Monday 15 August 2016

Words Often Confused

Accept - to receive
Except- with the exclusion of

Advice - recommendation (noun)
Advise - to recommend (verb)

Adverse - unfavorable
Averse - opposed to

Affect - to influence (verb); emotional response (noun)
Effect - result (noun); to cause (verb)

Aisle - space between rows
Isle - island

Allude - to make indirect reference to
Elude - to avoid

Allusion - indirect reference
Illusion - false idea, misleading appearance

Already - by this time
All ready - fully prepared

Altar- sacred platform or place
Alter- to change

Altogether- thoroughly
All together- everyone/everything in one place

A lot - a quantity; many of something
Allot- to divide or portion out

Angel- supernatural being, good person
Angle- shape made by joining 2 straight lines

Are- plural form of "to be"
Our- plural form of "my"

Accent- pronunciation common to a region
Ascent- the act of rising or climbing
Assent- consent, agreement

Assistance- help
Assistants- helpers

Bare- nude, unadorned
Bear- to carry; an animal

Beside- close to; next to
Besides- except for; in addition

Boar- a wild male pig
Bore- to drill a hole through

Board- piece of wood
Bored- uninterested

Born- brought into life
Borne- past participle of "to bear" (carry)

Breath- air taken in (noun)
Breathe- to take in air (verb)

Brake- device for stopping
Break- destroy; make into pieces

Buy- to purchase
By- next to; through the agency of

Canvas- heavy cloth
Canvass- to take a survey; a survey

Capital- major city
Capitol- government building

Choose- to pick
Chose- past tense of "to choose"

Clothes- garments
Cloths- pieces of fabric

Coarse- rough
Course- path; series of lectures

Complement- something that completes
Compliment- praise, flattery

Conscience- sense of morality
Conscious- awake, aware

 Corps- regulated group
Corpse- dead body

Council- governing body
Counsel- advice; to give advice

Dairy- place where milk products are processed
Diary- personal journal

Descent- downward movement
Dissent- disagreement

Dessert- final, sweet course in a meal
Desert- to abandon; dry, sandy area

Device- a plan; a tool or utensil
Devise- to create

Discreet- modest, prudent behavior
Discrete- a separate thing, distinct

Do- a verb indicating performance or execution of a task
Dew- water droplets condensed from air
Due- as a result of

Dominant- commanding, controlling
Dominate- to control

Die- to lose life; one of a pair of dice
Dye- to change or add color

Dyeing- changing or adding color
Dying- losing life

Elicit- to draw out
Illicit- illegal, forbidden

Eminent- prominent
Imminent- about to happen

Envelop- to surround (verb)
Envelope- container for a letter (noun)

Everyday- routine, commonplace, ordinary (adj.)
Every day- each day, succession (adj. + noun)

Fair- light skinned; just, honest; a carnival
Fare- money for transportation; food

Farther- at a greater(measurable) distance
Further- in greater(non-measurable) depth

Formally- conventionally, with ceremony
Formerly- previously

Forth- forward
Fourth- number four in a list

Gorilla- animal in ape family
Guerrilla- soldier specializing in surprise attacks

Hear- to sense sound by ear
Here- in this place

Heard- past tense of "to hear"
Herd- group of animals

Hoard- a hidden fund or supply, a cache
Horde- a large group or crowd, swarm

Hole- opening
Whole- complete; an entire thing

Human- relating to the species  homo sapiens
Humane- compassionate

Its- possessive form of "it"
It's- contraction for "it is"

Knew- past tense of "know"
New- fresh, not yet old

Know- to comprehend
No- negative

Later- after a time
Latter- second one of two things

Lead- heavy metal substance; to guide
Led- past tense of "to lead"
  
Lessen- to decrease
Lesson- something learned and/or taught

Lightning- storm-related electricity
Lightening- making lighter

Loose- unbound, not tightly fastened
Lose- to misplace

Maybe- perhaps (adv.)
May be- might be (verb)

Meat- animal flesh
Meet- to encounter
Mete- to measure; to distribute

Metal- a hard organic substance
Medal- a flat disk stamped with a design
Mettle- courage, spirit, energy

Miner- a worker in a mine
Minor- underage person (noun); less important (adj.)

Moral- distinguishing right from wrong; lesson of a fable or story
Morale- attitude or outlook usually of a group

Passed- past tense of "to pass"
Past- at a previous time

Patience- putting up with annoyances
Patients- people under medical care

Peace- absence of war
Piece- part of a whole; musical arrangement

Peak- point, pinnacle, maximum
Peek- to peer through or look furtively
Pique- fit of resentment, feeling of wounded vanity

Pedal- the foot lever of a bicycle or car
Petal- a flower segment
Peddle- to sell

Personal- intimate; owned by a person
Personnel- employees

Plain- simple, unadorned
Plane- to shave wood; aircraft (noun)

Precede- to come before
Proceed- to continue

Presence- attendance; being at hand
Presents- gifts

Principal- foremost (adj.); administrator of a school (noun)
Principle- moral conviction, basic truth

Quiet- silent, calm
Quite- very

Rain- water drops falling; to fall like rain
Reign- to rule
Rein- strap to control an animal (noun); to guide or control (verb)

Raise- to lift up
Raze- to tear down

Rational- having reason or understanding
Rationale- principles of opinion, beliefs

Respectfully- with respect
Respectively- in that order

Reverend- title given to clergy; deserving respect
Reverent- worshipful

Right- correct; opposite of left
Rite- ritual or ceremony
Write- to put words on paper

Road- path
Rode- past tense of "to ride"

Scene- place of an action; segment of a play
Seen- viewed; past participle of "to see"

Sense- perception, understanding
Since- measurement of past time; because

Sight- scene, view, picture
Site- place, location
Cite- to document or quote (verb)

 Stationary- standing still
Stationery- writing paper

Straight- unbending
Strait- narrow or confining; a waterway

Taught- past tense of "to teach"
Taut- tight

Than- besides
Then- at that time; next

Their- possessive form of "they"
There- in that place
They're- contraction for "they are"

Through- finished; into and out of
Threw- past tense of "to throw"
Thorough- complete

To- toward
Too- also; very (used to show emphasis)
Two- number following one

Track- course, road
Tract- pamphlet; plot of ground

Waist- midsection of the body
Waste- discarded material; to squander

Waive- forgo, renounce
Wave- flutter, move back and forth

Weak- not strong
Week- seven days

Weather- climatic condition
Whether- if
Wether- a neutered male sheep

Where- in which place
Were- past tense of "to be"

Which- one of a group
Witch- female sorcerer

Whose- possessive for "of who"
Who's- contraction for "who is"

Your- possessive for "of you"
You're- contraction for "you are"
Yore- time long past

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