Easily Confused Words

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

• getaway and get away
• good and well
• gotten or got
• gray and grey
• grisly and grizzly

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

• jealousy and envy
• jewelry and jewellery

K

• kerb and curb

L

• lasagna and lasagne
• 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

• no-one and no one
• notable and noticeable
• nowhere or no where
• number, amount, and quantity

O

• oar, or, ore, and awe
• obligated or obliged
• off and of
• ordinance or ordnance
• onto, into, and up to

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

• qualitative and quantitative
• quantity, amount, and number
• quicker and more quickly
• quiet and quite

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

• up to, into, and onto
• uninterested and disinterested
• unloyal and disloyal
• upmost and utmost

V

• vain, vein, and vane
• vie or vye
• venomous or poisonous

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

• you're and your

Z