physical area. Both
words have special meanings in math, but they take off their pocket protectors and relax their definitions when they
join the rest of us.
parody/parity
They're different, but when these words are said out loud it's hard to tell them apart. A parody is a silly spoof and
parityis equality, and that's no joke.
peak/peek/pique
Let's look at three homophones: peak, peek,and pique. Peak is a topmost point, such as a mountain peak, or to reach
that point.
peddle/pedal/petal
Sometimes the only way to choose your words with homophones is to memorize their spellings and meanings.
Pedal/peddle/petal is one such set of homophones.
persecute/prosecute
What is it about pursuing legal action that makes people think of harassing someone? Although we're not sure, it
turns out that people have been confusing persecute and prosecute from the start.
personal/personnel
Personal and personnel can be confused if the writer is not diligent, especially as both can be used as a noun and an
adjective.
pitiable/pitiful/piteous/pitiless
We don't often look at four words that can be easily confused for each other, but this pack is an exception.
pore/pour
A pore is small opening in a surface that lets stuff through. To pour, on the other hand, means to flow continuously
and rapidly.
practical/practicable
Choosing between practical ("sensible") and practicable ("possible") often depends on context.
pragmatic/dogmatic
If you're pragmatic, you're practical. You're living in the real world, wearing comfortable shoes. If you're dogmatic,
you follow the rules. You're living in the world you want, and acting a little stuck up about it.
precede/proceed
These two words have similar sounds. They also have similar definitions, encompassing an idea of forward
movement. This leads to some confusion.
precedent/president
How has the United States affected this word pair, precedent and president? Let's find out.
predominate/predominant
If you win an election by a 3:1 margin, are you the predominant winner or the predominate winner?
premier/premiere
A premiere is the first public performance of something. If you're looking for an adjective meaning "the very best,"
then use premier without the "e" at the end.
prescribe/proscribe
Warning! These similar sounding words have very different meanings. To prescribe is to recommend and to
proscribe is to forbid. One little letter makes a big difference.
pretentious/portentous
Fake mobsters in suits and spats are pretentious. But a horse head in your bed? That's portentous. And also, call the
police.
principal/principle
If offered a choice, would you rather have principles or principals?
prophecy/prophesy
One letter separates prophecy from prophesy,and the close relationship is derived from a shared word history.
prostate/prostrate
Oh, for the want of a letter! Prostate is a gland found in male mammals, but prostrate, with an r, means to lie face
down. Get them mixed up and youll thoroughly confuse your doctor.
quote/quotation
If you quote someone, do you create a quote or a quotation? To quote is to transcribe what someone said or wrote,
crediting that person.
rebut/refute
To rebut is to try to prove something isnt true, but to refute is to actually prove it isnt. Getting them mixed up
wont get you kicked out of the debate club, but its worth knowing the difference.
regrettably/regretfully
Regrettably is used when somethings a bummer, but its not necessarily your fault. Regretfully is when youre full of
regret, like if you decided to stay home and your friends saw your crush at the dance.
reluctant/reticent
Reluctant means resisting or unwilling, while reticent means quiet, restrained, or unwilling to communicate. Is it a
distinction worth preserving?
respectfully/respectively
If you kiss the mob bosss ring, do it respectfully, or full of respect and admiration. But respectively means in the
order given, so if you have to kiss up to the rest of the mob, make sure to shake hands and high five Jimmy Rags and
Tommy Two Face, respectively because Jimmy prefers a handshake, but Tommy loves a good high five.
sac/sack
Both are containers, but a sac is for plants and animals, and a sack is for a sandwich. So spiders put their eggs in a
sac, and people put their groceries in a sack.
scrimp/skimp
These words are two sides of the same coin: ways to get more or to make something go further. One side is about
saving; the other is about spending less.
sensual/sensuous
The words sensual and sensuous are often used interchangeably, but careful writers would do well to think before
using one or the other.
simple/simplistic
Simple isn't the same as simplistic. Being simplistic means trying to explain something complicated as being simpler
than it is; that is, oversimplifying.
stationary/stationery
Make sure youre stationary, or still, while you jot down a love letter on your fancy stationery, so the writing isnt all
squiggly.
statue/statute
Look under the pigeons and you might find a bronze statue in a park, but theres probably a statute, or law, about
how big it can be.
than/then
Than compares things, but then is all about time. They sound similar and were even spelled the same until the
1700s. Not anymore! Vive la difference!
that/which
The words that and which point to something which one? That one! Before a clause or phrase, a that clause goes
with the flow, but a which clause starts with a pause. American English makes a big deal out of the distinction but
British English doesn't, which may be why it's so dang confusing.
their/there/they're
How do you comfort grammar snobs? Pat them on the back and say, their, there. You see, they're easily comforted,
but you have to get it in writing because those words sound alike. Their shows possession (their car is on fire), there
is a direction (there is the burning car), and they're is short for "they are" (they're driving into the lake).
tortuous/torturous
Dont torture yourself trying to remember the difference between tortuous and torturous. Tortuous describes
something like the long and winding road. But torturous is what a room full of masochists might say: Torture us! It
describes something painful, like a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
turbid/turgid
Turbid can refer to something thick with suspended matter, while turgid means swollen or bombastic.
unconscionable/unconscious
These two words look and sound similar. In fact, if you think too hard about them together, you might find your
tongue tripping over them.
unexceptional/unexceptionable
Clearly, past writers have confused the meanings of unexceptional and unexceptionable to an extent that meanings
are expanding.
venal/venial
Catholics everywhere are confused: do they commit venal sins or venial sins? And what is a venal/venial sin anyway?
veracious/voracious
Voracious describes someone super hungry, like a zombie or a wolf. A voracious appetite makes you want to eat a
whole cake. Veracious (with an "e") means truthful, as in a veracious first president who cannot tell a lie.
wave/waive
To wave is to move to and fro, like when you wave your hand. Hello there! To waive, with a sneaky "i," is to give up
your right to do something.
weather/whether/wether
The weather outside is partly cloudy whether you like it that way or not. A wether, on the other hand, is a castrated
sheep. You read that right.
who/whom
To Whom It May Concern: who is a subject and whom is an object. Who acts and whomreceives. Say what? Who is
like "he" or "she" and whom is like "him" or "her." Who is collecting money for homeless kittens? He is! Then to
whom does the money go? Send the money to him.
who's/whose
Knock knock. Who's there? It's an apostrophe telling you that who's is short for "who is." Whose silly idea was it to
make these words sound alike? Who knows? But whose shows possession and who's is a contraction.
your/you're
You're is short for "you are" and your shows ownership. If you're getting them mixed up, your secret is safe with us.
Better yet, here's help! It's your secret. And now you're about to know more. See?