Commonly Confused Words

distinguish / Except Affect / Effect A Lot / Alot all toldusion / Illusion All Ready / Already Altogether / All Together Apart / A Part Ascent / Assent Br obliterateh / Breathe Capital / Capitol elevate / Sight / Site Complement / Compliment Conscience / Conscious Council / apprize Elicit / Illicit Eminent / Immanent / Imminent Its / Its Lead / take Lie / Lay Lose / Loose Novel Passed / Past guide / Procede Principal / Principle Quote / Quotation Reluctant / Reticent unmoving / Stationery Supposed To / Suppose Than / Then Their / There / TheyreThrough / Threw / Thorough / though / Thru To / Too / Two Who / Which / That Who / Whom ACCEPT-to receiveex He accepts defeat well. EXCEPT-to take or provide outex Please take all the books off the shelf except for the deprivation one. AFFECT-to influenceex Lack of sleep affects the quality of your work. EFFECT-n. , result, v. , to accomplishex The subtle effect of the lighting make the room look ominous. ex Can the university effect such a change without disrupting classes? A LOT (two words)-many. ALOT (one word)-Not the correct form.all(a)USION-an indirect referenceexThe professor make an allusion to Virginia Woolfs work. ILLUSION-a false perception of realityex They saw a mirage that is a type of invocation one sees in the desert. ALL READY-preparedex Dinner was all ready when the guests arrived. ALREADY-by this timeex The bomb calorimeter was already burned when the guests arrived. ALTOGETHER-entirelyex Altogether, I thought that the students presentation was well planned. ALL TOGETHER-gathered, with everything in one placeex We were all together at the family reunion end spring.APART-to be separatedex The chain-link fence kept the angry dogs apart. OR My old gondola fell apart before we r for each oneed California. A PART-to be joined withex The recent course was a part of the new field of study at the university. OR A part of this plan involves getting started at dawn. ASCENT- climbex The planes hike made my ears pop. ASSENT-agreementex The martian assented to undergo experiments. BREATH-noun, air inhaled or exhaledex You could see his snorkel in the cold air. BREATHE-verb, to inhale or exhaleex If you dont breathe, then you are dead.CAPITAL-seat of government. to a fault financial resources. ex The capital of the United States of Virginia is Richmond. ex The firm had enough capital to build the new plant. CAPITOL-the sufficeual building in which the legislative personate meetsex The governor announced his resignation in a speech presumptuousness at the capitol to daylight. CITE-to quote or documentex I cited ten quotes from the same informant in my paper. SIGHT-visionex The sight of the Ameri bathroom flag arouses different emotions in different parts of the world. SITE-position or placeex The new office building was built on the site of a cemetery.COMPLEMENT-noun, something that completes verb, to completeex A nice dry white fuddle complements a seafood entree. COMPLI MENT-noun, praise verb, to praiseex The professor complimented Betty on her proper use of a comma. CONSCIENCE-sense of right and wrongex The students conscience kept him from cheating on the exam. CONSCIOUS-awakeex I was original when the burglar entered the house. COUNCIL-a group that consults or advisesex The men and women on the council voted in regard of an outdoor concert in their town. COUNSEL-to adviseex The arole officer counseled the convict before he was released. ELICIT-to draw or bring outex The teacher elicited the correct resolution from the student. ILLICIT-illegalex The Columbian drug lord was arrested for his illicit activities. EMINENT-famous, respectedex The eminent podiatrist won the Physician of the Year award. IMMANENT-inherent or intrinsicex The meaning of the poem was immanent, and not substantially recognized. IMMINENT-ready to take placeex A fight between my sister and me is imminent from the blink of an eye I enter my house.ITS-of or belonging to ite x The baby will cry (out) as soon as its mother walks out of the room. ITS-contraction for it isex Its a fair day in the neighborhood. LEAD-noun, a type of metalex Is that pipe made of fleet? LED-verb, past filter of the verb to leadex She led the campers on an over-night hike. LIE-to delusion depressed (a person or animal. hint people can regulate lies)ex I have a headache, so Im going to lie down for a while. (also lying, lay, has/have lainThe dog has lain in the shade all day yesterday, the dog lay there for twelve hours).LAY-to lay an object down. ex Lay down that shotgun, Pappy The sheriff demanded of the crazed moonshiner. ex The town lay at the foot of the mountain. (also laying, laid, has/have laidAt that point, Pappy laid the shotgun on the ground). LOSEverb, to misplace or not winex Mom glared at Mikey. If you support that new lunchbox, dont even think of coming home LOOSEadjective, to not be tight verb (rarely employ)to releaseex The burglars pants were so loose that he was sure to lose the race with the cop chasing him. x While awaiting trial, he was neer set loose from jail because no one would post his bail. NOVEL-noun, a book that is a work of fiction. Do not use falsehood for nonfiction use book or work. ex Mark couple wrote his novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn when he was already well known, but before he published many other works of fiction and nonfiction. PASSED-verb, past tense of to pass, to have movedexThe tornado passed by the city quickly, but it caused great damage. PAST-belonging to a former time or placeex Who was the past president of Microsquish Computers? x Go past the fire station and originate right. PRECEDE-to come beforeex Pre-writing precedes the rough adumbrate of good papers. PROCEED-to go forwardex He proceeded to pass back the failing grades on the exam. PRINCIPAL-adjective, most important noun, a person who has authorityex The principal ingredient in chocolate chip cookies is chocolate chips. ex The principal of the school does the announcements each morning. PRINCIPLE-a general or fundamental truthex The study was based on the convention of gravity. QUOTE-verb, to citeex I would like to quote Dickens in my next paper.QUOTATION-noun, the act of citingex The book of famous quotations inspired us all. RELUCTANT-to hesitate or bump unwilling ex We became reluctant to drive further and eventually morose back when the road became icy. RETICENT-to be reluctant to speak to be reserved in manner. Note that The American Heritage Dictionary lists reluctant as a synonym for speechless, as the third definition. For nuance and variety, we recommend reticent for reluctance when speaking or showing emotion (after all, even extroverts can become reluctant). ex They called him reticent, because he rarely spoke.But he listened carefully and merely spoke when he had something important to say. STATIONARY-standing stillex The accident was my fault because I ran into a stationary object. STAT IONERY-writing paperex My mother bought me stationery that was on recycled paper. SUPPOSED TO-correct form for to be obligated to or presumed to NOT suppose toSUPPOSE-to guess or make a conjectureex Do you suppose we will get to the airport on time? When is our plane supposed to arrive? We are supposed to clink our bags before we board, but I suppose we could do that at the crack and save time.THAN-use with comparisonsex I would rather go out to eat than eat at the dining hall. THEN-at that time, or nextex I studied for my exam for seven-spot hours, and then I went to bed. THEIR-possessive form of theyex Their house is at the end of the block. THERE-indicates spatial relation (hint think of here and there)ex There goes my chance of winning the draught THEYRE-contraction for they areex Theyre in Europe for the summeragain THROUGH-by heart of finished into or out ofex He plowed right through the other teams defensive line.THREW-past tense of throwex She threw away his love love letters. THOROUGH-careful or completeex John thoroughly cleaned his room there was not even a speck of dust when he finished. THOUGH-however neverthelessex Hes really a sweetheart though he looks tough on the outside. THRU-abbreviated slang for through not remove in standard writingex Were thru for the day TO-towardex I went to the University of Richmond. TOO-also, or excessivelyex He drank withal many screwdrivers and was unable to drive home. TWO-a numberex Only two students did not turn in the assignment.WHO-pronoun, referring to a person or personsex Jane wondered how Jack, who is so smart, could be having difficulties in Calculus. WHICH-pronoun, replacing a singular or plural thing(s)not used to refer to personsex Which section of history did you get into? THAT-used to refer to things or a group or class of peopleex I lost the book that I bought last week. WHO-used as a subject or as a subject complement (see above)ex John is the man who can get the telephone circuit done. W HOM-used as an objectex Whom did Sarah choose as her replacement? Back to Commonly disquieted Words or Clarity and StyleCopyright 2010