CONFUSING WORDS

Take a look at these two sentences—one of them contains a mistake:

I poured over book after book.

We pored over the catalogs.

 

Are you uncertain which one is right? There are a lot of words in English that look or sound alike but have very different meanings, such as pore and pour or flaunt and flout. It’s easy to get them confused and most electronic spellcheckers won’t be much help in this type of situation: they can tell you if a word has been spelled wrongly but they can’t generally identify the misuse of a correctly spelled word.

 

Here’s a quick-reference list of pairs of words that regularly cause people problems. 

Word 1	Meaning	Word 2	Meaning
accept	to agree to receive or do	except	not including
adverse	unfavorable, harmful	averse	strongly disliking; opposed
advice	recommendations about what to do	advise	to recommend something
affect	to change or make a difference to	effect	a result; to bring about a result
aisle	a passage between rows of seats	isle	an island
all together	all in one place, all at once	altogether	completely; on the whole
along	moving or extending horizontally on	a long	referring to something of great length
aloud	out loud	allowed	permitted
altar	a sacred table in a church	alter	to change
amoral	not concerned with right or wrong	immoral	not following accepted moral standards
appraise	to assess	apprise	to inform someone
assent	agreement, approval	ascent	the action of rising or climbing up
aural	relating to the ears or hearing	oral	relating to the mouth; spoken
bare	naked; to uncover	bear	to carry; to put up with
bated	in phrase 'with bated breath' (i.e., in great suspense)	baited	with bait attached or inserted
bazaar	a Middle Eastern market; a fund-raising sale	bizarre	strange
berth	a bunk in a ship, train, etc.	birth	the emergence of a baby from the womb
born	having started life	borne	carried
bough	a branch of a tree	bow	to bend the head; the front of a ship
brake	a device for stopping a vehicle; to stop a vehicle	break	to separate into pieces; a pause
breach	to break through, or break a rule; a gap	breech	the back part of a gun barrel
broach	to raise a subject for discussion	brooch	a piece of jewelry
canvas	a type of strong cloth	canvass	to seek people’s votes
capital	an uppercase letter; the administrative city of a state or country	capitol	the building that houses a legislature
censure	to criticize strongly	censor	to ban parts of a book or movie; a person who does this
cereal	a grass producing an edible grain; a prepared food made from grain	serial	happening in a series
chord	a group of musical notes	cord	a length of string; a cordlike body part
climactic	forming a climax	climatic	relating to climate
coarse	rough	course	a direction; a school subject; part of a meal
complacent	smug and self-satisfied	complaisant	willing to please
complement	to add to so as to improve; an addition that improves something	compliment	to praise or express approval; an admiring remark
council	a group of people who manage or advise	counsel	advice; to advise
cue	a signal for action; a wooden rod	queue	a line of people; an ordered list of computer documents ready to be printed
currant	a dried grape; a small berry	current	happening now; a flow of water, air, or electricity
defuse	to make a situation less tense	diffuse	to spread over a wide area
desert	a waterless, empty area; to abandon someone	dessert	the sweet course of a meal
discreet	careful not to attract attention	discrete	separate and distinct
disinterested	impartial	uninterested	not interested
draw	an even score at the end of a game	drawer	a sliding storage compartment
dual	having two parts	duel	a fight or contest between two people
elicit	to draw out a reply or reaction	illicit	not allowed by law or rules
ensure	to make certain that something will happen	insure	to provide compensation if a person dies or property is damaged
envelop	to cover or surround	envelope	a paper container for a letter
exercise	physical activity; to do physical activity	exorcise	to drive out an evil spirit
fawn	a young deer; light brown	faun	a mythical being, part man, part goat
flaunt	to display ostentatiously	flout	to disregard a rule
flounder	to move clumsily; to have difficulty doing something	founder	to fail
forbear	to refrain	forebear	an ancestor
foreword	an introduction to a book	forward	onward, ahead
freeze	to turn to ice	frieze	a decoration along a wall
grisly	gruesome, revolting	grizzly	a type of bear
hoard	a stock of things; to store away valuables	horde	a large crowd of people
imply	to suggest indirectly	infer	to draw a conclusion
loath	reluctant, unwilling	loathe	to hate
loose	to unfasten; to set free	lose	to be deprived of; to be unable to find
militate	to be a powerful factor against	mitigate	to make less severe
palate	the roof of the mouth	palette	a board for mixing colors
pedal	a foot-operated lever	peddle	to sell goods
pole	a long, slender piece of wood	poll	to record people's votes or opinions
pour	to flow or cause to flow	pore	a tiny opening; to study something closely
prescribe	to authorize use of medicine; to order authoritatively	proscribe	to officially forbid something
principal	most important; the head of a school	principle	a fundamental rule or belief
sight	the ability to see	site	a location
stationary	not moving	stationery	writing materials
titillate	to arouse interest	titivate	to make more attractive
tortuous	full of twists; complex	torturous	full of pain or suffering
wreath	a ring-shaped arrangement of flowers or greenery	wreathe	to surround or encircle
yoke	a wooden crosspiece for harnessing a pair of oxen	yolk	the yellow center of an egg