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Easily Confused Words
Glossary of Easily Confused Words
Here is a list of easily confused words in English (e.g., affect/effect, anyone/any one). Every entry has an interactive exercise, which is also printable and sendable.A
- accept and except
- adoptive and adopted
- advice and advise
- adverse and averse
- affect and effect
- aid and aide
- airplane and aeroplane
- a lot, allot, and alot
- aisle, isle, and I'll
- allowed and aloud
- allude and elude
- allusion and illusion
- already and all ready
- alright or all right
- altar and alter
- alternate and alternative
- altogether and all together
- among and amongst
- among and between
- amoral and immoral
- amount, quantity, and number
- angel and angle
- any one and anyone
- any thing and anything
- anywhere or any where
- a part and apart
- appraise and apprise
- are and our
- assistance and assistants
- assure, ensure, and insure
- avenge and revenge
- awe, or, oar, and ore
B
- bare and bear
- balk, baulk, and bulk
- ball and bawl
- bazaar and bizarre
- being or been
- beside and besides
- between and among
- block and bloc
- blond and blonde
- borrow and lend
- bought and brought
- brake and break
- breathe and breath
C
- capital and Capitol
- can and may
- can not and cannot
- canvas and canvass
- censor, censure, and sensor
- center on and center around
- chilly, chili, and chile
- choose and choice
- chord or cord
- cite, sight, and site
- climactic and climatic
- coarse and course
- collectable or collectible
- complement and compliment
- compose and comprise (comprise of and 'is comprised of')
- confident, confidant, and confidante
- coral and corral
- council and counsel
- cow's milk or cows' milk
- currant and current
- curb and kerb
D
- dependant and dependent
- decent, descent, and dissent
- defuse and diffuse
- definite and definitive
- desert and dessert
- discreet and discrete
- disloyal and unloyal
- disinterested and uninterested
- dived and dove
- drank and drunk
- dual and duel
E
- economic and economical
- effect and affect
- e.g. and i.e.
- elicit and illicit
- elude and allude
- envelop and envelope
- empathy and sympathy
- emigrate and immigrate
- enquiry and inquiry
- ensure, assure, and insure
- envy and jealousy
- every one and everyone
- every day and everyday
- except and accept
- explicit and implicit
F
- feel or touch
- fewer or less
- fish or fishes
- flair and flare
- flier and flyer
- foul and fowl
- forego/forgo, forewent/forwent, foregone/forgone
- fourth and forth
- further and farther
G
H
- hangar and hanger
- hanged and hung
- he'll, heel, and heal
- hear and listen
- heroine and heroin
- historic and historical
- high and tall
I
- i.e. and e.g.
- idol, idle, and idyll
- if or whether
- ill and sick
- illicit and elicit
- illusion and allusion
- immigrate and emigrate
- immoral and amoral
- impatient and patient
- impending and pending
- imply and infer
- incidence and incidents
- incite and insight
- inquiry and enquiry
- instance and instants
- insure, assure, and ensure
- into, onto, and up to
- its and it's
J
K
L
- law and lore
- lay and lie
- lead and led
- learned and learnt
- lend and borrow
- let and let's
- less and fewer
- licence and license
- lightening or lightning
- loath and loathe
- look, see, and watch
- loose and lose
M
- makeup, make-up, or make up
- male and mail
- many and much
- mantel or mantle
- marinade and marinate
- material and materiel
- may and can
- may and might
- may be and maybe
- me and myself
- misspelled and misspelt
- moral and morale
- Ms, Miss, and Mrs
- mucous mucus
- mute and moot
N
O
P
- past and passed
- palate, palette, and pallet
- patients and patience
- peak, peek, and pique
- plain and plane
- pleaded or pled
- pedal and peddle
- pendant and pendent
- peace and piece
- pending and impending
- personal and personnel
- poisonous or venomous
- pore, pour, and poor
- practice and practise
- precedence and precedent
- pray and prey
- principal and principle
- precede and proceed
- premise and premises
- program and programme
- prophecy and prophesy
- proscribe and prescribe
- provided and providing
Q
R
- raise, rise, and raze
- rain, rein, and reign
- rational and rationale
- regard or regards
- remember or remind
- revenge and avenge
- role and roll
S
- saw, soar, and sore
- see, look, and watch
- shall and will
- site, cite, and sight
- somewhere or some where
- spelled and spelt
- spilled and spilt
- spoiled and spoilt
- stationary and stationery
- sensor, censor, and censure
- story and storey
- sympathy and empathy
T
- teach and learn
- tenant and tenet
- that, which, and who
- the and thee
- their, there, and they're
- then and than
- tic or tick
- too or to
- tortuous or torturous
- touch and feel
- toward or towards
- trier or tryer
- try and or try to
U
V
W
- waist and waste
- wait and weight
- watch, look, and see
- ware, wear, were, we're, and where
- weather, whether, and wether
- weaved, wove, and woven
- well and good
- whoever and whomever
- whether or if
- which, who, and that
- which and witch
- while or whilst
- who or whom
- who's and whose
- will and shall
- with regard to or with regards to
X
Y
Z
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