Some weeks ago i shared Thirty Words That Are Always Mispronounced And Their Correct Pronunciations. Today I am sharing confused words that people use interchangeably. Read below
1.
Principle vs Principal
As they
are homophones, they are easily confused and therefore very often misused. A
“Principal”, generally speaking, can be defined as the most important person in
some kind of organization or a group (commonly used when referring to head of a
school or university). On the other hand, “principle” is a general idea,
belief, doctrine or an accepted rule of action.
So if you
say that you are a man or a woman of principle, it means that you have certain
beliefs and you tend to stand your ground. If you use principal in this
sentence (with an article of course, definite or indefinite), well, it may mean
that your spouse is the head of a school.
2. Anyway vs Any Way
Should I
write anyway or any way? It depends on what you want to say. The synonyms for
anyway are regardless, anyhow, in any case, and it is also used as a linking
word. For example: I don’t care, I will do it anyway.
If you
divide this compound noun, it will have a completely different meaning. We need
to help them any way we can. Any way – by any means necessary or in any manner.
Anyway, I believe that this will help you in any way.
3. Serial vs cereal
Yesterday,
around five o’clock, the police department arrested a man that was suspected to
be a cereal killer. Wait a minute – cereal killer? Yes, there are approximately
20 billion jokes on the internet about cereal killer. You start your day with a
bowl of cereal. Serial, on the other hand, is something that consist of a
series.
4. Cite vs site
Another
set of homophones that can be easily misused. “Site” is a location and if you
cite somebody, you are using their words or making a reference to somebody or
something.
He cited Aristotle,
while standing in front of a beautiful site near Parthenon.
5. Complement vs compliment
Give
my compliments to the chef. I would also like to say that this
wine you suggested is a real complement to this delicious
food.
A compliment
is way of expressing admiration or praise, whereas a complement is a noun
derived from the verb complete.
Man: You
complete me.
Woman: So I am a complement to you? Is that even a compliment?
6. Beside vs besides
This is
probably one of the trickiest pairs – an editor’s nightmare. But, let’s get it
clear once and for all. Beside is a preposition, while besides can be used both
as a preposition and as an adverb. The meaning of beside is next to, or close
to: Put that pen beside the notebook; You can sit beside me.
In both of these sentences you can use next to instead
of beside.
Besides
as a preposition means apart from – Besides me,
did you tell that to anyone else? As an adverb, it means moreover, furthermore, also… Besides,
it is also good for your health.
7. All together vs altogether
Altogether, I think we should definitely go there. And, we
should go thereall together. In order to make it perfectly clear, let’s
rephrase this sentence.
All in all, I think we should definitely go there. And everyone should
go there.
Altogether
is an adverb and it means all in all, everything included or everything
considered, completely or wholly. If you want to say everyone or all of us, the
phrase you are looking for is all together.
8. Allusion vs illusion
This is
proof that just one letter makes a big difference. If you make an allusion, you
are indirectly referring to something or someone. Example: The first
sentence in his new book is actually an allusion to his
previous book.
If you,
on the other hand, make illusions, I envy you (I’ve always wanted to become an
illusionist). Example: His newest illusion is somehow
an allusionto the famous David Copperfield.
9. Elicit vs illicit
In order
not to confuse these two words, you should try to remember thatelicit is
a verb, whereas illicit is an adjective. The former one means
to evoke or to call forth, while the latter has the meaning of illegal.
It is a
common belief that the color blue can elicit feelings of
depression. Selling the alcohol to minors is illicit. Your
behavior can elicitsome illicit actions.
10. Affect vs effect
How many
times have you found yourself in a situation where you are not sure which one
of these you should use? Don’t worry, you are most certainly not the only one.
Both of these words can be used as verbs as well as nouns, and maybe this is
where the confusion is born. The most common way to distinguish these two is
when you are using affect as a verb and effect as a noun. But, wait for it,
because there is more than that.
Affect, as a verb, means to produce or to act on. For example: Bad
weather affected the number of visitors on the music festival. Although it is
mostly used as a verb, to have an impact on something or someone, it can also
be used as a noun. In that case, affect is used to express feelings, emotions
or facial expressions (usually in the terminology of psychology).
Effect, as a noun, usually represents a result as in – You can try to do
it, but I am confident that it will have no effect. If used as a
verb, it means to produce something as an effect. The synonyms are make
something happen or bring about.
11. Advise vs advice
Unlike
the previous set, these two are actually very simple to remember and to
understand. Advise is a verb and it means to offer an opinion
or, simply said, to give advice. Advice is a noun and it represents the offered
opinion or recommendation in order to successfully conduct certain actions.
She
strongly advised me not to give any advice to
him.
12. Disinterested vs uninterested
Let’s say
you are a student and the exercise you are doing is adding negative prefixes.
At one point, you are confused about the word interested. Is it disinterested
or uninterested? Actually, if you just need to add suffixes, both are perfectly
fine. However, the meaning isn’t the same.
If
somebody is uninterested, he or she is bored. They have no interest whatsoever.
Imagine the situation where you and your friend are strongly arguing about
something. Unable to find a solution, or better yet, a compromise, you seek
help from a friend of yours. If he is uninterested, you need to find another
person to help or try to sort it out between yourselves. If, on the other hand,
your friend is disinterested, he might help you because he is unbiased in this
situation.
13. Lose vs loose
If you
lose something, it means that you fail to keep it or you simply didn’t win.
Lose is a verb, and it is commonly confused with loose. Loose is an adjective
(but it can also be a verb) and it is used to described something that isn’t
tight or isn’t bound together.
Mom where
are my trousers? I have no idea, you probably lost them. Never
mind I’ve found them. But they seem too loose. I think I need a
belt.
14. Farther vs further
The
everlasting dilemma – when to use farther and when further? Both of these are
comparatives of far, but the meaning is slightly different. Farther is used to
describe greater distances, a degree or a more advanced point. But so is
further. So where is that difference then? Farther is used for physical
distances, like farther down the road or farther to the left, whereas further
is used for figurative ones.
15. Literarily vs figuratively
Completely
two different words and for some strange reason, people tend to mix them
up. Literarily describes the situation exactly as happened. If you want to
use a metaphor, you will say figuratively.
I
was literarily speechless. – You didn’t know what to say and
you remain silent.
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