Often-Confused Words
Here is a list of words confused in meaning and where one
Letter can make all the difference between praise and damnation.
All are certain to baffle your spell-checker:
Accept - to receive favorably
Except - to leave out
Ad - an advertisement
Add - to increase
Adapt - to adjust
Adept - skilled
Adopt - to take for one’s own
Addition - something added
Edition - the number or manner of a published work
Adverse - opposing, unfavorable
Averse to - disinclined towards, reluctant
Advice - a recommendation
Advise - to counsel
Agenda - a list of tasks or goals
Addenda - additional
Affect - to influence
Effect (noun) - a result
Effect (verb) - to bring about, to accomplish
Aid - to help
Aide - an assistant
Allusion - a reference
Illusion - a visual deception
Delusion - a false notion or idea
Aloud - audible
Allowed - permitted
Already - previously
All ready - in readiness
Alternate - a substitute
Alternative - a choice between two
Altogether - entirely
All together - as one group, united
All right - standard English spelling
Ante - before
Anti - against
Anyway - in any event
Any way - in any way or manner
Appraise - to estimate the value of
Apprize - to inform
Assent - to consent
Ascent - a rise
Assistance - help
Assistants - helpers
Beside - next to
Besides - moreover, in addition
Better - of higher quality
Bettor - one who gambles?
Blue - a color
Blew - past tense of the verb “blow”
Bolder - fearless, daring
Boulder - a large rock
Brake - to stop from moving
Break - to fracture, interrupt
Born - brought into life
Borne - carried, endured
Capital - chief, important
Capitol - a building or site of official city or seat of government
Casual - informal
Causal - the source or cause
Cite - to summon or quote
Site - a location
Sight - vision
Coarse - unrefined
Course - a passage, route, subject of study
Confidant - one to whom secrets are entrusted
Confident - possessed of self-assurance
Contemptible - deserving contempt
Contemptuous - expressing contempt
Continuation - pertains to length or sequence
Continual - pertains to time, interrupted occurrences
Continuous - occurs without interruption
Council - an assembly of individuals whose purpose is to
Advice, governs, or legislates
Counsel - an advisor, an attorney
Credible - believable
Credulous - prone to belief
Creditable - deserving esteem, praise-worthy
Dear - valued, loved
Deer - an animal
Decent - respectable, proper
Descent - a downward movement
Dissent - disagreement
Decree - a decision or ruling
Degree - a step or point in a series, acknowledgment of
Academic accomplishment
Definite - clear
Definitive - final, official
Deprecate - to express disapproval of
Depreciate - to decrease in value
Desecrate - to treat irreverently
Device - a contrivance, object
Devise - to contrive, create, invent
Disburse - to pay out
Disperse - to scatter
Disinterested - impartial
Uninterested - not interested
Disprove - to prove false
Disapprove - to not approve
Exalt - to praise
Exult - to rejoice
Eligible - qualified
Legible - plain, easy to read
Envelop - to surround
Envelope - stationery
Exceed - to surpass, go beyond
Accede - to yield, surrender
Except - to leave out, exclude
Accept - to receive with approval
Expand - to increase
Expend - to spend
Extant - existing
Extinct - non-existing
Extent - the measure, length, degree
Facetious - causing laughter
Fictitious - unreal
Fare - a price
Fair - impartial
Farther - pertains to distance
Further - additional
Feat - an accomplishment
Feet - plural form of “foot”
Fewer - refers to countable things
Less - refers to uncountable
Flair - natural style, ability, talent
Flare - a glowing light used to indicate location or warning
Formerly - previously
Formally - dignified, seriously
Fortunate - lucky
Fortuitous - happening by chance
Genius - inspired ability, talent, skill
Genus - classification of a species
Homogenous - of common origin
Homogeneous - composed of similar elements or parts
Human - pertaining to mankind
Humane - compassionate, merciful
Hypercritical - overly critical
Hypocritical – deceitful
Illegible - unable to be read
Illegal - unlawful
Illicit - unlawful
Elicit - to draw out
Imply - to suggest indirectly
Infer - to deduce or conclude
Immoral - not moral
Immortal - cannot die
Incredible - unbelievable
Incredulous - unbelieving
Inept - awkward, foolish
Inapt - unqualified, unsuited
Inequity - not equal, unfair
Iniquity - evil
Insight - understanding of, knowledge of
Incite - to arouse to action
Insure - to guarantee against financial loss
Ensure - to make sure or certain
Intelligent - possessed of intelligence
Intelligible - understandable, comprehensible
Its - possessive form of the pronoun “it”
It’s - contraction form of “it is” or “it has”
Lay - to place, set down
Lie - to recline
Lend - verb for temporary use
Loan - noun for temporary use
Lesson - instruction
Lessen - to reduce
Liable - responsible, likely to
Libel - written, published, spoken defamation of character
Moral - pertaining to right conduct
Morale - state of mind, feeling, or spirit
Pare - to trim, scale down
Pair - two of a kind
Pear - a fruit
Perpetrate - to carry out, to be guilty of
Perpetuate - to make lasting
Personal - individual, private
Personnel - employees, workers, members of an organization
Proceed - to go before or ahead
Proceed - to advance
Precedence - priority
Precedents - established rules or procedures
Preview - to view in advance
Purview - range, scope, limits of
Principal - chief, main
Principle - rule
Prophesy - to predict
Prophecy - prediction
Quiet - absent of noise
Quite - to an extent
Sea - body of water
See - present tense of “to see”
Soar - to fly or rise above
Sore - painful
Sometime - at an indefinite time
Some time - a period of time
Sometimes - now and then, on occasion
Stationary - permanent, unmovable
Stationery - writing paper and associated supplies
Tantamount - equivalent
Paramount - the highest
Taught - instructed
Taut - tense, tightly wound
Temerity - boldness
Timidity - shyness, fearful
Than - comparison
Then - time, following
Their - possessive pronoun
There - indicates location or reference
They’re - contraction form of “they are”
Through - from beginning to end
Thorough - completely, fully
Threw - past tense of verb “to throw”
Thru - nonstandard spelling of “through”
To - a preposition
Too - also, much
two - a number
Typical - conforming to type or expectation
Atypical - nonconforming to type, irregular
Unabridged - entire, complete
Abridged - shortened version
Expurgated - objectionable content removed
Unreal - not real
Unreel - to unwind
Use - present tense verb
Used - past tense verb
Vary - to change
Very – much
Veracious - truthful
Voracious - greedy, hungry
Vice - moral fault
Vise - tool
Waver - to fluctuate
Waiver - to suspend or relinquish
Weak - not strong
Week - seven days
Whose - possessive pronoun
Who’s - contraction form of “who is” or “who has”
Your - possessive pronoun
You’re - contraction form of “you are”
Yore - of times past
Correct Use of Prepositions
That Follow Certain Words
Accompanied.
By a person
With a thing
Account
For an action
To a person
Adapt
From patterned after
To adjusted or modified for
Agree
In to be like, similar
On to be in accord with
To to consent
With to concur
Angry
With a person
About a situation
Capacity
For ability
Of content or space
Compare
To: to express similarities
With to express differences
Confer
About to discuss
Upon to bestow or grant
Correspond
To agree with
With communicate through writing
Differ
From to be different
In disagreement regarding an issue
With disagree with a person
Different
From
Disappointed
By, in someone
With something
Speak, talk
With a person
To address a group or an audience
Capitalization
Here are the basic rules for capitalization:
Capitalize the names of persons, places, and things that have a
Proper meaning:
Joseph Raggio
Blue Ridge
Stratford Green Lane
London
Oxford University
Do not capitalize common nouns that denote a general meaning:
nurse
street
college
company
Capitalize the proper names of organizations:
United Nations
California State Highway Commission
Department of the Treasury
Capitalize the names of countries, states, specific geographic
regions, holidays, days of the week, months, and historic events:
Italy
Wisconsin
the Southeast
Christmas
Thursday
August
the War of 1812
NOTE: Do not capitalize the seasons (winter, spring, summer,
fall).
Capitalize titles following names:
Joseph Neil, Director of Market Research
Alan Vanucci, Vice President for Public Affairs
Capitalize key words in titles of publications:
The New York Times
People
Ladies Home Journal
Plural Nouns
239
Plural Nouns
The plural of the majority of nouns is formed by adding an “s”
at the end.
car cars
desk desks
pen pens
song song
nurse nurses
The plural of nouns ending in a “y” preceded by a vowel (a, e,
i, o, u) is formed by adding an “s.”
play plays
toy toys
attorney attorneys
decoy decoys
journey journeys
The plural of nouns ending in a “y” preceded by a consonant is
formed by changing the “y” to an “i” and adding “es.”
study studies
lady ladies
sky skies
enemy enemies
treaty treaties
To form the plural of some nouns, add “en” or change the vowels.
child children
man men
woman women
tooth teeth
mouse mice
To form the plural of nouns ending in “ch,” “s,” “sh,” “x,” or
“z,” add “es” to the end.
lunch lunches
bus buses
brush brushes
box boxes
waltz waltzes
The plural of some nouns ending in “f” and “fe” is formed by
changing the “f” to “ve” or adding an “s.”
leaf leaves
half halves
wife wives
wolf wolves
proof proofs
belief beliefs
roof roofs
cafe cafes
The plural of many nouns ending in “o” is formed by adding
an “s” to the ending.
piano pianos
casino casinos
radio radios
soprano sopranos
The plural of some nouns ending in “o” is formed by adding an
“es” to the ending.
hero heroes
potato potatoes
tomato tomatoes
veto vetoes
Some hyphenated words only form the plural of the key word.
brother-in-law brothers-in-law
attorney-at-law attorneys-at-law
hanger-on hangers-on
maid-of-honor maids-of-honor
Some words ending in “s” take singular verbs.
mathematics
physics
politics
economics
news
When used as nouns, some words are only plural.
proceeds
tweezers
scissors
trousers
clothes
thanks
pants
billiards
belongings
Some words indicate both plural and singular.
deer
fish
moose
salmon
sheep
trout
Compound Nouns/Words
Compound nouns consist of two or more words hyphenated
or written as solid or separate words. Some familiar compound
words are brother-in-law, checklist, and data processing. Although
your spell-checker will often prove helpful when using compound
words, if in doubt, always consult an up-to-date dictionary for
the correct spelling. Here is a selected list of compound words:
age-old
accident-prone
airmail
attorney-at-law
audiovisual
backup
bankroll
biweekly
blackout
book review
bookstore
brainstorm
breakaway
breakdown
breakout
breakthrough
breakup
broad-minded
buildup
bylaw
capital-intensive
carsick
cave-in
changeover
check-in
checklist
checkup
cleanup
closeout
coauthor
comeback
computer-aided
cost-effective
countdown
courtyard
crackdown
cross-reference
cross section
crossroad
custom-made
cutoff
Data processing
Daylong
Double-spaced
Drawback
Drive-in
Eye-catching
Eye-opener
Eyewitness
Fireproof
Follow-through
Follow-up
Full-bodied
Get-together
Good-bye
Good-natured
Goodwill
Habit-forming
Hair-raising
Half hour
Half-truth
Handbook
Heartsick
High-priced
Homesick
Hometown
Interest-bearing
Interoffice
Know-how
Law-abiding
Lifelong
Lifestyle
Life raft
Long-winded
Market-tested
Masterpiece
Master plan
Middle-aged
Misspell
Moneymaker
Money order
Multipurpose
Nationwide
Nightlife
Nonessential
Old-fashioned
Panic-stricken
Paperwork
Praiseworthy
Proactive
Quick-tempered
Quick-witted
Reorganize
Retroactive
Runaway
Run-through
Salespeople
Schoolteacher
Semiannual
Send-off
Show-off
Sky-high
Spin-off
Standby
Subdivision
Takeoff
Takeover
Tax-exempt
Tax-sheltered
Time-saver
Time sheet
Top-heavy
Trade name
Trustworthy
Trade-off
Tryout
Turnover
User-friendly
Walk-through
Weatherproof
Workout
Write-off
Year-round
Naïve – so kind
Review Exercises to Test Yourself
Review Exercises
To Test Yourself
1.
Use familiar or simpler words to express the following ideas.
Accomplish the project ———————————
Effectuate improvement ———————————
Render every assistance ———————————
Enclosed herewith please find ———————————
Pursuant to ———————————
Make reference to ———————————
Perform an examination ———————————
Close proximity ———————————
Ameliorate ———————————
Anterior to ———————————
Append ———————————
Adjacent to ———————————
Approbation ———————————
Elucidate ———————————
Peruse ———————————
Thereupon ———————————
Here is a list of words confused in meaning and where one
Letter can make all the difference between praise and damnation.
All are certain to baffle your spell-checker:
Accept - to receive favorably
Except - to leave out
Ad - an advertisement
Add - to increase
Adapt - to adjust
Adept - skilled
Adopt - to take for one’s own
Addition - something added
Edition - the number or manner of a published work
Adverse - opposing, unfavorable
Averse to - disinclined towards, reluctant
Advice - a recommendation
Advise - to counsel
Agenda - a list of tasks or goals
Addenda - additional
Affect - to influence
Effect (noun) - a result
Effect (verb) - to bring about, to accomplish
Aid - to help
Aide - an assistant
Allusion - a reference
Illusion - a visual deception
Delusion - a false notion or idea
Aloud - audible
Allowed - permitted
Already - previously
All ready - in readiness
Alternate - a substitute
Alternative - a choice between two
Altogether - entirely
All together - as one group, united
All right - standard English spelling
Ante - before
Anti - against
Anyway - in any event
Any way - in any way or manner
Appraise - to estimate the value of
Apprize - to inform
Assent - to consent
Ascent - a rise
Assistance - help
Assistants - helpers
Beside - next to
Besides - moreover, in addition
Better - of higher quality
Bettor - one who gambles?
Blue - a color
Blew - past tense of the verb “blow”
Bolder - fearless, daring
Boulder - a large rock
Brake - to stop from moving
Break - to fracture, interrupt
Born - brought into life
Borne - carried, endured
Capital - chief, important
Capitol - a building or site of official city or seat of government
Casual - informal
Causal - the source or cause
Cite - to summon or quote
Site - a location
Sight - vision
Coarse - unrefined
Course - a passage, route, subject of study
Confidant - one to whom secrets are entrusted
Confident - possessed of self-assurance
Contemptible - deserving contempt
Contemptuous - expressing contempt
Continuation - pertains to length or sequence
Continual - pertains to time, interrupted occurrences
Continuous - occurs without interruption
Council - an assembly of individuals whose purpose is to
Advice, governs, or legislates
Counsel - an advisor, an attorney
Credible - believable
Credulous - prone to belief
Creditable - deserving esteem, praise-worthy
Dear - valued, loved
Deer - an animal
Decent - respectable, proper
Descent - a downward movement
Dissent - disagreement
Decree - a decision or ruling
Degree - a step or point in a series, acknowledgment of
Academic accomplishment
Definite - clear
Definitive - final, official
Deprecate - to express disapproval of
Depreciate - to decrease in value
Desecrate - to treat irreverently
Device - a contrivance, object
Devise - to contrive, create, invent
Disburse - to pay out
Disperse - to scatter
Disinterested - impartial
Uninterested - not interested
Disprove - to prove false
Disapprove - to not approve
Exalt - to praise
Exult - to rejoice
Eligible - qualified
Legible - plain, easy to read
Envelop - to surround
Envelope - stationery
Exceed - to surpass, go beyond
Accede - to yield, surrender
Except - to leave out, exclude
Accept - to receive with approval
Expand - to increase
Expend - to spend
Extant - existing
Extinct - non-existing
Extent - the measure, length, degree
Facetious - causing laughter
Fictitious - unreal
Fare - a price
Fair - impartial
Farther - pertains to distance
Further - additional
Feat - an accomplishment
Feet - plural form of “foot”
Fewer - refers to countable things
Less - refers to uncountable
Flair - natural style, ability, talent
Flare - a glowing light used to indicate location or warning
Formerly - previously
Formally - dignified, seriously
Fortunate - lucky
Fortuitous - happening by chance
Genius - inspired ability, talent, skill
Genus - classification of a species
Homogenous - of common origin
Homogeneous - composed of similar elements or parts
Human - pertaining to mankind
Humane - compassionate, merciful
Hypercritical - overly critical
Hypocritical – deceitful
Illegible - unable to be read
Illegal - unlawful
Illicit - unlawful
Elicit - to draw out
Imply - to suggest indirectly
Infer - to deduce or conclude
Immoral - not moral
Immortal - cannot die
Incredible - unbelievable
Incredulous - unbelieving
Inept - awkward, foolish
Inapt - unqualified, unsuited
Inequity - not equal, unfair
Iniquity - evil
Insight - understanding of, knowledge of
Incite - to arouse to action
Insure - to guarantee against financial loss
Ensure - to make sure or certain
Intelligent - possessed of intelligence
Intelligible - understandable, comprehensible
Its - possessive form of the pronoun “it”
It’s - contraction form of “it is” or “it has”
Lay - to place, set down
Lie - to recline
Lend - verb for temporary use
Loan - noun for temporary use
Lesson - instruction
Lessen - to reduce
Liable - responsible, likely to
Libel - written, published, spoken defamation of character
Moral - pertaining to right conduct
Morale - state of mind, feeling, or spirit
Pare - to trim, scale down
Pair - two of a kind
Pear - a fruit
Perpetrate - to carry out, to be guilty of
Perpetuate - to make lasting
Personal - individual, private
Personnel - employees, workers, members of an organization
Proceed - to go before or ahead
Proceed - to advance
Precedence - priority
Precedents - established rules or procedures
Preview - to view in advance
Purview - range, scope, limits of
Principal - chief, main
Principle - rule
Prophesy - to predict
Prophecy - prediction
Quiet - absent of noise
Quite - to an extent
Sea - body of water
See - present tense of “to see”
Soar - to fly or rise above
Sore - painful
Sometime - at an indefinite time
Some time - a period of time
Sometimes - now and then, on occasion
Stationary - permanent, unmovable
Stationery - writing paper and associated supplies
Tantamount - equivalent
Paramount - the highest
Taught - instructed
Taut - tense, tightly wound
Temerity - boldness
Timidity - shyness, fearful
Than - comparison
Then - time, following
Their - possessive pronoun
There - indicates location or reference
They’re - contraction form of “they are”
Through - from beginning to end
Thorough - completely, fully
Threw - past tense of verb “to throw”
Thru - nonstandard spelling of “through”
To - a preposition
Too - also, much
two - a number
Typical - conforming to type or expectation
Atypical - nonconforming to type, irregular
Unabridged - entire, complete
Abridged - shortened version
Expurgated - objectionable content removed
Unreal - not real
Unreel - to unwind
Use - present tense verb
Used - past tense verb
Vary - to change
Very – much
Veracious - truthful
Voracious - greedy, hungry
Vice - moral fault
Vise - tool
Waver - to fluctuate
Waiver - to suspend or relinquish
Weak - not strong
Week - seven days
Whose - possessive pronoun
Who’s - contraction form of “who is” or “who has”
Your - possessive pronoun
You’re - contraction form of “you are”
Yore - of times past
Correct Use of Prepositions
That Follow Certain Words
Accompanied.
By a person
With a thing
Account
For an action
To a person
Adapt
From patterned after
To adjusted or modified for
Agree
In to be like, similar
On to be in accord with
To to consent
With to concur
Angry
With a person
About a situation
Capacity
For ability
Of content or space
Compare
To: to express similarities
With to express differences
Confer
About to discuss
Upon to bestow or grant
Correspond
To agree with
With communicate through writing
Differ
From to be different
In disagreement regarding an issue
With disagree with a person
Different
From
Disappointed
By, in someone
With something
Speak, talk
With a person
To address a group or an audience
Capitalization
Here are the basic rules for capitalization:
Capitalize the names of persons, places, and things that have a
Proper meaning:
Joseph Raggio
Blue Ridge
Stratford Green Lane
London
Oxford University
Do not capitalize common nouns that denote a general meaning:
nurse
street
college
company
Capitalize the proper names of organizations:
United Nations
California State Highway Commission
Department of the Treasury
Capitalize the names of countries, states, specific geographic
regions, holidays, days of the week, months, and historic events:
Italy
Wisconsin
the Southeast
Christmas
Thursday
August
the War of 1812
NOTE: Do not capitalize the seasons (winter, spring, summer,
fall).
Capitalize titles following names:
Joseph Neil, Director of Market Research
Alan Vanucci, Vice President for Public Affairs
Capitalize key words in titles of publications:
The New York Times
People
Ladies Home Journal
Plural Nouns
239
Plural Nouns
The plural of the majority of nouns is formed by adding an “s”
at the end.
car cars
desk desks
pen pens
song song
nurse nurses
The plural of nouns ending in a “y” preceded by a vowel (a, e,
i, o, u) is formed by adding an “s.”
play plays
toy toys
attorney attorneys
decoy decoys
journey journeys
The plural of nouns ending in a “y” preceded by a consonant is
formed by changing the “y” to an “i” and adding “es.”
study studies
lady ladies
sky skies
enemy enemies
treaty treaties
To form the plural of some nouns, add “en” or change the vowels.
child children
man men
woman women
tooth teeth
mouse mice
To form the plural of nouns ending in “ch,” “s,” “sh,” “x,” or
“z,” add “es” to the end.
lunch lunches
bus buses
brush brushes
box boxes
waltz waltzes
The plural of some nouns ending in “f” and “fe” is formed by
changing the “f” to “ve” or adding an “s.”
leaf leaves
half halves
wife wives
wolf wolves
proof proofs
belief beliefs
roof roofs
cafe cafes
The plural of many nouns ending in “o” is formed by adding
an “s” to the ending.
piano pianos
casino casinos
radio radios
soprano sopranos
The plural of some nouns ending in “o” is formed by adding an
“es” to the ending.
hero heroes
potato potatoes
tomato tomatoes
veto vetoes
Some hyphenated words only form the plural of the key word.
brother-in-law brothers-in-law
attorney-at-law attorneys-at-law
hanger-on hangers-on
maid-of-honor maids-of-honor
Some words ending in “s” take singular verbs.
mathematics
physics
politics
economics
news
When used as nouns, some words are only plural.
proceeds
tweezers
scissors
trousers
clothes
thanks
pants
billiards
belongings
Some words indicate both plural and singular.
deer
fish
moose
salmon
sheep
trout
Compound Nouns/Words
Compound nouns consist of two or more words hyphenated
or written as solid or separate words. Some familiar compound
words are brother-in-law, checklist, and data processing. Although
your spell-checker will often prove helpful when using compound
words, if in doubt, always consult an up-to-date dictionary for
the correct spelling. Here is a selected list of compound words:
age-old
accident-prone
airmail
attorney-at-law
audiovisual
backup
bankroll
biweekly
blackout
book review
bookstore
brainstorm
breakaway
breakdown
breakout
breakthrough
breakup
broad-minded
buildup
bylaw
capital-intensive
carsick
cave-in
changeover
check-in
checklist
checkup
cleanup
closeout
coauthor
comeback
computer-aided
cost-effective
countdown
courtyard
crackdown
cross-reference
cross section
crossroad
custom-made
cutoff
Data processing
Daylong
Double-spaced
Drawback
Drive-in
Eye-catching
Eye-opener
Eyewitness
Fireproof
Follow-through
Follow-up
Full-bodied
Get-together
Good-bye
Good-natured
Goodwill
Habit-forming
Hair-raising
Half hour
Half-truth
Handbook
Heartsick
High-priced
Homesick
Hometown
Interest-bearing
Interoffice
Know-how
Law-abiding
Lifelong
Lifestyle
Life raft
Long-winded
Market-tested
Masterpiece
Master plan
Middle-aged
Misspell
Moneymaker
Money order
Multipurpose
Nationwide
Nightlife
Nonessential
Old-fashioned
Panic-stricken
Paperwork
Praiseworthy
Proactive
Quick-tempered
Quick-witted
Reorganize
Retroactive
Runaway
Run-through
Salespeople
Schoolteacher
Semiannual
Send-off
Show-off
Sky-high
Spin-off
Standby
Subdivision
Takeoff
Takeover
Tax-exempt
Tax-sheltered
Time-saver
Time sheet
Top-heavy
Trade name
Trustworthy
Trade-off
Tryout
Turnover
User-friendly
Walk-through
Weatherproof
Workout
Write-off
Year-round
Naïve – so kind
Review Exercises to Test Yourself
Review Exercises
To Test Yourself
1.
Use familiar or simpler words to express the following ideas.
Accomplish the project ———————————
Effectuate improvement ———————————
Render every assistance ———————————
Enclosed herewith please find ———————————
Pursuant to ———————————
Make reference to ———————————
Perform an examination ———————————
Close proximity ———————————
Ameliorate ———————————
Anterior to ———————————
Append ———————————
Adjacent to ———————————
Approbation ———————————
Elucidate ———————————
Peruse ———————————
Thereupon ———————————
