words often confused

Words often Confused Definition:

The phrase “words often confused” is used generally to define two or more words that are frequently confused with one another due to the following reasons:

1. Similarity in spelling: For example, desert (dessert), personal (personnel), compliment (complement)

2. Similarity in pronunciation: For example: allusion (Illusion), accidental (incidental), perspective (prospective)

3. Confusion in meaning: For example: imply – infer; junction – juncture; footer – footnote. 

4. Same spelling but different meanings (homonyms): For example, the word ‘bank’ that could mean the land alongside a river or a financial establishment where customers deposit money or take loans.

5. Different spelling but same pronunciation (homophones): For example, fair (fare)

Look at the below words in each pair and observe the differences in using the sentences – 

1. led – lead 

Led – The tour guide led us through the museum, explaining each exhibit.

Lead – The pipes in the old building were made of lead, which is harmful to health.

2. accept – except

Accept – She decided to accept the job offer because it was a great opportunity.

Except – Everyone was invited to the party except for John, who was out of town

3. threw – through 

Threw – He threw the ball across the field, aiming for his teammate.

Through – We walked through the forest to reach the waterfall.

4. affect – effect

Affect – the new law will affect the way business. Operate.

Effect – The medicine had a positive effect on her health.

5. among – between

among  – She felt lost among the crowd at the concert.

Between – The secret was kept between the two friends.

6. capitol – capital

capitol – The capitol building is where the government meets.

Capital – Paris is the capital of France.

7. since – for

since – Since it started raining, we decided to stay indoors.

For – They have lived in that house for five years.

8. compliment – complement

compliment  – She received a compliment on her beautiful dress.

Complement – The wine perfectly complemented the flavors of the meal.

9. enquiry – inquiry

enquiry  – The customer made an enquiry about the availability of the product.

Inquiry – The police launched an inquiry into the cause of the accident.

10. loose – lose

loose  – His shoes were so loose that they almost fell off while running.

Lose – Don’t lose your keys; it’s hard to get a replacement.

Exercise – 2: (Remember)

1. addition – refers to something added

2. edition – refers to a particular version of a book, newspaper, etc.

3. resume – to begin again after stopping

4. résumé – a short document describing your education, work history, etc.

5. allude – to speak of something or someone in an indirect way

6. elude – to avoid or escape someone or something

7. detract – to reduce the strength, value, or importance of something

8. distract – to cause someone to stop paying attention to something

9. climatic – relating to the climate

10. climactic – related to the word climax

Fill in the blanks with the correct words:

1. If you ______ up straight, you can avoid neck pain. (set/sit)

2. A few medicines have other _________ besides the intended one. (affects/effects)

3. Tharun has come up with a good _________ for our group presentation. (ideal/idea)

4. John is _________ in dancing. (adopt/adept)

5. She paid no heed to my_______. (advise/advice)

6. If your ________ is to any man present here, do name him. (allusion/illusion)

7. I’m sorry I believed in this ______ policy of our government. (duel/dual)

8. A wandering _______ attacked the villager’s food stores. (hoard/horde)

9. _________ are part of the elk, caribou and moose family. (dear/deer)

10. We find wild ________ in Asia too. (bores/boars)