Recently Added Articles Page #31

Credible vs. Creditable

Talk about words that can be confused easily … creditable and credible are a prime example.  While they sound alike, and their meanings come close, they are two completely separate terms with definitions that deserve clarity. The student's eff...

Current vs. Currant

Homophones can be confusing, and in their misuse, hilarity sometimes ensues. If you write that someone was swept away by the currant and you aren’t relating a cautionary tale of drunken misadventure, then you had probably better read the rest of th...

Insight vs. Incite

Homophones are words that share the same pronunciation but differ in spelling and meaning, such as to, too, two; and so, sew, and sow. Homophones and confusingly similar words are the stuff that malapropisms are made of. A malapropism is the unintent...

Lend vs. Loan

English has many words that refer to the borrowing of goods and money. Two of the most common words that apply to this context are loan and lend. Do they mean the same thing? Or, are there specific circumstances in which one or the other is more appr...

Manner vs. Manor

The words manner and manor are homophones: they sound alike but have different meanings. Consider the sentences below: Nate's grandfather has an odd manner of laughing. The manor is now a popular tourist site. Do you think these sentences are right? ...

Allude vs. Elude

He eluded to the problem but did not mention it. The thief alluded the police. Can you spot the mistake in the above two sentences? Take a minute to read both sentences carefully and see if you can find a mistake. If you found it, you are a real geni...

Allusion vs. Illusion

The nouns allusion and illusion sound quite similar, and they both have connotations of intangibility. As a result, they are sometimes confused by writers. Consider the sentences below; The Simpsons is full of allusions to well-known films. I am unde...

Anyone vs. Any one

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between anyone and any one? Consider the sentences below; If any one of your friends knows, please tell them to keep quiet. Has anyone seen my wallet? Both of these sentences have used the words anyone a...

Biannual vs. Biennial

Biannual and biennial are treated as if they are interchangeable or they mean the same. Some people who know the difference but still get confuse about which is which. Consider the two sentences below; We have biennial flowers in our garden. They hel...

Board vs. Bored

Homophones (literally "same sound") are usually defined as words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of how they are spelled. The words board, bored sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Why do board, bored sound the sam...

Collaborate vs. Corroborate

If you are having a hard time deciding when to use the commonly confused words, collaborate and corroborate, you are not the only one. The words collaborate and corroborate don't fall under the category of homophones, but people do confuse them on oc...

Continuous vs. Continual

The English language is full of words that are both similar in sound and similar in meaning. Many of these words are classified as homophones, but many others don’t quite fit under that label. The two words continually vs. continuously, while not b...

Apologize vs. Apologise

If the athlete wants to rejoin the team, he must apologise for his poor attitude. Shouldn’t the above sentence have different spellings of apologize that it, with a z instead of s? Apologize and apologise are the two known spellings of the verb an...

Further vs. Farther

Further research is necessary. The red car is farther away than the blue car. Contrary to popular opinion, further and farther don't have the same meaning. Basically, further refers to something that is additional and farther refers to actual distanc...

Hanged vs. Hung

The traitor was hanged for treason. He hung on to the rope. Since 1st grade we have been told the past tense of hang is hanged but then what is wrong with one of the two sentences above? This article will tell you all there is to know about the diffe...

Exceed vs. Accede

Their loyalty exceeds their national bonds. He acceded to the throne after his father. Do you know the difference between exceed and accede? Do the above sentences give an idea to what they might mean? Exceed and accede are a pair of words with simil...

Addition vs. Edition

He bought a car in addition to the truck he got last week. The new edition of the book will be published next month. Addition and edition are homophones that is, they sound the same but spell and mean totally different from their other half. This art...

Adverse or Averse

More significantly, he has shown that if such ageing cells are selectively destroyed, these adverse effects go away. Your survey shows that banks are more risk-averse than they used to be. Adverse and averse have spellings very close to each other wh...

Resign vs. Re-sign

Do you intend to re-sign the employment contract? Susan had resolved to resign from her position. Notice the above two sentences. Did you understand the meanings of resign and re-sign from them? If not, this article will explain the meanings and diff...

Fuelling vs. Fueling

The mystery of the spellings of certain words causes a lot of confusion for beginners of English language as they are unable to distinguish between the two. Consider the following sentences: Ian was fuelling his car when he heard the crash. Ian was f...

Paediatric vs. Pediatric

This article answers all your questions about the spelling of these two words along with definitions, origins, usage and examples. Read along and you will get to know the difference between the two spellings. Origin: The word pediatrics and its cogna...

Dialog vs. Dialogue

I wrote a dialogue between a customer and a shopkeeper. I wrote a dialog between a customer and a shopkeeper. Which of the above sentence is correct? Is a longer dialogue a dialogue and a shorter one simply a dialog? What is the difference between a ...

Pretence vs. Pretense

This not very common word is often confused for its alternative half making it difficult for young writers to make a decision on what the right spellings of the word are. Consider the following sentences: It became obvious that his theories were noth...

Offence vs. Offense

The team had troubles with their offense because they key player was injured. The offence was clearly much lighter than the punishment. Do you know the difference between offence with a c and offense with an e? Can you figure out if the above sentenc...

Licence vs. License

Are you licensed to use this machine? Do you have a license acclaiming you to use this machine? Are the above sentences right? Do you think that one of the sentence should have license with different spellings? Well, yes and no! The difference betwee...