|
advice - (n) guidance, information advise - (v) counsel; to give advice |
| adopted = children are adopted adoptive = parents are adoptive |
| accede - stick to agreement exceed - surpass |
| accept - receive except - exclude |
| adapt - adjust adept - proficient |
| adverse - opposed averse - not interested |
| affect - change, influence
effect - (v) to bring about (n) result, impression |
| all ready - prepared already - by this time all right - all right alright - outdated usage |
| altogether - completely, entirely (I was altogether
surprised by the ghost.) all together - in a group (They gathered all together in the crypt.) |
| allude - refer to indirectly elude - avoid |
| allusion - indirect reference illusion - erroneous belief or perception |
| altar - place of worship |
| alter - to change |
| ambiguous - having more than one meaning, open to different
interpretations
ambivalent - having mixed feelings. |
| amoral - not concerned with morality immoral - not conforming to accepted standards of morality. |
| annual - yearly
annul - to void |
| any one - any one person, followed by "of" anyone - anybody, any person at all |
| any way - any method anyway - in any case anyways - grammatically incorrect |
| appraise - value apprise - inform, notify |
| ascent - a movement up assent - agreement |
| assistance - aid assistants - helpers |
| assure - to guarantee ensure - to make sure insure - to protect against loss |
| augur - be a sign of (a likely outcome) auger - a tool used for boring) |
| bare - unclothed bear - to carry, or an animal |
| beside - by the side of besides - in addition to |
| biannual - occurring twice a year
biennial - occurring once every two years biweekly - occurring once every two weeks semiweekly - occurring twice a week |
| board - a plane of wood bored - uninterested |
| born - brought into life borne - carried |
| brake - stop break - smash |
| buy - purchase by - next to bye - good-bye |
| capital - seat of government; money capitol - building where legislative body meets |
| censure - express strong disapproval of censor - suppress unacceptable parts of (a book, film, etc.) |
| cite - to quote an authority sight - the ability to see site - a place |
| climactic - forming a climax climatic - relating to climate |
| complacent - smug, self-satisfied complaisant - willing to please |
| complement -something that completes (n); to complete
(v) compliment - a flattering remark (n); to praise (v) |
| continual - happens frequently in time; close
succession continuous - uninterrupted |
| correspondence - written communications correspondents - people who write |
| council - a committee counsel - to give advice; advise consul - a diplomat |
| credible - believable creditable - worthy of praise |
| definite - certain, sure definitive - decisive and with authority. |
| defuse - remove the fuse from
(an explosive device) or reduce the danger or tension in (a
difficult situation) diffuse - spread over a wide area. |
| desert - arid land; (v) to abandon dessert - after-dinner sweet |
| device - an invention devise - to invent or plot |
| discreet - careful not to attract attention or give
offense discrete - separate or distinct |
| draft - (in British usage) a preliminary version or an order
to pay a sum
draught - (in British usage) a current of air or an act of drinking The verb is usually spelled draft. (North American English: draft is used for all senses) |
| draw - primarily a verb drawer - sliding storage compartment |
| egotism - excessive conceit or self-absorption egoism - less common and more technical word for an ethical theory that treats self-interest as the foundation of morality. |
| elicit - to bring out illicit - illegal |
| emigration - moving from a country immigration - moving to a country |
| eminent - outstanding, revered imminent - threatening to happen soon |
| envelop - wrap up, cover, or surround completely envelope - a paper container used to enclose a letter or document. |
| everyday - The everyday (ordinary) routine of
working every day - Call me every day (each day) this week. |
| every one - each person; always followed by "of" everyone - everybody; every person in a group |
| exceptionable - open to objection; causing disapproval or
offence exceptional - not typical or unusually good |
| fair - average; lovely fare - a fee for transportation |
| farther - actual or literal distance further - additional |
| fawn - young deer or light brown color faun - Roman deity that is part man, part goat |
| flaunt - display ostentatiously flout - openly disregard (a rule) |
| floe - large sheet of floating ice flow - move, run freely, circulate |
| flounder - have trouble doing or understanding something, be
confused: the fish founder - fail or come to nothing. |
| forth - forward fourth - after "third" |
| forego - precede (as in "foregone conclusion," a conclusion
arrived at in advance) forgo - abstain from or go without (some dictionaries accept "forgo" as an alternative spelling for "forego") |
| forward - toward the front; ahead foreword - preface |
| gorilla - a large primate guerrilla - a kind of soldier |
| grizzly - applies to the bear (comes from the same root as
"grizzled" referring to the bear's white-tipped fur) grisly - causing horror or revulsion |
| hear - to perceive by ear here - in this place |
| heard - past tense of "hear" herd - a group of animals |
| hoard - a store of something valuable (also verb
form) horde - a teeming crowd of people |
| hole - an opening whole - complete |
| imply - speaker implies (suggests) infer - hearer infers (perceives) |
| its - possessive of "it" it's - contraction of "it is" |
| later - after the usual or proper time latter - more recent |
| lay - to set down, to place or put an item down lie - to recline |
| lead - heavy metal led - past tense of "lead" |
| lessen - to make less lesson - something learned |
| loath - reluctant; unwilling loathe - to dislike greatly. |
| loose (as a verb) - unfasten or set free lose - cease to have or become unable to find |
| luxuriant - rich and profuse in growth luxurious - characterized by luxury; very comfortable and extravagant |
| marital- of marriage martial - of war |
| may be - verb form maybe - perhaps |
| meat - flesh meet - encounter mete - to allot; distribute |
| militate- (an intransitive verb used following "against")
to have weight or effect (as in Her tawdry appearance militated
against her promotion)
mitigate - make something less severe. |
| naturism - nudism; naturist - nudist naturalism - artistic or literary approach or style; naturalist - expert in natural history or an exponent of naturalism |
| no - the opposite of "yes" know - to be certain |
| officious - asserting authority or interfering in an
annoyingly domineering way
official - relating to an authority or public body and having the approval or authorization of such a body. |
| ordinance - order ordnance - guns or munitions. |
| overdo - to carry too far overdue - past due |
| palate - roof of the mouth pallet - small bed or straw-filled mattress; a small portable platform for moving or storing cargo palette - artist's board for mixing colors or a certain range of colors |
| parameters - a quantity or constant which varies depending
on the
instance being examined perimeter - the boundary of something (A good rule is to avoid using "parameters" unless you are a scientist or mathematician or confident you know what it means.) |
| passed - past tense of "pass" past - after; a time gone by |
| patience - forbearance patients - persons under medical care |
| peace - the absence of war piece - a portion of something |
| peak - (n) top of a mountain or something else high and
pointed;
(v) to reach the uppermost point peek - (noun) a quick, perhaps furtive glance; (v) to take a quick, furtive look pique - resentment, offense taken (as in the cliché "fit of pique"); (v) to cause resentment BUT, most commonly used to mean to rouse, excite, or stimulate (as in the cliché "pique someone's curiosity) |
| pedal - (n) a foot-operated lever; (v) move by means of
pedals
(A bicyclist is a pedaler.) peddle - to sell (A peddler is someone who peddles goods.) |
| perquisite - special right or privilege enjoyed as a result
of ones position prerequisite - something that is required as a prior condition for something else; (adj) required as a prior condition. |
| perspicuous - expressing things clearly perspicacious - having a ready understanding of things. |
| plain - clear plane - carpenter's tool or airborne vehicle |
| pray - to ask for by prayer or supplication prey - animal hunted or caught for food; victim |
| presence - the state of being at hand presents - gifts |
| principal - first in authority; main participant; amount of
a debt less interest principle - basic truth or assumption |
| proscribe - condemn or forbid prescribe - issue a medical prescription or recommend with authority |
| quiet - no noise quite - entirely or actually |
| rack - a holder wreck - (v) destroy or ruin; (n) ruin, remains, wreckage; (n) crash, accident wreak - inflict |
| rain - precipitation reign - to rule rein - strap for controlling an animal reign - to rule (The phrase is "free rein," not "free reign.") |
| raise - to cause to lift or to lift something rise - to ascend, move upward, or get up |
| real - adjective (real silk) really - adverb (really wishing for...) |
| regretful - feeling or showing regret regrettable - giving rise to regret; undesirable. |
| right - correct rite - a religious ceremony |
| write - to make letters wright - a skilled worker (usually used in combinations: shipwright, playwright, wheelwright) |
| scene - where an action occurs seen - past participle of "see" |
| set - to place something somewhere sit - to be in a position of rest or to be seated |
| shear - to remove by cutting or clipping; to divest and
deprive sheer - (v) swerve, deviate quickly or avoid an unpleasant topic; (adj) nothing but; absolute, perpendicular or (of a fabric) very thin. (Shears are a sharp cutting instrument; scissors.) |
| someone - somebody some one - some person; always followed by "of" |
| some time - a period of time sometime - at some unspecified time |
| stationary - not moving; fixed stationery - writing material |
| straight - unbending strait - water passageway |
| suit - a set of clothes; legal action suite - number of items making up a set, series, or sequence |
| tenant - one who rents property tenet - a principle; a belief |
| their - possessive of "they" there - opposite of "here" they're - contraction of "they" and "are" |
| titillate - excite titivate - adorn or spruce up. |
| to - toward too - also two - the number that follows one |
| tortuous - full of twists and turns or excessively lengthy
and complex torturous - characterized by pain or suffering |
| turbid - thick or opaque or heavy with smoke or mist or
lacking in clarity or purity
turgid - tediously pompous or bombastic OR being in a state of distension; swollen, overflowing. (An overflowing muddy river could be both turbid and turgid.) |
| unexceptionable -
not open to objection or criticism : beyond
reproach unexceptional - not exceptional; ordinary. |
| venal - susceptible to bribery; corruptible venial - (In general) forgivable, pardonable; excusable |
| waist - the middle of the body waste - discarded material |
| waiver - the giving up of a claim waver - to hesitate; also tremble or quaver |
| weak - not strong week - Sunday through Saturday |
| which - one of a group witch - a sorcerer |
| who's - contraction of "who" and "is" whose - possessive of "who" |
| wreath - something intertwined into a circular
shape wreathe - verb meaning envelop, surround, or encircle |
| your - possessive form of "you"
you're - contraction of "you are" |
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