English is one of the most confusing languages for a person to learn, and many people (including English) have real difficulty in distinguishing between one word and another, that sound the same and look similar.
I sometimes forget which spelling of a particular word is the right one, so I feel that doing a post on these commonly confused words, would be greatly beneficial.
1. Accept and except
Accept: to take or receive (something offered); receive with approval or favour; or to agree on something.
Except: With the exclusion of, not including.
2. Adverse and averse
Adverse: Unfavourable or harmful in purpose or effect. Or to go in opposition of ones interests and desires.
Averse: Opposed to and strongly disliked.
3. Advice and advise
Advice: An opinion or recommendation about what should be done.
Advise: To offer an opinion or recommendation, as a guide and assistance.
4. Affect and effect
Affect: To act upon, make change to, or cause an effect.
Effect: Something that is produced from cause and is a result of.
5. Aid and aide
Aid: To provide support or help.
Aide: An assistant or helper.
6. Aisle and isle
Aisle: A longitudinal division or passage way of an interior area.
Isle: An island.
7. All together and altogether
All together: All at the same time or all at once, in one place.
Altogether: Completely; entirely; on a whole.
8. Allusion and illusion
Allusion: A casual reference to; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication.
Illusion: Something that tricks/deceives by production of a misleading or false impression of reality.
9. Along and a long
Along: Parallel to the length or direction of, from one end to the other.
A long: Referring to something of great length.
10. A lot and allot
A lot: A great multitude of.
Allot: The division or distribution of something by sharing or portioning out.
11. Aloud and allowed
Aloud: Something that is out loud and is audible.
Allowed: With permission.
12. All right and alright
All right: "Yes okay", "all right, I'll go with you".
Alright: A spelling alteration of all right.
13. Allude and elude
Allude: To refer to something casually or indirectly, to male an allusion.
Elude: To avoid and escape through cleverness, trickery or speed. To evade something.
14. Altar and alter
Altar: An elevated place or structure, as a mound or platform, in which religious acts are performed.
Alter: To change or make different, as style, size, smell, decision etc.
15. Amoral and immoral
Amoral: Something that is neither moral or immoral.
Immoral: Something that is a violation of moral principles and not performing to the pattern of conduct that is acceptable, and established.
16. Appraise and apprise
Appraise: To evaluate or estimate the monetary value. Or to estimate the quality, nature and importance of.
Apprise: To inform; advise; give notice to. E.g. To be apprised of the time and date.
17. Assent and ascent
Assent: To agree or to be in concurrence with.
Ascent: Upward moving, an act of ascending; a rising movement.
18. Aural and oral
Aural: Of or pertaining to an aura.
Oral: Something that is uttered by the mouth, a spoken testimony.
19. Balmy and barmy
Balmy: Mild and refreshing; soft and soothing: The music is balmy.
Barmy: Containing or resembling barm: frothy.
20. Bare and bear
Bare: Without the covering or clothing of something; nakedness, bare legs.
Bear: To hold up, support; to bear the weight of the roof. To bear something; the bearer of bad news; to bear a child.
It is also an animal: Black bear; polar bear; panda bear etc.
21. Bated and baited
Bated: To moderate or to restrain.
Baited: Something that is used as a lure, in assisting and aiding in the capture, trapping of.
22. Bazaar and bizarre
Bazaar: A market place or shopping quarter, or the sale of miscellaneous contributed articles to benefit some kind of charity.
Bizarre: Something that is marked unusual, or stands out. Often referred to the appearance, style and characteristics of something.
23. Berth and birth
Berth: A sort of shelflike sleeping place, as on a ship, airplane, or railroad car. Or the position, rank of a job.
Birth: The act of being born. He was born yesterday.
24. Beside and besides
Beside: At the or by the side of. Pull the car up beside the lamppost.
Besides: Furthermore; also; as-well; moreover.
25. Bloc and block
Bloc: A group of people, businesses or of the like, sharing common interests; working in unison for a particular reason, cause.
Block: A solid mass of stone, wood etc., normally with one or more relatively flat surfaces.
26. Born and borne
Born: Brought by the cause of birth.
Borne: A past participle of bear.
27. Bough and bow
Bough: A branch of a tree, particularly one of the larger or main branches.
Bow: To bend the the knee or body, to incline the head, as in reverence, submission, acknowledgement.
28. Brake and break
Brake: A tool or device used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle or mechanism, or living thing.
Break: To destroy, smash or split something violently.
29. Breach and breech
Breach: The act of breaking, rupturing. A violation, as of a law, trust, faith etc.
Breech: The hinder or lower part of anything. The lower rear part of the body.
30. Broach and brooch
Broach: A elongated, tapered, serrated cutting tool for fabricating and enlarging holes.
Brooch: A ornament or something of the like, having a pin at the back, designed for passing through clothing and a catch for securing the point of the pin.
31. Canvas and canvass
Canvas: A closely woven, cloth of cotton, linen or hemp and used for sails and tents etc. It is also a piece of similar material in which paintings are drawn on.
Canvass: to petition or solicit votes, opinions, subscriptions and the like.
32. Career, carrier and courier
Career: Someone's occupation or profession.
Carrier: An employee, person or something else that carries.
Courier: A messenger, bearer of pressing news. Normally travelling in haste.
33. Ceiling and sealing
Ceiling: An overhead interior surface of a room.
Sealing: An embossed emblem, symbol, figure, word etc. Used as attestation or proof of authenticity. Or it is a type of adhesive substance.
34. Censure and censor
Censure: A strong or forceful expression of disapproval.
Censor: An official who examines plays, motion pictures, books, radio and television programs, letters etc. For the purpose of concealing parts deemed objectionable on morale, political, military or other grounds.
35. Cereal and serial
Cereal: Some edible preparation of any plant in the grass family, yielding an edible grain as wheat, rye, oats etc, especially a breakfast food.
Serial: A publishing or broadcasting etc., in short instalments and intervals. Or effecting or producing a series.
36. Chord and cord
Chord: An emotion. His words struck a chord of sadness in the audiences heart.
Cord: A thin rope, string or something of that nature; made of several strands, which are braided, twisted, or woven together.
37. Climactic and climatic
Climactic: Pertaining to or building up to a climax
Climatic: Of or pertaining to climate.
38. Coarse and course
Coarse: Rough in texture.
Course: A directive or route to be taken.
39. Complacent and complaisant
Complacent: Pleasant and pleased, especially with ones own merits and credentials, often unaware of potential danger.
Complaisant: Inclined or disposed to please; willing to please and compliant.
40. Complement and compliment
Complement: Something that completes; goes hand-in-hand with.
Compliment: An expression of praise or admiration towards another.
41. Council and counsel
Council: An assembly of people/persons summoned or convened for consultation, deliberation or advice.
Counsel: Advice; guidance; instruction or opinion in directing the conduct of another.
42. Cue and queue
Cue: Anything said or done, on or off stage, that is followed by a specific line action
Queue: A line or file, especially of people; or a braid of hair worn hanging down behind.
43. Curb and kerb
Curb: Border or rim, especially of joined stones of concrete; forming the edge of a pavement.
Kerb: The British version of curb.
44. Currant and current
Currant: A small seedless raisin.
Current: The passing of time, belonging to the time passing; right at this moment.
45. Decent and descent
Decent: Accommodating to the recognised standard of propriety, modesty etc.
Descent: The act or procedure of moving from a higher to lower position.
46. Defuse and diffuse
Defuse: To make less dangerous; to calm down; to lessen the tension of certain circumstances. Or to defuse a bomb or some other explosive device.
Diffuse: To spread and pour out; as a fluid. To spread out or to scatter out.
47. Desert and dessert
Desert: An arid region with little rainfall, and is home to few types of vegetation, sparsely spread out, if any at all.
Dessert: A form of pudding: cake, pie, fruit, ice-cream etc. Served as the final course of a meal.
48. Discreet and discrete
Discreet: Thoughtful in one's conduct or speech, certainly with regards to respecting privacy and delicate matters.
Discrete: Separate or detached from others.
49. Disinterested and uninterested
Disinterested: Not influenced by personal motives, unbiased by personal interest or advantage.
Uninterested: Having or showing no interest at all; indifference.
50. Dose and doze
Dose: A quantity of medicine prescribed to be taken.
Doze: A state of light sleep, to fall into unintentionally.
51. Draught and draft
Draught: The British game of checkers.
Draft: A rough drawing, sketch or design. Or a current of air moving in an upward or downward direction.
52. Draw and drawer
Draw: Cause to move in a certain direction by or as if by a pulling force; pull; drag. Or to sketch in lines or words.
Drawer: A sliding, lidless compartment, as in a piece of furniture.
53. Dual and duel
Dual: Of pertaining to, or noting to.
Duel: An prearranged combat between two people.
54. Elicit and illicit
Elicit: To draw out, or bring forth; evoke: To elicit a response.
Illicit: Not of legal permission or authorisation.
55. Enquire and inquire
Enquire: Is a verb and is a variant of inquire.
Inquire: To scout information via questioning.
56. Ensure and insure
Ensure: To make certain of, to guarantee.
Insure: A guarantee against loss; harm or damage.
57. Envelop and envelope
Envelop: To cover, to wrap up in; to consume or surround entirely.
Envelope: A flat paper package, usually used to store letters inside, and normally has a gummed flap for closure.
58. Exercise and exorcise
Exercise: Physical or mental activity, particularly for the purpose of training or improvement of health.
Exorcise: To seek to expel an evil spirit, by adjuration or solemn ceremonies.
59. Expand and expend
Expand: To increase in extent, size, scope etc.
Expend: To use up. Or to pay up or dispurse.
60. Fawn and faun
Fawn: A young deer , particularly an unweaned one.
Faun: One of many mythical creature; depicted as men with horns, ears, tail and later also the hind legs of a goat.
61. Flaunt and flout
Flaunt: To display or proclaim oneself boldly, conspicuously or arrogantly.
Flout: To treat with scorn, derision or contempt; scoff at; mock; jeer.
62. Flounder and founder
Flounder: To struggle clumsily, stumbling about helplessly.
Founder: A person who establishes or initiates. Bill Gates and Paul Allen are the founders of Microsoft.
63. Forbear and forebear
Forbear: To refrain or abstain from.
Forebear: Usually, forebears, as is ancestors, forefathers, predecessors.
64. Freeze and frieze
Freeze: Change from a liquid to a solid state, due to loss of heat, to become hardened into ice or a solid body. E.g. water to ice.
Frieze: A decorative band at the top or beneath the cornice or interior wall. Or is the wider central part entablature and may be bland in the lonic or doric order.
65. Grisly and grizzly
Grisly: To cause or causing a feeling of shudder or horror. Or formidable; grim.
Grizzly: Slightly grey; greyish, grizzly haired. Or the noun for grizzly bear.
66. Heroin and heroine
Heroin: A white, crystalline, calming powder. C 21, H 23, NO 5.
Heroine:A women of perceived courage, boldness, admired for her hero-like qualities.
67. Hoard and horde
Hoard: To accumulate for preservation. Hidden in a well guarded location.
Horde: A large group of multitude, number etc. A horde of insects ate my crops.
68. Hole and whole
Hole: An opening; gap in something. Or the excavated habitation of an animals burrow.
Whole: The full quantity: amount; number etc. Light travel around the whole world in a second, seven times.
69. Imply and infer
Imply: To suggest or indicate, without being clearly stated.
Infer: To derive by reasoning; conclude from premises of evidence. Or to guess and speculate.
70. Later and latter
Later: Coming, occurring, appearing after the usual or proper time.
Latter: Being the second or later mentioned of the two. Near or comparatively near to the end.
71. Lead and led
Lead: To show the way; direct the way; escort. To lead the way.
Led: The past tense of lead.
72. Lie and lay
Lie: A false statement with the deliberate intent to mislead and deceive.
Lay: To put or place in a position of rest. To set down in a particular area.
73. Loath and loathe
Loath: To be reluctant; evasive; unwilling.
Loathe: A feeling of disgust or severe dislike. I loathe
74. Loose and lose
Loose: Free from bondage or restraint, or free and released from fastenings or attachments.
Something that is to big, not fitting well. My trousers kept descending because they were too loose.
Lose: Come to be without (once in possession of) due to misplacement, accident, theft etc.
75. Massage and message
Massage: Treating the body through rubbing, kneading, patting, prodding etc., to increase circulation and relieve tension.
Message: The containment of information, news, advice, response, question, request etc., coming about by television, letter, e-mail, radio, spoken word, text or of the like
76. Meter and metre
Meter: A unit of length/measurement. The equivalent of 100cm.
Metre: The British meter.
77. Militate and mitigate
Militate: To have a substantial or considerable effect, heavily weighted. His job record militated against him.
Mitigate:To lighten or lessen in force or intensity.
78. Moral and morale
Moral: to pertaining to, or keeping in line with the principalities of right and wrong; according to the Bible.
Morale: To help or build up, the emotional or mental condition with regards to confidence, mood, zeal, temperament etc.
79. Morning and mourning
Morning: The First part or period of the day. Morning-midday-afternoon-evening-night.
Mourning: The act of a person in grief; sorrow. The conventional manifestation of sorrow for a person's death.
80. Palate and palette
Palate: Regarding anatomy: the roof of the mouth. Or regarding the sense of taste. The food was palatable.
Palette: A thin board or tablet with a hole at one end, used by painters for holding and mixing colours.
81. Passed and past
Passed: Completed the act of passing.
Past: Something that has flown by or elapsed in time. Having lived in; having occurred in previous time; the past tense.
82. Pedal and peddle
Pedal: A lever operated by the foot, used for remaining in control of a certain mechanism. Such as cars and bikes; regarding musical instruments: piano, harp, organ.
Peddle: To carry items and goods from place to place, for sale at retail.
83. Personal and personnel
Personal: Of, pertaining to, or regarding to a particular person; individual, a sometimes sensitive area of subject.
Personnel: A body or horde of persons, employed in an organisation or location of work.
84. Pole and poll
Pole: A cylindrical, long piece of material. Most commonly made out of wood or some sort of metal.
Poll: A survey or collection of opinions on a chosen subject.
85. Pour and pore
Pour: A liquid, fluid or something in loose particles, that is flowing or falling, in a downward direction, as pouring milk into cereal.
Pore: To read or study with steady attention and concentration.
86. Practice and practise
Practice: Something of the norm or habit, or customary procedure. Or a condition arrived at through repeated performance or exercise, for the purpose of acquiring a skill or technique. Jenny was good at the piano because of lots of practice.
Practise: The British version of practice.
87. Prescribe and proscribe
Prescribe: To lay down a course of action or rule to be followed. Or to designate or order the use of.
Proscribe: To brand or condemn a thing as dangerous or harmful; prohibit.
88. Principal and principle
Principle: An accepted or agreed rule of action or conduct.
Principal: The first or highest in rank, importance; chief.
89. Sceptic and septic
Sceptic: A person who questions or inquires about the validity or authenticity of something reporting to be true.
Septic: Concerning or of the nature of sepsis.
90. Sight, site and cite
Sight: The ability of vision and the perception of objects by use of the eyes.
Site: The position and/or location of a town, building, construction premises etc.
Cite: To quote ( a passage, book ,person etc.), especially as an authority.
91. Stationary and stationery
Stationary: Having a fixed position; standing still; not moving.
Stationery: Writing paper, or writing materials, such as: pens; pencils etc.
92. Storey and story
Storey: A floor or level of a building.
Story: A narrative, either fictional or non-fictional. Designed to interest, amuse or instruct the hearer or reader.
93. There, their and they're
There: At or in a place. There he is now.
Their: A form of possession, used as an attributive adjective, before a noun: their home; their dog etc.
They're: Contraction of they are: they're over there.
94. Through, threw, thorough, though and thru
Through: To go in at one end, side, surface and to come out of the other. Through a tunnel.
Threw: The past tense of throw.
Thorough: Executed with carefulness and precision, without negligence or omissions.
Though: Used in introducing a subordinate clause, often marked with ellipses.
Thru: An informal spelling of through. Mc Donald's drive thru.
95. Titillate and titivate
Titillate: To excite or to stimulate arousal agreeably.
Titivate: To make smart; classify or spruce.
96. To, too and two
To: Used for expressing motion or direction to a point; expressing limit of movement or expression; expressing contact or contiguity; expressing a point in limit of time.
Too: In addition, more over, as-well, furthermore; to an excessive extent or degree; more, as specified, as should be; extremely, very.
Two: The number of 1+1, the symbol of the number being: 2 or ii.
97. Tortuous and torturous
Tortuous: Full of bends, corners, twists, turns, winding. A tortuous road. Or something that is not direct or straightforward.
Torturous: Involving, or causing torture or suffering.
98. Warn and worn
Warn: To give notice of impeding danger, peril, harm or anything else unfavourable.
Worn: The past participle of wear.
99. Who and whom
Who: What person or persons?, the person that or any person that.
Whom: The objective case of who: Whom am I speaking to?; of whom may I ask are you?
100. Wreath and wreathe
Wreath: A circular band of flowers, foliage, or any ornamental work.
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