It is very easy to understand Homophones Meaning if you have the right resources available to you. We have explained what are homophones examples with meaning.
What is Homophone?
A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but has a different meaning and spelling. Homophones can cause confusion in writing and speaking, especially for people who are learning the language. For example, “write” and “right” are homophones because they sound the same, but they have different meanings and spellings. Other examples include “there”, “their”, and “they’re”; “flower” and “flour”; and “sea” and “see”. It is important to use the correct homophone in context to avoid misunderstandings or errors in communication.
Looking for Free English Learning App?
Download this free English Listening & Speaking app. In this app, you will get access to 100 hours of practice material for free. It has everything one can ever imagine to learn English with 1 crore English Sentences.
Why Homophones are important?
Homophones are important because they can cause confusion in writing and speaking if they are not used correctly. Using the wrong homophone in a sentence can completely change its meaning and lead to miscommunication. For example, if someone says “I’m going to buy a pear” but writes “I’m going to buy a pair,” the meaning of the sentence changes completely.
Homophones are particularly challenging for people who are learning English as a second language because they may not be familiar with the different spellings and meanings of words that sound the same. Learning and mastering homophones is important for effective communication in both written and spoken English. It is also important for clear and accurate writing, particularly in professional or academic contexts where precision and clarity are valued.
500 Homophones Meaning & Examples
| Word | Meaning | Example | Meaning | Example |
| diner vs. dinner | Diner:A person eating a meal (especially in a restaurant) Or a small old-fashioned restaurant | The diners were surprised by the chef’s appearance at the table. | Dinner:The main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday | Dinner will be at 8 |
| feet vs. feat | Feet:The part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint | His bare feet projected from his trousers | Feat:A notable achievement | He performed a great feat |
| their vs. there vs. they’re | THEREThere is the opposite of Here. It means ‘in that place’ not here.A: Where is my book? – B: It’s over there.I will look for a hotel to stay when I arrive there.There is/There are | to show that something exists.There is a book on the tableThere are many countries in Europe. | THEIR : Their is a possessive adjective which is used before a noun. It shows possession, that something belongs to them. | Their house is big.All of their friends were crazy.The children put their books in their school bags. |
| bare vs. bear | Bare:Completely unclothed or stripped to minimum | Bare bodies; bare facts | Bear:Have | Bear a resemblance |
| artist vs. artiste | Artist:A person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination | The French artist Monet painted in the Impressionist style. | Artiste:A public performer (a dancer or singer) | The artiste gave a wonderful performance |
| advice vs. advise | Advice Is a noun: to give counsel to; offer an opinion or suggestion as worth following. When spoken, it rhymes with ‘ice’ [s]. It is best to get legal advice from your lawyer before you take any legal action. | The blog gives good advice for first home buyers. | Advise Is a verb: an opinion or recommendation offered as a guide to action, conduct, etc. When spoken, it rhymes with ‘realise’ Mary advised me to stop taking the medicine, as it does more harm than good. | Please advise her to stop smoking, as she refuses to listen to me. My teacher advised us to revise our subjects regularly. I advise my customers to sample the cookies before they buy them. |
| than vs. then | Than is used to introduce a comparison. | She was smarter than you. (Than is used with a comparison.) | Then relates to time. For example:I was fitter then. (Here, then relates to a past time.)Run to the lake then jump in. (Here, then relates to a future time.)Then means in that case. | If you’re not happy, then leave. (Here, then means in that case.) |
| to vs. too vs. two | TOCan be used as a preposition of movement or direction. It indicates the place you arrive at as a result of moving.I will take a taxi to the airport.We are going to the stadium tonight.The train to Montreal leaves in twenty minutes.What is the quickest way to the beach?From X to Y: To refers to the end point of a time period.The office is open from 8.30am to 6.30pm.She works from 9 to 5.Note: when we do NOT have the starting time, we use until.Today I think I’ll only work until 5.It identifies the person or thing affected or receiving somethingI gave a present to my friend Paulina.Can you give my keys to Jack?They were not very nice to him.Can be used to show a change of state, condition or qualityWe waited for the traffic lights to change from red to green.She tore the letter to pieces.Can be used as the first part of an infinitive (To + Verb | Infinitive). Notice when two verbs are together, the second verb is in the infinitive form (except Modal verbs and To Be)Next year I want to spend six months in Europe.He needs to study more. | TOOCan be used before an adjective or an adverb for reinforcement to mean ‘very’ or ‘more than…’This dress is too big for me. (too + adjective)He was driving too fast so the police gave him a fine. (too + adverb)Can be used as an adverb to mean ‘also’ or ‘in addition’She has been to Switzerland too. ( | also)I was very tired last night and my friend was too. ( |
| which vs. witch | Which:Interrogative pronoun, used both substantively and adjectivally, and in direct and indirect questions, to ask for, or refer to, an individual person or thing among several of a class | Which one is it? | Witch:A female sorcerer or magician | Witch hunt |
| peak vs. peek | Peak:The most extreme possible amount or value | Voltage peak | Peek:A secret look | I only peeked–I didn’t see anything interesting |
| carat vs. caret vs. karat vs. carrot | Carat:A unit of mass equal to 200 mg and is used for measuring gemstones and pearls | It is a flawless, 100-carat diamond. | Caret:A mark used by an author or editor to indicate where something is to be inserted into a text | He marked a caret in the text |
| councilor vs. counselor | Councilor:A member of a council | He’s an active city councilor. | Counselor:Someone who gives advice about problems | The counselor gave them advice |
| mown vs. moan vs. mowed | Mown:(used of grass or vegetation) cut down with a hand implement or machine | The smell of newly mown hay | Moan:Indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure | He moaned with pain |
| bread vs. bred | Bread:Food made from dough of flour or meal and usually raised with yeast or baking powder and then baked | Bread the pork chops before frying them | Bred:Cause to procreate (animals) past tense of breed | She bred dogs before she retired. |
| taught vs. taut | Taught:Impart skills or knowledge to | I taught them French | Taut:Pulled or drawn tight | Taut sails |
| ware vs. wear vs. where | Ware:Goods; manufactured items or articles of the same kind or material; usually used in combination: ‘silverware’, ‘software’ | The hosts have beautiful silverware, cookware, and glassware. | Wear:Be dressed in | She was wearing yellow that day |
| arc vs. ark | Arc:Electrical conduction through gas in an applied electric field ; any unbroken part of a circle or other curved line | Lightning is an electric arc between two clouds; The architect used a compass to draw an arc in the design. | Ark:A boat built by Noah to save his family and animals from the flood | The ark is believed to have been built at the command of God |
| morning vs. mourning | Morning:The time period between dawn and noon | I spent the morning running errands | Mourning:Sorrowful through loss or deprivation | They were in mourning after his death |
| curtsy vs. courtesy | Curtsy:Bending the knees; a gesture of respect made by women | She curtsied when she shook the Queen’s hand | Courtesy:A courteous or respectful or considerate act | It showed courtesy on his part |
| ring vs. wring | Ring:Sound loudly and sonorously | The bells rang | Wring:Twist and press out of shape | Wring one’s hand |
| confidant vs. confident | Confidant:Someone to whom private matters are confided | A sister is often also a confidant. | Confident:Having or marked by confidence or assurance | A confident reply |
| earn vs. urn | Earn:Earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages | She earns a lot in her new job | Urn:A large vase that usually has a pedestal or feet | They placed the urn on the mantelpiece |
| deer vs. dear | Deer:A hoofed grazing animal with antlers | Hunting deer is legal in many places. | Dear:Highly valued, precious; | My sisters and brothers are near and dear to me |
| a while vs. awhile | A while:A length of time | The baby was quiet for a while | Awhile:For a short time | Sit down and stay awhile. |
| aesthetic vs. acetic vs. ascetic | Aesthetic:Giving pleasure through beauty | I think this room is very aesthetic. | Acetic:Like vinegar; relating to or containing acetic acid | Acetic acid is an organic compound |
| fair vs. fare | Fair:Free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules | A fair fight | Fare:The sum charged for riding in a public conveyance | They paid the fare for the bus |
| pedal vs. peddle | Pedal:Of or relating to the feet or the part of a bicycle that put your feet on | The word for a pedal extremity is ‘foot’ or He put his feet on the pedals and pedaled away. | Peddle:Sell or offer for sale from place to place | He had been told to peddle his papers elsewhere |
| mite vs. might | Mite:A slight but appreciable amount or a tiny microscopic insect. | Drink the tea with a mite of lemon. | Might:Expresses possibility | It might rain |
| incite vs. insight | Incite:Give an incentive for action | Incite a riot | Insight:Clear or deep perception of a situation | She had insight that proved to be valuable |
| formally vs. formerly | Formally:With official authorization | The club will be formally recognized | Formerly:At a previous time | She was a dancer formerly |
| cede vs. seed | Cede:Give over; surrender or relinquish to the physical control of another | The king must cede control of the conquered territory. | Seed:The means of reproduction in a flowering plant | There are always too many seeds in a tangerine. |
| angel vs. angle | Angel:Spiritual being attendant upon God | She prayed to the holy angel for strength. | Angle:The space between two lines or planes that intersect; the inclination of one line to another; measured in degrees or radians | A right angle is 900. |
| breech vs. breach | Breech:Opening in the rear of the barrel of a gun where bullets can be loaded | Load the bullets in the gun barrel breech. | Breach:Act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises | To let children starve is a breach all laws of humanity |
| diseased vs. deceased | Diseased:Caused by or altered by or manifesting disease or pathology | Diseased tonsils | Deceased:Dead | He is deceased |
| caddie vs. caddy | Caddie:An attendant who carries the golf clubs for a player | The caddie knows which club to select. | Caddy:A can for storing tea | He bought a new tea caddy |
| bale vs. bail | Bale:A large bundle bound for storage or transport | A bale of hay | Bail:(criminal law) money that must be forfeited by the bondsman if an accused person fails to appear in court for trial | The judge set bail at $10,000 |
| capital vs. capitol | Capital:Assets available for use in the production of further assets or city that functions as the seat of government or the large letters of an alphabet | He invested capital in our firm so we could start production. ; Sacramento is the capital of California; Printers once kept the type for capitals and for small letters in separate cases. | Capitol:A building occupied by a state legislature | They marched from the monument to the capitol. |
| muscle vs. mussel | uscle:One of the contractile organs of the body that enables physical strength | The senators used their muscle to get the party leader to resign | Mussel:Black marine bivalves usually steamed in wine | We had mussels for dinner. |
| vale vs. veil | Vale:A long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river | The vale was an low, open area with a stream running through it. | Veil:To obscure, or conceal with or as if with a veil | Women in Afghanistan veil their faces |
| complement vs. compliment | Complement:A word or phrase used to complete a grammatical construction | A full complement | Compliment:A remark (or act) expressing praise and admiration | He complimented her on her last physics paper |
| finally vs. finely | Finally:After an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay | After days of searching, the missing child was finally found. | Finely:In tiny pieces | The surfaces were finely granular |
| bazaar vs. bizarre | Bazaar:A shop or group of shops where a variety of goods are sold | The church bazaar or the open air bazaar | Bizarre:Conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual | Restaurants of bizarre design–one like a hat, another like a rabbit |
| statue vs. statute | Statue:A sculpture representing a human, animal or event | The most famous statue of Abraham Lincoln is in Washington, D.C. | Statute:An act passed by a legislative body or a written law | Statute law |
| leach vs. leech | Leach:The process of leaching (to dissolve by a percolating liquid) | The fertilizer leached into the ground | Leech:Carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic or terrestrial worms typically having a sucker at each end or a person that is always around that seeks advantage or gain | Leeches were found on the dog or That guy is a real leech! |
| weak vs. week | Weak:Lacking or wanting in physical strength | A weak pillar | Week:Any period of seven consecutive days | It rained for a week |
| edict vs. addict | Edict:A formal or authoritative proclamation | The edict gave rights to the minority religion. | Addict:Someone who is so ardently devoted to something that it resembles an addiction | A golf addict |
| allusion vs. illusion | Allusion:A passing reference or indirect mention | Her blog made an allusion to the actor’s criminal past. | Illusion:A deceptive appearance or impression; an erroneous mental representation | They have the illusion that I am very wealthy |
| discreet vs. discrete | Discreet:Marked by prudence or modesty and wise self-restraint | A discreet, finely wrought gold necklace; Please be discreet regarding this matter. | Discrete:Constituting a separate entity or part | A government with three discrete divisions |
| grisly vs. grizzly | Grisly:Shockingly repellent; inspiring horror | A grisly murder | Grizzly:Showing characteristics of age, especially having grey or white hair or a type of brown bear | Whose beard with age is grizzly or The Grizzly bear trashed our tent and ate our food. |
| wait vs. weight | Wait:Stay in one place and anticipate or expect something | I had to wait on line for an hour to get the tickets | Weight:The vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity or influence | His opinion carries great weight |
| chilly vs. chile vs. chili | Chilly:Noticeably cold or not characterized by emotion | It’s a little chilly out tonight, so take a sweater. | Chile:A country in South America | Santiago is a city in Chile. |
| demur vs. demure | Demur:Take exception to | He demurred at my suggestion to work on Saturday | Demure:Affectedly modest or shy especially in a playful or provocative way | I like her because she is so demure |
| palate vs. palette | Palate:The upper surface of the mouth that separates the oral and nasal cavities | The palate of the baby’s mouth is not properly developed. | Palette:The range of color characteristic of a particular artist or painting or school of art | An artist’s palette |
| aide vs. aid | Aide:An assistant (usually in military or political settings) | He was her aide and helped her to do her work | Aid:To give help or assistance; be of service; assistance | She uses visual aids in teaching |
| die vs. dye | Die:Pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life | She died from cancer | Dye:Color with dye | Please dye these shoes |
| mercenary vs. missionary | Mercenary:A person hired to fight for another country than their own | Mercenary killers | Missionary:Someone who attempts to convert others to a particular doctrine or program | The missionary priest |
| bloc vs. block | Bloc:A group of countries in special alliance | These countries were known as the Soviet bloc. | Block:A solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides) | The pyramids were built with large stone blocks |
| adverse vs. averse | Adverse:Contrary to one’s interests or welfare | He had an adverse reaction to the medication. | Averse:strongly opposed (usually followed by ‘to’) | He is averse to taking risks. |
| premier vs. premiere | Premier:First in rank or degree | An architect of premier rank | Premiere:The first public performance of a play or movie | We premiered the opera of the young composer and it was a critical success |
| deprecate vs. depreciate | Deprecate:Express strong disapproval of; deplore | The teacher should not deprecate his student’s efforts | Depreciate:Belittle or lose value over time | The Federal Reserve depreciated the dollar once again |
| cession vs. session | Cession:The act of ceding | Cession of the oil-rich region was a disaster. | Session:A meeting for execution of a group’s functions | It was the opening session of the legislature |
| steal vs. steel | Steal:Take without the owner’s consent | Someone stole my wallet on the train | Steel:An alloy of iron with small amounts of carbon; widely used in construction; mechanical properties can be varied over a wide range | Heavy steel |
| ton vs. tun | Ton:A United States unit of weight equivalent to 2000 pounds | The weight of the trucks is measured in tons. | Tun:A large cask especially one holding a volume equivalent to 2 butts or 252 gals | Heavy tun |
| allude vs. elude | Allude:Make a more or less disguised reference to | He alluded to the problem but did not mention it | Elude:Escape, either physically or mentally | The thief eluded the police |
| censor vs. censure | Censor:Someone who censures or condemns | This magazine is censored by the government | Censure:Harsh criticism or disapproval | The government faces censure for its alleged involvement in the assassination |
| calvary vs. cavalry | Calvary:A hill near Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified | The tourists visited the Calvary in Jerusalem. | Cavalry:Troops trained to fight on horseback | 500 cavalry led the attack |
| maine vs. main | Maine:A state in New England | Maine is known for its potatoes and lobsters. | Main:Most important element | The main doors were of solid glass |
| knight vs. night | Knight:Originally a person of noble birth trained to arms and chivalry; today in Great Britain a person honored by the sovereign for personal merit | The Beatles were knighted | Night:The time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside | I had a restless night |
| vain vs. vane vs. vein | Vain:Characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance | Vain about her clothes | Vane:Mechanical device attached to an elevated structure; rotates freely to show the direction of the wind | Vane blades |
| troop vs. troupe | Troop:A group of people or animals (usually soldiers ) or go somewhere in a group | A troop of children or We all trooped into the classroom. | Troupe:Organization of performers and associated personnel (especially theatrical) | The traveling troupe stayed at our hotel |
| meet vs. meat | Meet:Come together | I’ll probably meet you at the meeting. | Meat:The flesh of animals (including fish and birds and snails) used as food | Vegetarians don’t eat meat |
| device vs. devise | Device:An instrumentality invented for a particular purpose | A device intended to conserve water | Devise:Come up with (an idea, plan, explanation, theory, or principle) after a mental effort | Devise a plan to take over the director’s office |
| cent vs. scent | Cent:A fractional monetary unit of several countries | The cent is not worth much today. | Scent:A distinctive odor that is pleasant | The scent in the room was sweet |
| ingenious vs. ingenuous | Ingenious:Showing inventiveness and skill | An ingenious solution to the problem | Ingenuous:Characterized by an inability to mask your feelings; not devious | An ingenuous admission of responsibility |
| ail vs. ale | Ail:Suffer from; cause physical pain or trouble to | The old man ails from a weak heart. | Ale:A general name for beer made with a top fermenting yeast; in some of the United States an ale is (by law) a brew of more than 4% alcohol by volume | They drank ale at the party |
| waive vs. wave | Waive:Do without or cease to hold or adhere to | The CEO waived his bonus in 2011. | Wave:One of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water) or numerous increments of an object or objects | A wave of settlers |
| urn vs. earn | Urn:A large vase that usually has a pedestal or feet | The large vase is a copy of an ancient Greek urn. | Earn:Earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages | She earns a lot in her new job |
| heroin vs. heroine | Heroin:A narcotic that is considered a hard drug; a highly addictive morphine derivative; intravenous injection provides the fastest and most intense rush | Using heroin has killed numerous performers. | Heroine:The main good female character in a work of fiction | By the end of the book the heroine had won |
| coarse vs. course | Coarse:Of textures that are rough to the touch or substances consisting of relatively large particles | A coarse weave | Course:Education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings | He took a course in basket weaving |
| waist vs. waste | Waist:The narrowing of the body between the ribs and hips | That model has an extremely small waist. | Waste:Spend thoughtlessly; throw away | He wasted his inheritance on his insincere friends |
| role vs. roll | Role:The actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group | Play its role | Roll:Move by turning over or rotating | The child rolled down the hill |
| aloud vs. allowed | Aloud:Using the voice; not silently | Please read the passage aloud | Allowed:Make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen | This sealed door won’t allow the water come into the basement |
| moral vs. morale | Moral:Concerned with principles of right and wrong or conforming to standards of behavior and character based on those principles | A moral lesson | Morale:A state of individual psychological well-being based upon a sense of confidence and usefulness and purpose | High morale |
| pray vs. prey | Pray:Address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer | Pray to the Lord | Prey:A person or animal who is the aim of an attack (especially a victim of ridicule or exploitation) by some hostile person or influence | He fell prey to muggers |
| muslim vs. moslem | Muslim:Of or relating to or supporting Islamism or a believer in the Islamic religion (synonym of Moslem which is NOT used as much as Muslim today) | Indonesia is the country with the world’s largest Muslim population. | Moslem:A believer in or follower of Islam or related to the Islam religion (synonym of Muslim, which is used more today) | He is a Moslem; He is a Muslim. |
| bath vs. bathe | Bath:A relatively large open container that you fill with water and use to wash the body or other object | She soaked the etching in an acid bath | Bathe:Wash the entire body | All of my children bathe daily. |
| dual vs. duel | Dual:Consisting of or involving two parts or components usually in pairs | Dual controls for pilot and copilot | Duel:A prearranged fight with deadly weapons by two people (accompanied by seconds) in order to settle a quarrel over a point of honor | In the 19th century, men often dueled over small matters |
| may be vs. maybe | May be:Something that is possibly true; a possibility | It may be the case | Maybe:By chance | Maybe it’ll happen and maybe it won’t |
| accent vs. ascent vs. assent | Accent:Distinctive manner of oral expression | He couldn’t cover his rural accent. | Ascent:A movement upward | They cheered the ascent of the hot-air balloon. |
| review vs. revue | Review:Look at again; examine again | Let’s review your situation | Revue:A variety show with topical sketches and songs and dancing and comedians | They enjoyed the revue |
| its vs. it’s | Its:A determiner. | The cat hurt its paw. | It’s:A contraction of ‘It is’ or ‘It has’. | It’s sunny today. |
| team vs. teem | Team:A cooperative unit (especially in sports) | We teamed up for this new project | Teem:Be teeming, be abuzz | The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen |
| all ways vs. always | All ways:By all routes | I will help you in all ways possible. | Always:At all times; all the time and on every occasion | He always arrives on time |
| urban vs. urbane | Urban:Relating to or concerned with a city or densely populated area | Urban development | Urbane:Showing a high degree of refinement and the assurance that comes from wide social experience | Maintained an urbane tone in his letters |
| caste vs. cast | Caste:Social status or position conferred by a system based on class | One can lose caste by doing work beneath one’s station | Cast:Put or send forth | He cast a spell over me. |
| floe vs. flow | Floe:A flat mass of ice (smaller than an ice field) floating at sea | The ship’s crew stared in amazement at the ice floe. | Flow:The motion characteristic of fluids (liquids or gases), but also of people | The crowd flowed out of the stadium |
| kin vs. ken | Kin:Related by blood | He’s kin | Ken:Range of what one can know or understand | Beyond my ken |
| currant vs. current | Currant:Any of several tart red or black berries used primarily for jellies and jams | Here is our favorite recipe for currant jam. | Current:concerning the present time or a flow of electricity through a conductor | These are he current issues we need to deal with. Or The current was measured in amperes |
| trustee vs. trusty | Trustee:A person (or institution) to whom legal title to property is entrusted to use for another’s benefit | Who is the trustee of the millionaire’s charity fund? | Trusty:Worthy of trust or belief | A trusty person |
| whose vs. who’s | Whose:Of which person? | Whose is this coat? | Who’s:Who is, who has | Who’s next? |
| blonde vs. blond | Blonde:A person with fair skin and hair (noun) | She is a typical Scandinavian blonde. | Blond:Being or having light colored skin and hair and usually blue or grey eyes (adjective) | Many blond Scandinavians visit our city. |
| knows vs. nose | Knows:Be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about | I know that the President lied to the people | Nose:The organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals | He has a cold in the nose |
| mall vs. maul | Mall:A public area set aside as a pedestrian walk (Usually surrounded by shops) | They spent their weekends at the local malls | Maul:A heavy long-handled hammer used to drive stakes or wedges | She bought a maul |
| lessen vs. lesson | Lessen:Decrease in size, extent, or range | Lessen your time in the kitchen by purchasing a dishwasher. | Lesson:A unit of instruction or something learned by experience | He took driving lessons. OR a valuable lesson |
| can vs. ken | Can:Able to | Fish can swim; I can drive if you like; Can I help you? | Ken:Range of what one can know or understand (rarely used) | It’ beyond my ken |
| beach vs. beech | Beach:An area of sand sloping down to the water of a sea or lake | Our family goes to the beach every Sunday during the Summer. | Beech:Any of several large deciduous trees with rounded spreading crowns and smooth grey bark and small sweet edible triangular nuts enclosed in burs; north temperate regions | The leaves of the beech tree are toothed |
| mantel vs. mantle | Mantel:Shelf that projects from wall above fireplace | In Britain they call a mantel a chimneypiece | Mantle:The cloak as a symbol of authority | Place the mantle of authority on younger shoulders |
| medal vs. meddle | Medal:An award for winning a championship or commemorating some other event | Many athletes dream of winning an Olympic gold medal. | Meddle:Intrude in other people’s affairs or business; interfere | Don’t meddle in my affairs! |
| maize vs. maze | Maize:Tall annual cereal grass bearing kernels on large ears: widely cultivated in America in many varieties; the principal cereal in Mexico and Central and South America since pre-Columbian times | Maize is a grain, often called corn. | Maze:Complex system of paths or tunnels in which it is easy to get lost | A maze of government regulations |
| allowed vs. aloud | Allowed:Make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen | This sealed door won’t allow the water come into the basement | Aloud:Using the voice; not silently | Please read the passage aloud |
| bi- vs. buy vs. by vs. bye | Bi-:Two or twice | He has his teeth cleaned bi-yearly; every six months. | Buy:Obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction | She buys for the big department store |
| dowse vs. douse | Dowse:Searching for underground water or minerals by using a dowsing rod | To dowse for water is not a scientific method. | Douse:Put out, as of a candle or a light | Douse the lights |
| access vs. excess | Access:To gain entry; the right to enter | You need a password to access the website. | Excess:A quantity much larger than is needed | I’m trying to lose excess weight |
| magnate vs. magnet | Magnate:A very wealthy or powerful businessman | The famous shipping magnates are wealthy people. | Magnet:(physics) a device that attracts iron and produces a magnetic field | They placed a magnet on the board |
| days vs. daze | Days:The time during which someone’s life continues; units of time made up of 24 hours | The monarch’s last days | Daze:The feeling of distress, disbelief and confusion that you have when something bad happens | His mother’s death left him in a daze |
| altar vs. alter | Altar:A table or flat surface where religious rituals take place | The family approached the altar where the priest stood. | Alter:Cause to change; make different; cause a transformation | The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city |
| faint vs. feint | Faint:Deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc; or to lose consciousness | A faint aroma or he fainted from exhaustion. | Feint:Deceive by a mock action | The midfielder feinted to shoot |
| material vs. materiel | Material:The tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object | Coal is a hard black material | Materiel:Equipment and supplies of a military force | Military materiel |
| gait vs. gate | Gait:The rate of moving (especially walking or running) | The race horse has an elegant gait. | Gate:A movable barrier in a fence or wall | The house was gated. He opened the gate and walked in. |
| disc vs. disk | Disc:Sound recording consisting of a disk with a continuous groove; used to reproduce music by rotating while a phonograph needle tracks in the groove | Here is our gift of ten music discs. | Disk:Something with a round shape resembling a flat circular plate | The moon’s disk hung in a cloudless sky |
| defuse vs. diffuse | Defuse:Remove the triggering device from | The bomb experts will defuse the explosive. | Diffuse:Spread outward | A large diffuse organization’ |
| tail vs. tale | Tail:The posterior part of the body of a vertebrate especially when elongated and extending beyond the trunk or main part of the body | The tail of the storm, The dog’s wagging his tail. | Tale:A story that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program | His tale was interesting |
| mote vs. moat | Mote:(nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything | There are millions of tiny dust motes in the air. | Moat:Ditch dug as a fortification and usually filled with water | The moat around the castle |
| avocation vs. vocation | Avocation:An auxiliary activity | My father is a chemist but painting is his avocation. | Vocation:The particular occupation for which you are trained | Jim’s vocation is teaching, though his hobby is bee keeping. |
| moot vs. mute | Moot:Of no legal significance (as having been previously decided) | That is a moot question | Mute:Expressed without speech | Press the mute button so we can hear the ads. |
| err vs. heir | Err:To make a mistake or be incorrect | Do not err by choosing friends unwisely. | Heir:A person who is entitled by law or by the terms of a will to inherit the estate of another | She was heir to the throne |
| made vs. maid | Maid as noun: A maid is used as a noun in English language and is used to refer to a female domestic servant. | Her maid Sasha is very sneaky. | Made as verb:Made is used as a verb in English language where it is the second form of the verb make. Make actually refers to the action of creating or forming something that did not existed before. | I made pancakes for breakfast. |
| biennial vs. biannual | Biennial:Occuring every two years or having a life cycle lasting two seasons | We have biennial flowers in our garden. | Biannual:Occurring or payable twice each year | They held biannual conferences; one every autumn and one every spring. |
| madame vs. madam | Madame:Title used for a married Frenchwoman | The chauffeur opened the door for Madame Easterly. | Madam:A woman of refinement | A chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand madam |
| ceiling vs. sealing | Ceiling:The overhead upper surface of a covered space | He hated painting the ceiling | Sealing:Making tight; securing against leakage | They were sealing the windows when I last saw them. |
| stationary vs. stationery | Stationary:Standing still | The car remained stationary with the engine running | Stationery:Paper cut to an appropriate size for writing letters; usually with matching envelopes | He wanted new stationery for his letter writing |
| forth vs. fourth | Forth:Forward in time or order or degree | From that time forth | Fourth:Coming next after the third and just before the fifth in position or time or degree or magnitude | The fourth period of geologic time extends from the end of the tertiary period to the present |
| hue vs. hew | Hue:The quality of a color as determined by its dominant wavelength | In highlights it hued to a dull silver-grey | Hew:Make or shape as with an axe | Hew out a path in the rock |
| liable vs. libel | Liable:At risk of or subject to experiencing something usually unpleasant | She is liable to forget. | Libel:A false and malicious publication printed for the purpose of defaming a living person | The newspaper has been accused of libel. |
| inn vs. in | Inn:A hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers | England is known for its historic inns. | In:To or toward the inside of | Come in |
| borne vs. born | Borne:Carried or transported by | The seeds of many plants are borne by the wind. | Born:Brought into existence | Mary was born in Chicago, Illinois. |
| auger vs. augur | Auger:A long flexible steel coil for dislodging stoppages in curved pipes | The workmen need an auger to remove the material from the pipe. | Augur:Be a sign of something to come, esp. something important or bad | These signs augur bad news |
| click vs. clique | Click:A short light metallic sound | A click on the right button for example | Clique:An exclusive circle of people with a common purpose | They were a tight clique |
| ante vs. anti | Ante:(poker) the initial contribution that each player makes to the pot | Put your ante on the table and continue the game. | Anti:Not in favor of (an action or proposal etc.) | Tom is an anti-capitalist. |
| he’ll vs. heal | He’ll:He will | He’ll be here in an hour | Heal:Recover from illness or injury | The wound is healing slowly |
| rational vs. rationale | Rational:Consistent with or based on or using reason | A process of rational inference | Rationale:(law) an explanation of the fundamental reasons (especially an explanation of the working of some device in terms of laws of nature) | The rationale for capital punishment |
| brake vs. break | Brake:A restraint used to slow or stop a vehicle | The brakes didn’t work so the car crashed. New legislation will put the brakes on spending. | Break:Terminate or shatter | Break a lucky streak; break a glass |
| tortuous vs. torturous | Tortuous:Highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious | Tortuous legal procedures | Torturous:Extremely painful | A torturous ordeal |
| plain vs. plane | Plain:Clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment Or simple | In plain view or a very plain person | Plane:An aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets | The plane landed on time. |
| hoping vs. hopping | Hoping:Expect and wish | I hope she understands that she cannot expect a raise | Hopping:Jump lightly | He was hopping on one leg |
| won vs. one | Won:Not subject to defeat or past tense of ‘win’ | With that move it’s a won game or We won the game! | One:Used of a single unit or thing; not two or more | He has the one but will need a two and three to go with it |
| font vs. fount | Font:A specific style of type within a type family | Don’t use an italic font in the headline. | Fount:A plumbing fixture that provides a flow of water or a source of wished-for quality | Aren’t you just a fount of knowledge? |
| loath vs. loathe | Loath:Unwillingness to do something contrary to your custom | Loath to admit a mistake | Loathe:Find repugnant | I loathe that man |
| pore vs. pour | Pore:Any tiny hole admitting passage of a liquid (fluid or gas) | Air enters the plant through pores on the leaves. | Pour:Cause to run | Pour water over the floor |
| flew vs. flu | Flew:Travel through the air; be airborne (past of fly) | We flew to New York. | Flu:An acute febrile highly contagious viral disease | Money was allocated to study the cause and prevention of flu |
| ball vs. bawl | Ball:Round object that is hit, thrown or kicked in games | The ball rolled into the corner pocket | Bawl:Shout loudly and without restraint; to cry | Don’t bawl in public! |
| raise vs. raze | Raise:Increase the level or amount of something | Raise my salary | Raze:Tear down so as to make flat with the ground | When a force occupies an enemy fortress, it may raze the fortifications |
| foreword vs. forward | Foreword:A short introductory essay preceding the text of a book | A world famous professor wrote the foreword. | Forward:At or to or toward the front | He faced forward |
| vary vs. very | Vary:Become different in some particular way, without permanently losing one’s or its former characteristics or essence | The supermarket’s selection of vegetables varies according to the season | Very:Used as an intensifier | He played very well |
| flaunt vs. flout | Flaunt:Display proudly; act ostentatiously or pretentiously | His behavior was an outrageous flaunt | Flout:Treat with contemptuous disregard | Flout the rules |
| lightening vs. lightning | Lightening:process of making something lighter or descent of the uterus into the pelvic cavity that occurs late in pregnancy; the fetus is said to have dropped | We are lightening the background of the ad. Or Lightening is part of the preparation for giving birth. | Lightning: | They saw lightning during the storm |
| dun vs. done | Dun:Horse of a dull brownish grey color or having the color of the dun horse | She wore dun trousers. | Done:Having finished or arrived at completion | He’s certain to make history before he’s done |
| mail vs. male | Mail:Send via the postal service | I’ll mail you the check tomorrow | Male:An animal that produces gametes (spermatozoa) that can fertilize female gametes (ova) | A male holly tree |
| prostate vs. prostrate | Prostate:Relating to the prostate gland | He has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. | Prostrate:Get into a prostrate position, as in submission | When I got there, he was lying prostrate on the floor. |
| tide vs. tied | Tide:The periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon or a trend | A rising tide of popular interest | Tied:Bound or secured closely | The guard was found trussed up with his arms and legs securely tied |
| peace vs. piece | Peace:The state prevailing during the absence of war | The roommates lived in peace together | Piece:A separate part of a whole | An important piece of the evidence |
| faze vs. phase | Faze:Disturb the composure of | Fireworks did not faze the sleeping baby. | Phase:Any distinct time period in a sequence of events | The reaction occurs in the liquid phase of the system |
| shear vs. sheer | Shear:(physics) a deformation of an object in which parallel planes remain parallel but are shifted in a direction parallel to themselves | The shear changed the quadrilateral into a parallelogram | Sheer:Complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers | Got the job through sheer persistence |
| way vs. weigh | Way:How something is done or how it happens or a path one walks or drives on | A lonely way of life | Weigh:Have a certain weight | The butcher weighed the chicken |
| await vs. wait | Await:Look forward to the probable occurrence of | The neighbors await the birth of their first child. | Wait:Stay in one place and anticipate or expect something | I had to wait on line for an hour to get the tickets |
| venal vs. venial | Venal:Capable of being corrupted | A venal police officer | Venial:Warranting only temporal punishment | Venial sin |
| wet vs. whet | Wet:Covered or soaked with a liquid such as water | A wet bathing suit | Whet:Make keen, more acute or to sharpen | Whet my appetite |
| aid vs. aide | Aid:Give help or assistance; be of service | He uses visual aids in teaching | Aide:An assistant, often in the military or politics | He was her aide and helped her to do her work |
| flair vs. flare | Flair:A natural talent | He has a flair for mathematics | Flare:A shape that spreads outward or a sudden burst of light or a device for producing a bright flame | The skirt had a wide flare. Or He sent a flare up so the rescuers would know where to look for him. |
| envelop vs. envelope | Envelop:Enclose or enfold completely with or as if with a covering | Fog enveloped the house | Envelope:A flat (usually rectangular) container for a letter, thin package, etc. | I put a stamp on the envelope and sent it. |
| were vs. we’re vs. where | Were:Have the quality of being; linking verb used with an adjective or a predicate noun) | They were rich | We’re:We are | We’re ready to go |
| riffle vs. rifle | Riffle:To turn hastily or look through hastily | He riffled through the pages that were on my desk. | Rifle:A shoulder firearm with a long barrel and a rifled bore | He lifted the rifle to his shoulder and fired |
| clench vs. clinch | Clench:Hold in a tight grasp | Clench a steering wheel | Clinch:close a business deal or secure or fasten by flattening the ends of nails or bolts | The deal was clinched with a handshake. The girder was clinched into the wall |
| boar vs. boor vs. bore | Boar:Old World wild swine having a narrow body and prominent tusks from which most domestic swine come; introduced in United States | An angry wild boar is dangerous. | Boor:A crude uncouth ill-bred person lacking culture or refinement | He is a boor and understands nothing about culture |
| awhile vs. a while | Awhile:For a short time | Sit down and stay awhile | A while:For a short time | The baby was quiet for a while |
| loan vs. lone | Loan:The temporary provision of money (usually at interest) | Loan me some money | Lone:Lacking companions or companionship | The lone skier on the mountain |
| hoard vs. horde | Hoard:A secret store of valuables or money | Grandfather has a hoard of old gold coins. | Horde:A vast multitude | A horde of people |
| right vs. rite vs. wright | Right:An abstract idea which is due to a person or governmental body by law, tradition or nature OR being correct OR a direction opposite of left. | A right is not something that somebody gives you; it is something that nobody can take away or That is the right answer OR Turn right at the corner. | Rite:An established ceremony prescribed by a religion | The rite of baptism |
| marshal vs. martial | Marshal:A federal law officer that carries out the judgments of a court of law; organize by rank and position | Marshal the troops | Martial:(of persons) befitting a warrior | Martial law |
| sole vs. soul | Sole:Only OR the underside of footwear or a golf club | Sole rights of publication OR I have gum stuck to the sole of my shoe. | Soul:The immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life | The soul of honor |
| bolder vs. boulder | Bolder:More fearless and daring | His speech was bolder than his opponent’s. | Boulder:A large smooth mass of rock detached from its place of origin | An enormous boulder blocked our path |
| sic vs. sick | Sic:To incite an attack or intentionally so written (used in brackets after a copied or quoted word) | Be careful or I will sic the dog on you. | Sick:Affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function | Gossip that makes one sick |
| edition vs. addition | Edition:The form in which a text (especially a printed book) is published | It was too late for the morning edition | Addition:A component that is added to something to improve it | The addition of a bathroom was a major improvement |
| pair vs. pare vs. pear | Pair:A set of two similar things considered as a unit | The two old friends paired off | Pare:Decrease gradually or bit by bit | Pare apples |
| haul vs. hall | Haul:Draw slowly or heavily | Haul nets | Hall:An interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open | The elevators were at the end of the hall |
| mean vs. mien | Mean:intend to express or convey | You never understand what I mean! | Mien:manner or conduct especially indicating one’s mood or character | A hefty six-footer with a rather severe mien |
| human vs. humane | Human:Characteristic of humanity | Human nature | Humane:Pertaining to or concerned with the humanities or the quality of having compassion | Putting him out of his misery is the only humane thing to do. |
| difference vs. deference | Difference:The quality of being unlike or dissimilar | There are many differences between jazz and rock | Deference:A courteous expression (by word or deed) of esteem or regard | His deference to her wishes was very flattering |
| pole vs. poll | Pole:A long (usually round) rod of wood or metal or plastic Or a person from Poland Or either of two related opposites | He stuck the pole in the ground. Luczak is a Pole. They are at opposite poles. | Poll:An inquiry into public opinion conducted by interviewing a random sample of people | The results of the poll will be announced tonight |
| ant vs. aunt | Ant:Social insect living in organized colonies | A hundred hungry ants came to our picnic. | Aunt:The sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle | I visit my aunt all the time |
| board vs. bored | Board:A committee having supervisory powers or a flat piece of wood | The board has seven members. Or We used walnut boards to build the table. | Bored:A feeling of lack of interest | John is bored with life |
| appraise vs. apprise | Appraise:Evaluate or estimate the nature, quality, ability, extent, or significance of | I will have the family jewels appraised by a professional. | Apprise:Inform (somebody) of something | Keep me apprised of the situation. |
| quiet vs. quit | Quiet: Characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation, sound or activity | A quiet life | Quit:Put an end to a state or an activity | Quit teasing your little brother |
| bridle vs. bridal | Bridle: Headgear for a horse; includes a headstall and bit and reins to give the rider or driver control | He put the bridle on the horse and went for a ride. His common sense is a bridle to his quick temper. | Bridal:Of or relating to a wedding | The bridal procession proceeded down the aisle of the church. |
| abhorrent vs. aberrant | Abhorrent : causing hatred for moral reasons | Joe Justice had never even met his cousin until he saw her in the trailer, but afterward he told his wife that it was “abhorrent” for a close relative to be in foster care. | Aberrant : unusual and socially unacceptable | At first, Galileo assumed that Jupiter must be moving aberrantly and the stars must be fixed. |
| accede vs. exceed | Accede : to agree | Disappointed in the expectation of a customer, she coolly acceded to my request. | Exceed : to surpass | Never exceeded the speed limit, always had his hands at ten and two, adjusted mirrors before each outing, you name it. |
| accept vs. except | Accept : to admit | If I accept her offer, I could never write the book. | Except : apart from | “I’m absolutely ordinary ” well, except for bad things like all the near-death experiences and being so clumsy that I’m almost disabled. And look at you.” |
| acclamation vs. acclimation | Acclamation : loud and enthusiastic welcome | Thus,’twas with general acclamation that we greeted the arrival of two women to collect our laundry this day. | Acclimation : the process of getting used to a new climate or situation | The drive to the top was about an hour and a half, not including a 45-minute stopover at the visitors’ center at 9,000 feet for some quick acclimation. |
| adapt vs. adept vs. adopt | Adapt : to adjust or modify | Just as strawberries are adapted to birds, so acorns are adapted to squirrels, mangos to bats, and some sedges to ants. | Adept : skillful | As public education expanded in the South, North Carolina legislators proved adept at giving blacks equal educational opportunities on paper while funneling most state resources to white students. |
| ad vs. add | Ad : advertisement | The news had cut to commercial, and through the line Mrs. Richardson could hear the tinny jingle of the Cedar Point ad on the McCulloughs’ set, a fraction of a second behind her own. | Add : to include or join | “Take something up to Noah so he doesn’t starve,” Rosa added, “and do your dishes. It’s not too hard to wipe dishes clean and put them in a dishwasher, Davis.” |
| aero vs. arrow | Aero : connected with aircraft | After a few days, Nino Carlitos apologized and bought her an aerobics book full of photos of thin, fair women in shiny leotards and leg warmers. | Arrow : a thin stick shot from a bow | Sefia could almost see their conversation passing between them like arrows. |
| affect vs. effect | Affect : to change | Both domestic and wild animals were affected by “arsenical enteritis, gastric ulcers, and cirrhosis of the liver.” | Effect : result | And seeing what he’d written had the same effect as before, brought the words home to him. |
| air vs. heir | Air : a mixture of gases | She worked on the cucumber with an air of barely concealed triumph. | Heir : successor or inheritor | I am uncomfortably aware of the heat rising in my neck at the prospect of making heirs with Helene. |
| airless vs. heirless | Airless : without fresh or moving air | The sight of Kuda in a cage in a dark airless room made him sick. | Heirless : without inheritor or successor | One side of the head and shoulders was reddish brown and hairless; the acid of the oak leaves had tanned the surface of the wound the color of leather. |
| airy vs. aerie (or eyrie) | Airy : with fresh air | Meanwhile the people in that cool, airy room were very interesting. | Aerie (or Eyrie) : nest by the eagle, etc. | Among the names on the list was the master armorer Salloreon. |
| all vs. awl | All : the whole number or amount of something | But what were they all doing here at dinnertime? | Awl : a small pointed tool that is used to make holes in leather | There’s nothing to drill with, so Mags offers her awl and Peeta drives it straight into the bark, burying the spike two inches deep. |
| allied vs. elide | Allied : existing together | More important, it might precipitate regime collapse in North Korea and lead to the unification of the Korean Peninsula under a Seoul-based government closely allied with the United States. | Elide : (in pronunciation) to leave out the sound of part of a word | To us, the sound of the horn elides from high frequencies to low. |
| alms vs. arms | Alms : clothes, food, money, etc. that are given to beggars or paupers | It was about a wispy widow lady who worked her poor old fingers to the bone for her children, only to end her days in the alms house after they turned against her. | Arms : weapons used by the army | “My poor dear, how dreadful for you! I ought to have gone,” said Jo, taking her sister in her arms as she sat down in her mother’s big chair, with a remorseful face. |
| amend vs. emend | Amend : to make an improvement in law, etc. | For that, he said, he was sorry, and hoped the negotiations would make amends. | Emend : to correct a piece of writing before it is printed | “They can’t leave them,” said I, and then, emending: “We. We cannot be.” |
| analyst vs. annalist | Analyst : a person who examines something in order to give an opinion | “Well, of course. Every team needs a head sheriff and a mission analyst.” | Annalist : a person who writes annals | Nevertheless, it is not for us to guestimate the workload of an annalist of the Floridian ancien regime. |
| anecdote vs. antidote | Anecdote : a short real story that is very amusing or interesting | They are as obsolete as the old anecdotes in which they played their puzzling, ambiguous roles, and we have no more need for the beasts than for the stories. | Antidote : cure or remedy | Like Lembede, I came to see the antidote as militant African nationalism. |
| arrant vs. errant | Arrant : used to emphasize how bad somebody/something is | Was it not a dangerous word, too closely connected to Hobbes and to dubious stories about sympathetic magic told by Digby”someone whom John Evelyn, another early member, could dismiss as an arrant mountebank? | Errant : behaving in an unacceptable or unsocial manner | They warded off the negative stereotypes that haunted Negroes like shadows, using tough love to protect both the errant individual and the group from her failings. |
| ascent vs. assent | Ascent : an upward slope | In The Crystal Horizon, his book about the ascent, he describes struggling up the final meters to the top: When I rest I feel utterly lifeless except that my throat burns when I draw breath. | Assent : official approval | Kamen, with a surfeit of empathy and a lack of foresight, assented. |
| ate vs. eight | Ate : past tense of ‘eat’ – to have a meal | Everyone in our family knew the good news, but we ate silently, smiling. | Eight : number 8 (the number after seven and before nine) | The debt rose from one hundred eighty dollars to eight hundred under him. |
| aught vs. ought | Aught : anything | “Please, ma’am, the boy Edward who came after harvest to help with the threshing, is he still here? Have you seen aught of him?” | Ought : must | “My lady, is there aught I might do for you? A sleep-ing draught, perhaps?” |
| aural vs. oral | Aural : related to hearing | It is gradually reassuming a role it had for thousands of years: a free-flowing, unwritten, spontaneous, aural tradition based entirely on the lives, loves, hopes and fears of ordinary people. | Oral : verbal or spoken | First, in the deserts and veldts arose oral culture, the culture of the spoken word. |
| aureole vs. oriole | Aureole : a circle of light | David Hertzberg’s “Ellébore” was a pretty little thing about a flower in the snow, with icy piano figures throwing off little cold aureoles of notes from the violins. | Oriole : a European bird | There were no insects singing, there were no catbirds, or orioles, or vireos, or robins. |
| auricle vs. oracle | Auricle : a space in the heart used to send blood around the body | Figure 14.5 Structures of the Ear The external ear contains the auricle, ear canal, and tympanic membrane. | Oracle : somebody who gives valuable advice or information | At Delphi where he went to consult the oracle, the priestess looked at the matter just as he did. |
| awed vs. odd | Awed : past tense and past participle form of ‘awe’ – to fill somebody with fear and respect | Claire stood silent, awed by the music, puzzled by the concept of love, and moved by both the solemnity and the celebration of the occasion. | Odd : abnormal, strange, or unusual | The view from the window was delightful, though in some cases it was odd. |
| awful vs. offal | Awful : terrible | “Maybe I will lose him in a parking garage or forget him at school. Maybe I would teach him awful tricks. Maybe he would blame me for all this.” | Offal : inside parts of an animal | Just as the carcasses were sent down below after slaughter, the blood and offal were probably pumped to the sublevel through a network of chutes and pipes. |
| axel vs. axle | Axel : a type of jump in skating | It looked as though he had abandoned the use of axle grease, but he had certainly attempted to comb his hair ” Harry could see the comb’s broken teeth tangled in it. | Axle : a long piece of metal for connecting a pair of wheels | He sat exhausted up in the dark belfry with his legs dangling over the stout timber bell axle. |
| axes vs. axis | Axes : third-person singular of ‘ax’ – to remove somebody from their job | Most slaves were prisoners of war, seized in intertribal conflicts and sold by enemy Indian groups to the English in exchange for guns, pots, and axes. | Axis : an imaginary line through the center of an object | Similarly slow in spreading down Africa’s north-south axis was human technology. |
| aye vs. eye | Aye : yes | always | The Silly Book of Side-Splitting Stuff explains what kind of animal an aye-aye is and how much gravy the boot of a Mini Cooper Convertible can hold, amongst other weird and wonderful facts. | Eye : the part of the face that you see with | It wasn’t as if Leslie would watch the way Brenda did”with her mouth open and her eyes bulging like a goldfish, hour after hour. |
| bad vs. bade | Bad : poor; terrible | “He got bit by some bad dogs. He needed a doctor.” | Bade : past tense of ‘bid’ – to offer or propose | And she rub my feet and sing her little nun songs, and pretty soon I feel like I bade in the rocking chair. |
| bail vs. bale | Bail : bond or surety | The stirring, sieving, settling, and bailing were repeated any number of times, until Min was satisfied with the residue. | Bale : a large amount of light material (hay, straw, cotton, etc.) pressed together and tied up | They argued about where to sketch hay bales, the pig trough, and Templeton’s nest, and whether they needed to paint the Arables’ kitchen at all. |
| bald vs. bawled | Bald : hairless | A bald ghost in ragged clothes elbowed Jason in the ribs. | Bawled : past tense and past participle form of ‘bawl’ – to shout angrily | I threw myself across the bed and bawled. |
| balm vs. bomb | Balm : ointment | He put the tin of lotus-oil balm back in his pocket. | Bomb : a type of weapon | “It’s like a trillion hydrogen bombs going off at once,” says Evans. |
| band vs. banned | Band : group | The doctor pulled my hair back, twisting it up into a messy bun that she secured with a rubber band. | Banned : past tense and past participle form of ‘ban’ – to prevent somebody from doing something | “Don’t you get it? They totally banned her. You were there. Her audition was crazy good! Definitely one of the best.” |
| bard vs. barred | Bard : poet | The bard sang “Iron Lances,” then “The Winter Maid.” | Barred : past tense and past participle form of ‘bar’ – to block a street, road, etc. | The smallfolk were hiding themselves be- ‘ hind closed shutters and barred doors as if that would keep them safe. |
| bark vs. barque | Bark : the outer covering of a tree | sound made by dogs | She was binding the edges with strips of basswood bark and sinew. | Barque : a sailing ship with three or more posts that support the sails | It was almost full dark, but the moon-god Thoth’s heavenly barque, which revealed its high-prowed boat shape clearly these nights of its waning, was beginning to shed a gentle radiance over the littered pavement. |
| baron vs. barren | Baron : somebody who is the controller or owner of a large part of a particular industry | Alexander, Beowulf, and Cassiopeia sat across from her, along with the Earl of Maytag, Baron Hoover, and a woman whom Penelope quickly identified as the baroness due to the way she scowled at the baron. | Barren : not fertile; unproductive | I wasn’t exactly eavesdropping, but before I got all the way out the door and past the porch window, I heard her say something about being afraid she was barren. |
| barrel vs. beryl | Barrel : drum or container | “Unless something comes barreling out of that dark tunnel.” | Beryl : a transparent semiprecious stone | The first contains three gorgeous pieces of beryl: pink, fat, hexagonal. |
| base vs. bass | Base : foundation | I crawled to its base through the mud and rain and placed my hand against its rough body once more. | Bass : low tone | The bass has been pumping since noon, and with that kind of noise, there’s no reading, thinking, or dreamily staring out the window for me. |
| baud vs. bawd | Baud : a unit for measuring the speed of electronic signals | Another few tries and I was in, connected at 2400 baud”not that I had any idea what “baud” meant. | Bawd : a woman in charge of a brothel | |
| be vs. bee | Be : to be present | One morning I arrived, early at work and went into the bank lobby where the Negro porter was mopping. | Bee : a flying insect | “You’re a bee with an itch,” I say the minute Mom goes into the closet to change. |
| bean vs. been vs. bin | Bean : a pod that contains eatable seeds of a climbing plant | The room was warm with the nine of them around the table and heat still rising from the turkey, the sweet potatoes, the small mountains of stuffing and green beans. | Been : past participle form of ‘be’ | My perfect partner, if somebody had asked me, would have been one who handled as lightly as Laura and who would have had the strength to last through a long, tough showtime. |
| beat vs. beet | Beat : to defeat | Even at rest, our hearts beat at a furious rate. | Beet : a type of vegetable | There was black bread and honeycakes and oaten biscuits; there were turnips and pease and beets, beans and squash and huge red onions; there were baked apples and berry tarts and pears poached in strongwine. |
| beau vs. bow | Beau : a woman’s male friend or lover | “Do you have a boy you’re not telling us about? Your first beau?” | Bow : to bend | Miss Hendrix smiled and nodded, a kind of a bow to Fern’s curtsy. |
| bell vs. belle | Bell : a device that makes a ringing sound | It sinks like a stone, and the rope”which has been gnawed upon by the feral brains”snaps, sending the bell to the irretrievable depths. | Belle : a beautiful woman | In a belle époque metal frame tinged with verdigris was a photograph of his parents, Grace and Ernest, three days after their wedding. |
| berg vs. burg | Berg : a group of mountains | Horrified, the crew of Endurance watched as one large berg began plowing in slow motion toward their position. | Burg : a city or town | “You need a working over bad, hog. You’re getting rock happy in this burg. Get Ben on the phone.” |
| berry vs. bury | Berry : a type of small fruit | She looks around the room, taking in the swags of green, the holly berries, red roses, and dried magnolia leaves set as centerpieces on all the tables. | Bury : to put somebody/something in the ground | “Then don’t bury me alive,” he had answered. |
| berth vs. birth | Berth : a place to sleep on a ship or train | “There is not one first-class sleeping berth to be had on the train.” | Birth : the time when a baby is born | We do reflect the influences of birth order but, as the psychologist Judith Harris points out in The Nurture Assumption, only around our families. |
| bight vs. bite vs. byte | Bight : a curved part of a coast | I could just drift, he thought, and sleep and put a bight of line around my toe to wake me. | Bite : to cut something from your teeth | They stared up at the greenish-blue moon, and scuffled for the best places by the fire, insulting each other, sometimes clawing or biting. |
| billed vs. build | Billed : past tense and past participle form of ‘bill’ – to send an invoice to somebody for something | We were only as good as the hours we billed. | Build : to construct or manufacture | I sit on the bench across from the building; it’s dark enough to let my tears fall. |
| bitten vs. bittern | Bitten : past participle form of ‘bite’ – to cut something using your teeth | When he opens his eyes, June is sitting up against the pillows next to him, bitten nails pressed against her bottom lip, still in her bathrobe and keeping watch. | Bittern : a type of bird | The bitterns boomed and the marsh harriers skimmed over the reeds and millions of widgeon and mallard and tufted ducks flew about m various wedges, looking like champagne bottles balanced on a nimbus of wings. |
| blew vs. blue | Blew : past tense of ‘blow’ – (of wind) to move | to send out air from the mouth | The wind blew them about, up, down, and into small mounds of snow. | Blue : the color of a clear sky | For the occasion I received a new set of clothing and a blue cap woven with beads for my unruly hair. |
| boar vs. bore | Boar : pig | The boar charged, Barsena spun aside, her blade flashed silver in the sun. | Bore : a person or thing that doesn’t interest you | His owner grew bored and sold the boy south. |
| boarder vs. border | Boarder : a child who lives at a boarding school | paying guest | “Worst thing in the world to get rid of,” she said, and told us about the epidemic at the girls’ school in Kinvara when she was a boarder. | Border : boundary or edge | I look in the distance, at the chain-link fence bordering the parking lot. |
| bode vs. bowed | Bode : to be a signal or sign of future | That didn’t bode well, but Annabeth used her crutch to push away the boards as best she could. | Bowed : past tense and past participle form of ‘bow’ – to bend your head | I followed the side trail up and under heavily bowed limbs to where it rejoined the AT. |
| bole vs. boll vs. bowl | Bole : the main stem of a tree | He crawled forward through the tent flap and stood up, blinking, swaying, one hand against the bole of a tree. | Boll : a part of the cotton plant | There was the feeling of impersonal plenty when I saw a boll of cotton whose cup had spilt over and straggled its white fleece toward the earth. |
| born vs. borne | Born : to take birth | Penelope had never heard of Sherlock Holmes, of course, for in a fictional sense he had not been born yet, but she was a clever girl and no stranger to logic herself. | Borne : past participle form of ‘bear’ – to deal with something unpleasant | Downstream, conunoners and highborn captains alike could see the hot green death swirling toward their rafts and carracks and ferries, borne on the current of the Blackwater. |
| borough vs. burro vs. burrow | Borough : a town with its own local government | “I have this from reliable sources. You know how my people have been roaming the boroughs.” | Burro : a small donkey | Harley had to stop the burro every few hundred yards to correct their direction. |
| bough vs. bow | Bough : a large branch of a tree | When they came to the Chetwood already the boughs were almost bare, and a great curtain of rain veiled Bree Hill from their sight. | Bow : to bend | |
| boy vs. buoy | Boy : child or young man | The boys in Group E were just going to have to wait. | Buoy : to keep afloat | to make somebody feel happy | It tipped slowly, still buoyed on the magnetic field of the east, west, and south anchors, but it had lost its balance, like a table with one leg cut away. |
| brae vs. bray | Brae : steep slope | On the front of the yellow cigarette box is a poem by Robert Burns that Gram likes to sing to an old Irish tune: Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes. | Bray : (of donkeys) to make a loud unpleasant sound | Then, he heard other voices crying out and livestock braying and the crackle of flames. |
| braid vs. brayed | Braid : a long piece of hair | thin colored rope | I noticed her lumpy and clumsy braids and felt guilty. | Brayed : past tense and past participle form of ‘bray’ – (of donkeys) to make a loud unpleasant sound | Washington, knocked asunder, reeled and brayed, “I say,” seizing the King’s soldier by the arm and struggling with him. |
| breach vs. breech | Breach : to break a promise or agreement | to make a hole in a wall, etc. | So when Justin starts asking the obvious questions”how do Rhiannon and I know each other, and how come he hasn’t heard about me before”I have to jump into the breach. | Breech : the part of a gun where the bullets are loaded | “I see. Ball lodged in the breech, sir?” he asked. |
| break vs. brake | Break : to split | Then everyone broke into applause and loud cheering. | Brake : the part of a vehicle that slows it down or stops it | It takes strength and control and attention to drive a truck long distances, no matter how much the effort is made easier by air brakes and power- assisted steering. |
| bream vs. brim | Bream : an eatable fish from freshwater or sea | Everyone liked bream; the tiger fish weren’t as popular. | Brim : top or the flat edge of something | He touched his fingertips to the brim of his cap. |
| brewed vs. brood | Brewed : past tense and past participle form of ‘brew’ – to make a hot drink of coffee or tea | Every week we interviewed old women who brewed African beer as a way to supplement their tiny incomes, who now faced jail terms and fines they could not afford to pay. | Brood : to unnecessarily think about something that makes you upset | Screechers seemed to work hard at keeping their broods together. |
| bridal vs. bridle | Bridal : connected with a bride or marriage | It was her opinion that the reason Seema was as withdrawn as she was, was because Ritu auntie hadn’t done a good enough job making her feel welcome in her sasural”bridal home. | Bridle : a set of leather bands used by a horseman to control the horse | His hand left the bridle and gripped the hilt of his sword, and with a red flash he drew it. |
| broach vs. brooch | Broach : to mention | The faster your lifeboat broaches to the waves, the better. | Brooch : a type of piece of jewelry | He walked over to the altar stone set in the floor, where the cup and the brooch and the stone knife sat. |
| broom vs. brougham | Broom : a brush used for sweeping floors | Jones threw his broom into a booth and put on the record of “Stranger in Paradise.” | Brougham : a type of horse-drawn carriage | They included stagecoaches, wagons, private coaches, broughams, cabriolets, phaetons, buggies, and surreys. |
| brrr vs. burr | Brrr : a sound used by people to show extreme cold | In the transitional space of the bus, she turned over the questions that had loitered in her mind since sending off her application six months prior. | Burr : the soft regular noise made by parts of a fast-moving machine | He was sticking close to Dustfinger, close as a burr, and he didn’t like the gutted cottage. |
| bruit vs. brute | Bruit : to spread a piece of news | This leaves plenty of leeway for judgment, depending on whether the writer wishes to emphasize the continuing truth of some idea that was bruited in the past. | Brute : unkind and cruel | “You want to hear about the Hoppers who said we were thieves or the Cranbeps who thought we were brutes or the nasty Burgerton boys?” |
| burger vs. burgher | Burger : finely chopped beef | “Do you want to have a burger before or after?” | Burgher : a citizen of a particular town | That is to say, a statusconscious, prim and proper audience of sternly respectable burghers. |
| but vs. butt | But : however, except, on the contrary, etc. | A good war story, he thought, but it was not a war for war stories, nor for talk of valor, and nobody in town wanted to know about the terrible stink. | Butt : to hit or push somebody/something hard with your head | I tried to cross my legs, then stuck my feet farther under the seat, then pull my pant legs down, but then my butt was out. |
| buy vs. by vs. bye | Buy : to purchase | She said it was hers; she said she’d bought it at the bazaar. | By : a preposition | He was amazed at the vividness of her jumbled recital and touched by the virtues she attributed to himself. |
| buyer vs. byre | Buyer : consumer | “It takes a buyer with a little vision.” | Byre : a farm building to keep cows in | The townlands were rich, with wide tilth and many orchards, and homesteads there were with oast and garner, fold and byre, and many rills rippling through the green from the highlands down to Anduin. |
| cache vs. cash | Cache : a hidden store of weapons, etc. | But I went on, and the strength did not fail me till I had reached the cache in the foothills, and set up the tent, and done what I could for Ai. | Cash : money in the form of coins or notes | The pile was growing there: a Polaroid camera, a transistor radio, an elaborate electric train set”and several sealed envelopes containing cash. |
| caller vs. color | Caller : a person who makes a phone call | I answered and told the caller my host was out for the evening. | Color : shade, tint | Somewhere, behind the brightly colored packaging, underneath the labels covered with information, there is a mountain of corn. |
| callous vs. callus | Callous : insensitive | The lynching and the callous decision of the Pearl River County Grand Jury were surely on all their minds. | Callus : an area of thick hard skin | He shows me his callused hands, then looks at mine. |
| cannon vs. canon | Cannon : a large heavy gun, on wheels | The sound of the cannon startles me, although it makes little impression on my sleeping companions. | Canon : general rule | The Ethiopian Orthodox Bible is made up of the largest canon of any Bible in print in the modern world. |
| canter vs. cantor | Canter : a fairly fast movement of a horse | And then the sound of cantering hooves thundered through the palace. | Cantor : the main person who is responsible for singing in a synagogue or choir | Oh yes, the men will leave the room if a woman cantor performs. |
| canvas vs. canvass | Canvas : a strong heavy rough cloth used for making tents, etc. | They wanted to see things, even if all they could see was dim lights carried past the canvas tent, glowing with a faint yellow warmth. | Canvass : to ask for a vote for a person, party, etc. | Criminology was still primitive: Emmett grabbed his gun, canvassed any witnesses to the crime, then mounted his horse and went in pursuit. |
| carol vs. carrel | Carol : a Christian religious song | In countries with a very cold winter, two decidedly non-Christian elements tended to be intermingled, somewhat perplexingly, with the carol form. | Carrel : a small area with a desk in a library | I sit at a carrel by a window and keep being drawn to the traffic, even though I know it’s still a couple of hours until Rhiannon will show up. |
| carat vs. caret vs. carrot | Carat : a unit for measuring the weight of precious stones (1 carat = 200 milligrams) | Diamonds up to twenty carats or more have been found at scattered sites throughout the region. | Caret : a mark (^) | And if they did, why should they caret They never knew my sons. |
| career vs. carrier | Career : profession or vocation | Thus with one sentence I can summarize my academic career. | Carrier : transporter | Laney put Paganini in his carrier, detained only briefly by Mama, who unsuccessfully tried to make a case that Paganini would be more comfortable at home. |
| cart vs. kart | Cart : a small vehicle with wheels for carrying goods | I got out and walked ahead, going between the trucks and carts and under the wet necks of the horses. | Kart : a motor vehicle for racing | “You never said your dad was the CEO of Global Comm. My dad, like, totally wants to invite your parents over for dinner. He says Kartik Patel’s a total legend.” |
| cast vs. caste | Cast : to throw forcefully | to vote | to look or smile | The lamp on Dr. Roland’s desk cast a warm, buttery circle of light and, after turning the radio on low to the classical station in Boston, I settled on the couch with my French grammar. | Caste : a social class | Since the days of slavery, black men have been depicted and understood as criminals, and their criminal “nature” has been among the justifications for every caste system to date. |
| catch vs. ketch | Catch : to capture somebody | “The General caught Knife, Fist and Granny, but there’s an all-points bulletin out on her. You’d expect her to lie low.” | Ketch : a sailing boat with two masts | “Hit shore is a wonder how young folks ketch on. Miss Love, now, she thinks she could drive a car.” |
| caught vs. cot | Caught : past tense and past participle form of ‘catch’ – to capture | “Cameron, you startled me,” she said as if she was on a soap opera and had been caught rifling through someone else’s desk. | Cot : a type of small bed | She swung her legs over the edge of her cot and sat staring into space, gathering strength to stand up. |
| cawed vs. cod | Cawed : past tense and past participle form of ‘caw’ – (of crows) to make a loud unpleasant sound | High John spoke again in that language of dancing slaves and hidden meanings, and the giant black crow cawed and flapped into the sky. | Cod : a large sea fish | “Who cares how much pickled cod they ate six hundred years ago?” |
| cell vs. sell | Cell : chamber | Our first order of business was to take individual cells off nighttime deadlock for the morning chow run. | Sell : to put something on the market | “Anybody can sell medicine, but you don’t know who is mixing chalk in his backyard and calling it Nivaquine,” she said. |
| cellar vs. seller | Cellar : basement | She looked around: the thing that had once been the other father was between her and the steps up and out of the cellar. | Seller : a person who sells something | a retailer, wholesaler, trader, etc. | The seller’s face came alive at the sight of one of the American dollars, and as Jiichan bargained, Hanako and Akira eagerly picked out five cakes apiece, just as they had in the train station. |
| censer vs. censor vs. sensor | Censer : a container for burning incense | One of them was holding a censer, and the priest was leaning toward him, adjusting the length of its silver chain. | Censor : a person who examines movies, books, etc. intending to remove offensive parts | They must have known that censors would flag any such letters as suspicious. |
| census vs. senses | Census : official counting of country’s population | All this is of much more than academic interest, for the new and economical “gyplure” might be used not merely in census operations but in control work. | Senses : plural of ‘sense’ – one of the five powers (sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch) of a creature | As if she senses my weakness, Helene grits her teeth and drives me back, her pale eyes glacial, daring me to challenge her. |
| cent vs. scent vs. sent | Cent : a unit of money [1 dollar or 1 euro = 100 cents] | So fifty cents more a week was scraped up and folded into Blossom’s reluctant hand and she was sent off to take fiddle lessons, too. | Scent : a pleasant smell | I had simply left too much scent around my traps. |
| chance vs. chants | Chance : possibility or probability | The chance of home and the chance of love. | Chants : third-person singular of ‘chant’ – to shout words or phrase repeatedly | He squeezes his eyes tighter, repeats the last words, chants them fervently, asThouwiltasThouwiltasThouwilt, until they wrap around him and the floating feeling comes. |
| chard vs. charred | Chard : a type of vegetable | After the radishes came squash, then Swiss chard, which nobody knew how to eat. | Charred : black and burnt | Four people were standing at the corner of the charred butcher shop. |
| chary vs. cherry | Chary : too careful or cautious | Are young directors afraid to take him on, chary about getting into the ring with the champ? | Cherry : a small soft round fruit | “I can tie a cherry stem with my tongue,” Miss Ohio said and licked her lips. |
| cheap vs. cheep | Cheap : inexpensive | “This is cheap steel, but it’s a real sword.” | Cheep : to make short high sounds | She chortled and cheeped and gave his arm an encouraging peck. |
| chews vs. choose | Chews : third-person singular of ‘chew’ – to eat | He puts his fork in his mouth and chews, and usually it is then that the taller officer, a sergeant, sets a hand on the boy’s shoulder. | Choose : to pick | We spent the next period writing paragraphs about Zambia, choosing one minor subject. |
| chili vs. chilly | Chili : a part of a pepper plant that is used as a spice | For dinner she had two small fish and another pinch of chili powder. | Chilly : very cold weather | unfriendly | “But I imagine it’s getting to be pretty chilly in there. And it looks mighty dark.” |
| choral vs. coral | Choral : connected with the choir | Malia was already signed up to sing in a middle school choral concert. | Coral : a semi-precious stone produced by a sea creature | He took blue pollen and yellow pollen he took tobacco and coral beads; and he walked into the open country below the mesas. |
| chord vs. cord | Chord : musical tones | At the end of the chord name will be a slash followed by a note name, for example C/E. The note following the slash should be the bass note. | Cord : string | The twenty rats strained on the cords, and the block rose an inch. |
| chute vs. shoot | Chute : a tube or passage to slide things | He reached up, pulled the chain, and next moment had zoomed down a short chute, emerging out of a fireplace into the Ministry of Magic. | Shoot : to fire a gun | “There’s a competition. The winner gets to go on a photo shoot. You can go to China, Africa, or India.” |
| cite vs. sight vs. site | Cite : to mention or quote | “You mentioned that once on your blog. Two years ago “ I almost cited the date of the actual blog entry before I realized it would make me sound like even more of a cyber-stalking super-creep. | Sight : picture, scene or view | My face burning with shame, I took in the sight of Frankie. |
| clack vs. claque | Clack : (of objects) to make a hard sound when hitting each other | People cheer for us, and Rosa waves and clacks her clappers in the air and calls, “Hi!” and “Thank you!” | Claque : a group of people who are paid to clap or hoot a performer | It competed against the inchoate mob howl and the rhythmic cries of the Fundie claques that formed mob-islands within the mob. |
| clause vs. claws | Clause : a group of words that includes a subject and a verb | The psychiatrist who wrote the first blooper presumably intended his second clause to convey a temporal sequence between two events: the patient saw the doctor, and since that time she has been depressed. | Claws : plural of ‘claw’ – sharp curved nail on the end of foot of a bird or an animal | The panthers, leopards and things of that sort, sat and then stood up against the trees to sharpen their front claws. |
| climactic vs. climatic | Climactic : very exciting and important | Even so, I was looking forward to what I hoped would be a climactic amble. | Climatic : related to climate | Secondly, modern forager societies have survived mainly in areas with difficult climatic conditions and inhospitable terrain, ill-suited for agriculture. |
| climb vs. clime | Climb : to go up | She slipped in its side door, climbed the stairs, and walked down a dim cinderblock hallway until she reached the door labeled Flight Research Laboratory. | Clime : a country with a particular kind of climate | When Westerberg was jailed and the work came to a halt, and with winter coming on, McCandless headed for warmer climes. |
| close vs. clothes | Close : to lock, seal or shut | They were older than I and they were very close. | Clothes : garments | I drop my pencil and flash a look from my unmade bed to the folded clothes piled on my bureau. |
| coal vs. kohl | Coal : a hard black mineral that is burnt to produce heat | “You can use the coal chute to slide into the millionaire’s mansion at the end,” said Akimi. | Kohl : a black powder that is used around the eyes | Your hair is pulled back into a bun and you have kohl liner on your eyes. |
| colonel vs. kernel | Colonel : a high-ranked officer in security forces | The colonel dreaded his dank lonely nights at his farmhouse and the dull, uneventful days. | Kernel : the inner part of a seed | She should have known it could go bad, what with the prayer and Henry’s hand on hers, and inside that the dark kernel of before. |
| come vs. cum | Come : to get nearer | Colonel Vincent came down the line, trailing aides like blue clouds. | Cum : as well as | One of the guards relieved Melisandre of her cumbersome standard, driving the staff deep into the soft ground. |
| complement vs. compliment [related pair — complementary vs. complimentary] | Complement : to add to something to improve it | It was a simple one-holer, complemented by the inevitable Sears, Roebuck catalog. | Compliment : praise | She did not take this as a compliment. |
| complacent vs. complaisant [related pair — complacence vs. complaisance] | Complacent : satisfied | We understood, in other words, how ridiculously fortunate we were, and we both felt an obligation not to be complacent. | Complaisant : ready to accept other people’s advice, actions and opinions | But no foreseeable Israeli government will accept this premise without concerted pressure from complaisant allies, principally the US but also the EU and UK. |
| confident vs. confidant | Confident : in no doubt | He was smiling and looked confident, but he had a line of hired goons standing behind him to back up his authority. | Confidant : a person that you talk to about private or secret things | We cant be sure it will be permanint but we are confidant that soon your going to be a very intellijent young man. |
| confirmation vs. conformation | Confirmation : verification | We looked at each other for confirmation; before either of us spoke, he continuing, “Take us. The rebels, they took my father.” | Conformation : the way in which something is formed | In a rose garden, a rose is a rose because of geraniol, a 10-carbon compound, and it is the geometric conformation of atoms and their bond angles that determine the unique fragrance. |
| conscious vs. conscience | Conscious : mindful | It’s not enough to block out Mr. Lawson: “By the following evening he was no longer fully conscious, and so wasted that his spine could be felt through his stomach.” | Conscience : the sense of right and wrong | Cullivan could scarcely credit so detached an attitude; Perry was confused, mistaken, it was not possible for any man to be that devoid of conscience or compassion. |
| coo vs. coup | Coo : (of pigeon) to make a soft low sound | The chimney pots on the roofs…and on some, the shadowing looming of pigeon cotes…sometimes, faintly heard, the sleepy cooing of pigeons…the twin spires of the Church, remotely brooding over the dark tenements “ | Coup : sudden, illegal and violent change of government | “Were you involved in that particularly abortive coup?” |
| coop vs. coupe | Coop : a cage for chickens | At the humans’ farm, there were eggs in the chicken coop. | Coupe : a car with two doors and usually a sloping back | He and Grace climb into his German coupe, my manila envelope safely in the back. |
| cop vs. kop | Cop : a police officer | The cops must’ve been called from the inside, because the whole place was soundproof. | Kop : a hill | This half-haunting, half-hilarious display is even more fascinating in the wild, where colonies of up to 60 individuals gather on kopjes, or rock outcroppings. |
| cops vs. copse | Cops : plural of ‘cop’ – a police officer | “Father says the cops are out to get folks who act militant.” | Copse : a small area of trees or bushes growing together | Now, he would have to go into the copse, or up to the wood. |
| councilor vs. counselor [related pair — council vs. counsel] | Councilor : a member of a council | Counselor : an advisor | The head counselor, Mrs. Hinman, tried to snap me out of my daze. | |
| coward vs. cowered | Coward : not brave or courageous | Luis stood in their path, like the brave sheriff of a town full of cowards. | Cowered : past tense and past participle form of ‘cower’ – to bend and move backward because you are facing scary moments | The two boys cowered in the corner of the cage, and the uncle could hear the younger one weeping. |
| crawl vs. kraal | Crawl : to move forward very slowly | “This way, small brother,” she said as she crawled onto the pages of the book. | Kraal : a fence-covered area | At the end of the day, the boys herded the cattle and goats into a kraal surrounded by thornbushes. |
| creak vs. creek | Creak : to screech | His was the only door that creaked like that. | Creek : a small river/stream | a narrow area of water | We stood by the creek, Johannes telling me about his dad’s work as a sergeant in the army, the many places he’d lived, how they were moving again, to Colorado. |
| crewed vs. crude | Crewed : past tense and past participle form of ‘crew’ – to be a part of the team working on a ship | With his father’s grudging approval, Mohammed crewed on local fishing boats in the afternoons and evenings, and even at fourteen, after a full day of fishing miles from land, Mohammed insisted on swimming to shore. | Crude : basic | “Though, now that you mention it, I did hear a rather crude one recently about a pig, a farmer’s wife, and an eloko who walk into a tavern…” |
| dawn vs. don | Dawn : daybreak | At that vague hour between dark and dawn, the sunroof of the Amazon was deserted. | Don : the leader of a criminal group | What do you mean don’ t worry about it? |
| dear vs. deer | Dear : beloved | “She got none of your looks, lucky for her. My name is Muriel, dear, pleased to meet you.” | Deer : a type of animal | I bounded like a deer and swerved like a fox; never had I felt so strong or run so fast. |
| decease vs. disease | Decease : death | “Do you mean to say that the blood of the deceased matched the blood found on the fishing gaff?” | Disease : illness or sickness | “He won’t bite. He likes me,” I said, ignoring that question about dog disease. |
| decent vs. descent vs. dissent | Decent : well-mannered | “I always tell Bee, Manderley’s the only place left in England where one can get decent cooking. I remember this soufflé of old.” | Descent : a downwards slop | Imagine, if you will, the sudden descent of democracy on an unprepared population. |
| dense vs. dents | Dense : having a lot of people, trees, things, etc. with little space between them | “It can be a bit dense. But I’m surprised you didn’t learn he was a passionate abolitionist, Shayla.” | Dents : plural of ‘dent’ – a hollow and damaged place in a hard surface | There were little, hard, white dents all over his puffed-out face and neck. |
| dew vs. due | Dew : the very small drops of water that form on the ground, leaves, etc. during the wintry night | One early morning when the grass was still wet with dew, Amari was returning to the kitchen with a bucket of water for Teenie. | Due : arranged | caused by somebody/something | Widows know when the telegram money order is due from the English government and they wait by the window. |
| dine vs. dyne | Dine : to eat dinner | We headed down the hallway, through the sitting room, and into the dining room, where Dadi and Papa looked up from the table. | Dyne : a unit of force | After being subjected to a compression of about 3000 to 4000 dyne, many times the impact of a raindrop, the mosquitoes were still able to fly once released. |
| dire vs. dyer | Dire : very serious | Louis Swift and other owners of the large industries in dire need of workers gladly joined forces with Hill and Jackson. | Dyer : a person who does work of changing the color of cloth or hair | Kira must work on the robe; others would do the watching for the old dyer. |
| disburse vs. disperse | Disburse : to make payment | The three-way appeal from Weaver, Lawrence, and Sproul convinced Fosdick and the foundation trustees: the grant, to be disbursed over two years, came through before the end of January. | Disperse : to spread or scatter | Time, indeed a considerable stretch of time, would be required to allow the bonding together of this large, widely dispersed, and diverse population. |
| discomfit vs. discomfort | Discomfit : to confuse or embarrass somebody | That was a mistake, of course, and she was discomfited and had no idea how to put him right. | Discomfort : a feeling of pain or worry | Her head was aching and the hair at her temples, even though Aisha had not twisted too tightly, still caused a tugging discomfort, a disturbance of her neck and nerves. |
| discussed vs. disgust | Discussed : past tense and past participle form of ‘discuss’ – to talk about something important | He did so, and the four of us discussed the issue of my transfer. | Disgust : a strong feeling of dislike, hatred or disapproval | As a college student in Germany, Fuchs had watched the rise of the Nazis with disgust. |
| disillusion vs. dissolution | Disillusion : disappointment | McKissick spoke for disillusioned ghetto residents when he called nonviolence “a dying philosophy” that had “outlived its usefulness.” | Dissolution : ending or termination of the agreement, etc. | Let him languish in pain, crying aloud for mercy, and let there be no surcease to this agony till he sing in dissolution. |
| disassemble vs. dissemble | Disassemble : to take apart a machine, etc. | Squatting quietly in the cool pagoda, they would help Dobbins disassemble and clean his machine gun, carefully brushing the parts with oil. | Dissemble : to hide your real feelings or intentions | He said that the Negro had been trained to dissemble and conceal his real thoughts, as a matter of survival. |
| done vs. dun | Done : completed | The eyes of thousands, stupefied with disgust at having been imported by Mr. Armour, Mr. Swift, Mr. Montgomery Ward to break strikes then dismissed for having done so. | Dun : grayish-brown in color | It would be an ocean of wood with a dun rim of humanity. |
| draft vs. draught | Draft : a rough written version | The bishops had gathered together earlier in the week and drafted a pastoral letter to be read from every pulpit that Sunday. | Draught : a flow of cool air | The draught still blew in my face though. |
| ducked vs. duct | Ducked : past tense and past participle form of ‘duck’ – to avoid something by moving your head | Once Clary had walked away, she ducked behind the toolshed. | Duct : tube or pipe | He had a black piece of duct tape covering the Gunners mascot on his warm-up jacket. |
| eek vs. eke | Eek : (an exclamation) used to show fear | “If I go up to Bloomington for a week this summer, I should be able to finish by December.” | Eke : to make a small supply | Then the anger would pass; he would go back to his job and try to eke out a few pennies to support his wife and children. |
| elicit vs. illicit | Elicit : to obtain information from somebody with difficulty | Further inquiries elicited suspicion from male acquaintances, who wondered at my interest in such a person. | Illicit : not lawful | Because she has no idea how illicit activities work. |
| elusive vs. illusive | Elusive : unachievable or indescribable | Again, that small, elusive moment rose through everything that had happened since then, like a bubble in a pot on its way to the boil. | Illusive : not real | There were no shadows under the trees but everywhere a pearly stillness, so that what was real seemed illusive and without definition. |
| emigrate vs. immigrate | Emigrate : to go to a foreign country to live there permanently | The same procedure can be applied to reconstruct Proto-Malayo-Polynesian, the ancestral language spoken by Austronesians after emigrating from Taiwan. | Immigrate : to come to a foreign country to live permanently | She and my father joined the Narewka Benevolent Club, which had been founded by Jews who had immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s. |
| eminent vs. imminent vs. immanent | Eminent : reputed and well-known | The terrifying thought that Adolf Hitler might beat the Allies to exploitation of the atom’s destructive capacity had prompted many eminent scientists, including numerous refugees from Nazi Germany, to participate willingly in the Manhattan Project. | Imminent : likely to happen soon | Not knowing that his arrest was imminent, and believing that his passport was legal, on July 13, 2004, he went to Narita Airport in Tokyo to board a plane bound for Manila. |
| ensure vs. insure | Ensure : to make certain | “The new king’s coronation will be at the autumn solstice. Worry not. I have a plan to ensure our futures. Only concern yourselves with making ready for a great deal of dancing.” | Insure : to buy insurance | “The locks are simply to insure The Receiver’s privacy because he needs concentration,” she explained. |
| ere vs. err | Ere : before | The door opened as we drove up, and an erect, gray-haired lady strutted down the walkway to our carriage. | Err : to make a mistake | And he had yet to err…throughout years with the department. |
| erupt vs. irrupt | Erupt : to explode | Invisible for moments like this, where the whole world erupts before us and all he can do is look for someone to blame. | Irrupt : to appear suddenly and forcefully | The vociferations of the assailants, who irrupted into the house, reached the ears of the Abbot, the Marchioness and Mademoiselle Plouernel. |
| exalt vs. exult | Exalt : to praise somebody/something greatly | I could tell she had been crying, not because she was sad, but because she was as exalted as I was. | Exult : to be very cheerful | And so they spent hours there, watching the birds come and go, feeding them from their palms, exulting in the familiarity that allowed the birds to land on their arms and shoulders. |
| extant vs. extent | Extant : still in existence | He instantly recognized that the bones did not belong to any extant species and hence must be very old. | Extent : amount, degree, level | I was off company property, so perhaps he felt I had followed his orders, at least to an extent that satisfied him. |
| exercise vs. exorcise | Exercise : mental or physical activity | I could try the exercise again and stay on solid ground this time. | Exorcise : to make somebody get rid of an evil spirit | I begin drawing what’s in my head, as if maybe by drawing it, it will exorcise the super bugs from my brain. |
| ewe vs. yew vs. you | Ewe : a female sheep | He wasn’t paying any attention to Robert or Tayo, who were examining the old ewes. | Yew : a type of small tree | But then Cain stepped up to the white line painted at the back of the room, drew back his yew bow, his black ring glinting, and fired. |
| eyelet vs. islet | Eyelet : a hole that has a metal ring around it in a piece of cloth, etc. | Instead of sleeves, the white eyelet blouse had frills at the shoulder, floppy as the wings of a new angel. | Islet : a very small island | Between the Isles of Ithaka and Same the sea is broken by an islet, Asteris, with access to both channels from a cove. |
| facts vs. fax | Facts : plural of ‘fact’ – information | “Those things on your tongue are called papillae,” I said, and then I realized that maybe this wasn’t the best time to be sharing nature facts. | Fax : a machine used for sending electronic messages | By the time we met in the middle, I was wearing a smile as wide as the gorge, and I said, “Did you fax it to him?” |
| fain vs. feign | Fain : willingly and happily | I would fain at the moment have become bee or lizard, that I might have found fitting nutriment, permanent shelter here. | Feign : to pretend that you have a particular feeling | Methuselah feigned indifference, but his natural curiosity soon overcame any chagrin he felt at not being allowed to pass the doorway. |
| fairy vs. ferry | Fairy : a creature with magic power | But my fairy godmother said Lucinda was the only one who could remove it. | Ferry : a small boat or ship | Through black smoke and swirling green fire, Davos glimpsed a swarm of small, boats bearing downriver: a confusion of ferries and wherries, barges, skiffs, rowboats, and hulks that looked too rotten to float. |
| fawned vs. fond | Fawned : past tense and past participle form of ‘fawn’ – to praise insincerely | When he did take the time to visit, the adoption center ladies fawned over him. | Fond : caring and loving | “Well, I hope they get caught. I got real fond of those birds.” |
| feat vs. feet | Feat : an achievement | I have greatly admired your feats of daring. | Feet : plural of ‘foot’ – the lowest part of the leg | But the creature in front of Gregor rose at least four feet in the air. |
| feudal vs. futile | Feudal : related to a type of social system (feudalism) | Second, Jefferson suggested that Adams’s description of aristocratic power was appropriate for Europe, where feudal privileges, family titles, and more limited economic opportunities created conditions that sustained class distinctions. | Futile : fruitless or unsuccessful | “Is this another desperate ploy for some way to defeat me? More yearbooks? So futile.” |
| few vs. pew vs. phew | Few : determiner | I saved one of the sleeves for myself; the few drops of water disappeared onto my parched tongue like they’d never been. | Pew : long wooden seat | And closer to me, I saw two girls sitting in one of the last pews, their backs rounded, their hair pulled back into perfect ponytails. |
| fin vs. finn | Fin : a flat part of a fish or an aircraft, etc. | Without apparent exertion”but the Wart, who was an enterprising learner, had been watching the slightest movement of its fins. | Finn : a person from Finland | Rule Rasmussen, a Norwegian concert manager, and Kosti Vehanen, a Finnish pianist, were traveling through Europe in search of talented performers. |
| finish vs. finnish | Finish : to conclude; to end | I opened my mouth to say that wasn’t an answer, but Susie wasn’t finished. | Finnish : connected with Finland | Kosti Vehanen, her Finnish accompanist, had appeared with her in Scandinavia and throughout Europe, while Billy King had been her accompanist in the United States and a “good and faithful friend” as well. |
| find vs. fined | Find : to locate or discover | But in her phone calls home, she never finds out where he went. | Fined : past tense and past participle form of ‘fine’ – to make somebody pay a sum of money as an official punishment | The company is fined for each metric ton of pollutants over the legal limit. |
| fir vs. fur | Fir : an evergreen forest tree with needle-like leaves | In the time it took my eyes to focus, he was twenty feet away, standing at the edge of the small meadow, in the deep shade of a huge fir tree. | Fur : a thick mass of hair | His fur had darkened until he was all black, and his eyes were green fire. |
| fisher vs. fissure | Fisher : fisherman | The woods were full of frozen streams and cold black lakes, and Meera was as good a fisher with her three-pronged frog spear as most men were with hook and line. | Fissure : crack or gap | Harry saw a fissure in the cliff into which dark water was swirling. |
| fishing vs. phishing | Fishing : the sport of catching fish | In Salmon Bay, just to the east, dozens of fishing boats, unused for months, sat bobbing at moorage, the paint peeling from their weathered hulls. | Phishing : Internet scam through emails | The phishing scams led victims to Indonesia, ostensibly on a film job, before bilking them for travel expenses ” a scheme said to have earned the con artist hundreds of thousands of dollars. |
| flack vs. flak | Flack : press agent | Dale replied he’d had just about enough of setting by the shipping lane in soup fog for a dozen silvers, a few dogfish, a couple of hake, and what’s more taking flack off his radio. | Flak : severe criticism | “We had some flak bursts,” said Jacob Beser, the radar operator. |
| flea vs. flee | Flea : a blood-sucking insect | Tea, Politics, and Scandal, the ingredients of an Afghan Sunday at the flea market. | Flee : to leave a place quickly because of danger | Of course, when the animal struck the smooth ice its legs splayed and it skidded, unable to regain its balance, no longer able to flee. |
| flew vs. flu vs. flue | Flew : past tense of ‘fly’ – to move through the air with the help of wings | Even the approaching sirens probably hadn’t worried him until the truck braked and the back doors flew open. | Flu : a disease | There was a terrible flu going around and the pneumonia took a lot of folks, especially older ones. |
| flounder vs. founder | Flounder : to struggle | But now, here came Gabriel, floundering and furious up the bank, and what she looked at, with an anger more violent than any she had felt before, was his nakedness. | Founder : creator, inventor, maker or originator | “To try and find something from one of the other founders?” |
| flour vs. flower | Flour : powder made from grains | She and her husband owned a flour mill and promised that Jadzia would never go hungry. | Flower : a part of the plant | They left stuffed animals, notes, ribbons, pieces of clothing, books, flowers, Bibles, flattened pennies, poems, photographs, jewelry, tiny trinkets. |
| for vs. fore vs. four | For : a preposition | One therefore has to make simplifying assumptions and approximations”and even then, the problem of extracting predictions remains a formidable one. | Fore : towards the front | They looped around me, sounding like sputtering, single-prop airplanes, beÂfore hurrying home. |
| foaled vs. fold | Foaled : past tense and past participle form of ‘foal’ – (of horse/donkey) – to give birth to young horse/donkey | A regally bred mare named Brushup had foaled a near-black colt, a son of Man o’ War, and they couldn’t take their eyes off of him. | Fold : to bend paper or cloth | Reed took back his knife, blew the last splinters from its blade, and folded it up into his pocket again. |
| formerly vs. formally | Formerly : in the past | “All the squares formerly built up solidly were now so many black excavations, while the streets had the appearance of raised turnpikes intersecting each other on a level prairie.” | Formally : officially | “Thank you, Michel. It would be best now, I think, if you were to go back to your post. We will take your evidence formally later.” |
| fort vs. forte | Fort : castle | After that, land forces had captured three forts guarding the city of Mobile, which meant that the Confederacy had lost its most essential port on the Gulf of Mexico. | Forte : a thing that somebody has expertise in | I’m not sure about Foxface since direct confrontation isn’t her style or her forte. |
| foul vs. fowl | Foul : very unpleasant | He recruited his army from the foulest criminals ever vomited up by corrupt prison systems anywhere in the world. | Fowl : chicken | I was about to settle down to a warm fire and a roast fowl, and that wretched singer had to open his mouth, he thought mournfully. |
| frays vs. phrase | Frays : third-person singular of ‘fray’ – (of threads) to start to come apart from cloth | I’ll carry him outside, feeling his warmth turn to cold as the horizon frays and falls down in my backyard. | Phrase : an expression, a slogan, etc. | This phrase, “˜immutable mobiles’, sums up neatly the epistemological paradox of the fact: facts can be moved around, transferred from one person to another, without being degraded, or so at least the story goes. |
| freeze vs. frieze | Freeze : to solidify | Mr. Jacobs was on the ground, sobbing something terrible with his hand over his face, and the cop who had struck them stood frozen and uncertain. | Frieze : wall painting | Each one’s got a different dinosaur, but if you put them end to end in order, the background landscape joins up and forms a frieze. |
| friar vs. fryer | Friar : a member of Roman Catholic religious communities of men | It is unlikely that Tisquantum was converted, though it’s possible that he allowed the friars to think he had been. | Fryer : a deep pan | He still felt like he had swallowed a deep fryer. |
| furs vs. furze | Furs : clothing | “Sure is. Wrap your friend in some furs before he turns into an icicle. It’s cold here, but it’s gonna get colder.” | Furze : a bush | Here, huge growths of thorny furze rose up. |
| gaff vs. gaffe | Gaff : a pole that is used to pull fish out of the water | Alvin Hooks took the gaff and placed it on the evidence table in full view of the jurors. | Gaffe : a mistake | Boats passed out of the harbor and into the harbor and each one slowed to remark on my sailing gaffe and give me advice. |
| gamble vs. gambol | Gamble : to risk money on game, race, etc. | While the father gambled, Jeremy and his friend hung out in the arcade. | Gambol : to run about energetically | Where be your gibes now, your gambols, your songs? jimmy snyder. |
| gamine vs. gammon | Gamine (connected with young woman) : thin and attractive | Her hair was in a gamine cut, streaked blond in a salon and currently showing dark roots. | Gammon : a type of meat from the pig | Maxine, Dean, and I put the Ladybird books away till the smell of gammon and mushrooms filled the small kitchen. |
| gel vs. jell | Gel : a thick substance like jelly | I take three steps into the gel and look back. | Jell : to work together | Extracts of the hemocytes can be made to jell by adding extremely small amounts of endotoxin. |
| gild vs. guild | Gild : to coat something with a thin layer of gold | He had been clad in mail, and still his harness lay there whole; for the cavern’s air was as dry as dust, and his hauberk was gilded. | Guild : an association or union | Certain former slaves were carving stone and laying bricks, stealing work from guild journeymen and masters alike. |
| gilt vs. guilt | Gilt : a thin layer of gold | The skin of her hand that held the pipe’s end was stretched over her little bones as smooth and as yellow as the gilt upon an idol. | Guilt : feeling of sadness because you have done something wrong | As soon as he says it, he flushes with shame and guilt. |
| glutinous vs. gluttonous | Glutinous : sticky | This day Mother prepares an altar to chant for his return, offering fruit, incense, tuberoses, and glutinous rice. | Gluttonous : greedy | He is all these things; but he is also like an apple, after a prolonged and gluttonous binge. |
| gneiss vs. nice | Gneiss : a type of metamorphic rock | In front of me, a sheer wall of stippled gneiss. | Nice : pleasant or polite | “˜Then”us’ll have these nice collards and some hoecake and coffee. And I going to cut me off a few slices of this here white meat and fry it for myself.’ |
| gnus vs. news | Gnus : a large antelope | They go for zebras, gnus and water buffaloes, and not only the old or the infirm in a herd”full-grown members too. | News : new information | At school, the black girls were on top of the news, and we discussed it every day at lunch in the cafeteria. |
| gored vs. gourd | Gored : past tense and past participle form of ‘gore’ – (of an animal) to injure somebody with horn | Three of them had their heads broken by blows from Boxers hoofs; another was gored in the belly by a cow’s horn; another had his trousers nearly torn off by Jessie and Bluebell. | Gourd : a type of large fleshy fruit | The whole world lived inside the gourd, the earth a green and blue pearl like the one the dragon plays with. |
| gorilla vs. guerrilla | Gorilla : an African ape | They included giant elephant birds, primitive primates called lemurs as big as gorillas, and pygmy hippos. | Guerrilla : a fighter who fights against soldiers to try to change government | “Stimela” is not a political song, but in the context, it became one, for the implication was that the train contained guerrillas coming down to fight the South African army. |
| grate vs. great | Grate : to rub food against a grater | to annoy somebody | A key turns in the lock, a rasping, grating sound, metal against metal. | Great : very impressive | The great sword swung a glittering arc, the flashing blade sang above Gwydion’s head. |
| groan vs. grown | Groan : to make a long deep sound because of pleasure or annoyance | To think, just a year ago I would have followed him fearlessly, exhilarated and breathless each time the board groaned beneath me. | Grown : adult | The war itself had been unreal to me, but I had grown able to respond emotionally to every hint, whisper, word, inflection, news, gossip, and rumor regarding conflicts between the races. |
| guessed vs. guest | Guessed : past tense and past participle form of ‘guess’ – to estimate or predict | I guessed that skinny red chicken was still running around St. Nick somewhere. | Guest : a person who is invited to join a particular event | I turned around, tiptoed to the guest room door, and pressed my ear against it. |
| guise vs. guys | Guise : unusual appearance | His favorite old theatrical fantasy, the one in which he thought of himself as “Perry O’Parsons, The One-Man Symphony,” returned in the guise of a recurrent dream. | Guys : plural of ‘guy’ – a man | I scanned the direction we were headed in, and we both ducked as three guys walked past. |
| hair vs. hare | Hair : locks | I feel the hair on my neck, bristling. | Hare : an animal like a rabbit | Very queer he was, and as soon as I had roused him, he got up and ran back here like a hare.’ |
| hairy vs. harry | Hairy : covered with hair | “That’s the one,” said the little hairy man, his head questing from side to side as if he were preoccupied, or a little nervous. | Harry : to annoy, irritate or harass somebody | There were only a few vendors, and all were engaged in harried negotiations with rebels, lean and sullen and above all bored, jostling and shoving and bilking as a way to pass the time. |
| hall vs. haul | Hall : a large room | Together, we walked down the hall to the main office. | Haul : to pull with a lot of effort | They hauled it across the open square, hoisted it up, and dumped it in the village well. |
| halve vs. have | Halve : to divide something into two parts | It looked like a giant halved melon with the round side out. | Have : to possess, contain, hold, etc. | Once the melee has cleared I walk up to the front. |
| handsome vs. hansom | Handsome : good-looking or attractive | Each landmark date is accompanied by a clip showing throngs of shoppers, swarms of associates, or scenes of handsome new stores and their adjoining parking lots. | Hansom : a two-wheeled carriage, pulled by one horse | Mr. Tomony who owned the pawnshop came home in a hansom cab from his spendthrift evening in New York. |
| hangar vs. hanger | Hangar : a large building for storing aircraft | Widening entrances to allow the exit of hovercraft from the hangar, installing missile launchers. | Hanger : a bent piece of plastic, wood, etc. used for hanging clothes upon | Old jeans littered the floor and shirts hung lopsided from hangers. |
| hardy vs. hearty | Hardy : able to face difficult conditions and bad weather | “Now then, now then,” came the Cabby’s voice, a good firm, hardy voice. | Hearty : cheerful; friendly | “It’s your sister, Rachie,” Judah boomed out, his voice fake with hearty cheer. |
| hart vs. heart | Hart : a male deer | “Which it is well beknown to yourself, Pip,” returned Joe, strengthening his former mixture of argumentation, confidence, and politeness, “that it were the wish of your own hart.” | Heart : an organ in the chest | I stared at those shoes and my heart slowed beat by beat by beat until I was finally able to think about Stan and Mr. Bernoffski and what the hell was going on. |
| hawk vs. hock | Hawk : a type of bird of prey | I feel a pair of eyes hawking me. | Hock : to leave a valuable object with somebody in exchange for money | “Get the ham hock out, make sure you got enough water in there, that’s right. Now turn up the flame. See that little bubble there, that means the water’s happy.” |
| hay vs. hey | Hay : hello | What I did see, though, was a truck full of hay. | Hey : (an exclamation) used to express anger, interest, surprise, etc. | The likelihood of punishment was so low”this was the heyday of a liberal justice system and the criminals’ rights movement”that it simply didn’t cost very much to commit a crime. |
| heal vs. heel | Heal : to cure | Tomorrow morning I will come to you to be healed and made whole. | Heel : the back part of the foot below the ankle | The Butler bowed and hastened out, his daemon trotting submissively at his heels. |
| hear vs. here | Hear : to perceive sound; to listen | And when I heard him drive away from the house I knew it would be safe to come out. | Here : at, in, to this position or place | For a moment, they stood about, feeling that they had made some kind of arrival, but uncertain what to do, now they were here. |
| heard vs. herd | Heard : past tense and past participle form of ‘hear’ – to listen | From outside, through the open window, he heard the voice of Mr Hooper, and then his mother, the chink of a teaspoon against a cup. | Herd : a group of animals of the same type | We linger in the background and then press ourselves into the herd of green shirts, not in the back where we’d be noticed, but coming in from the side so we’re quickly surrounded by them. |
| hertz vs. hurts | Hertz : a unit for measuring the frequency of sound waves | They measure it in hertz, which is how many peaks go by per second. | Hurts : third-person singular of ‘hurt’ – to feel pain | My head hurts and I press my index fingers against my temples to try and stop the explosion. |
| hew vs. hue | Hew : to cut | Like a storm they broke upon the line of the men of Gondor, and beat upon helm and head, and arm and shield, as smiths hewing the hot bending iron. | Hue : color or shade | The boys in front of Gaines, out of uniform and away from the hue and cry usually sparked by their appearance, looked strangely vulnerable. |
| hi vs. high | Hi : (an exclamation) used to say hello | They look like if you walk up to the paintings and say hello, they will say hi back to you. | High : a great distance to the top | Everything was enclosed behind high, white walls, in what the two researchers described in 2004 as a hive of “repetitive, modular cells organized in high-walled geometric blocks.” |
| higher vs. hire | Higher : advanced, upper, senior, etc. | Every octave has the same frequency ratio; the higher note will have 2 times the frequency of the lower note. | Hire : to appoint or recruit | “Joseph’s father has hired a lawyer,” she said. |
| him vs. hymn | Him : used to refer to a male person or animal | Piper grabbed him to keep him from falling over, and he slid back down the mast. | Hymn : a religious song | It turned out I had signed up for a weekend of prayer and singing hymns about Jesus. |
| hoarse vs. horse | Hoarse : sounding rough because of sore throat | “Maybe the gods are listening,” he said in a hoarse voice. | Horse : a large animal used for pulling carriages or riding on | Thankfully, the guards were raising quite a noise shouting encouragement at the horse and yelling to one another. |
| hoe vs. whoa vs. woe | Hoe : a type of garden tool | Telemakhos and the herdsman scraped the packed earth floor with hoes, but made the women carry out all blood and mire. | Whoa : used as a command to an animal (particularly a horse) to stop or stand still | Farmer and Jim reluctantly agreed that all patients had to complete the standard WHO protocol before their cases could be deemed “treatment failures.” |
| hoes vs. hose | Hoes : plural of ‘hoe’ – a garden tool | She went first to the barn, where the men were sharpening hoes and sickles in preparation for the summer hay cutting. | Hose : a long tube of rubber or plastic used by firefighters, etc. | He picked up the head of the hose, put his thumb over it and sprayed his friend. |
| hold vs. holed | Hold : to carry something | It was bad, the Goat Man had to hold her up to milk her. | Holed : past tense and past participle form of ‘hole’ – to make a hollow space in something | Klaus was too tired and despondent to speak, and Violet was holed up in the inventing area of her mind, too busy planning to talk. |
| hole vs. whole | Hole : crack or opening | “The blue tarp is gone. You fixed the hole.” | Whole : entire | Harry looked around; the whole class was staring at him. |
| holey vs. holy vs. wholly | Holey : with a lot of holes | The other gifts were a crusty, holey, once-white sock from Henry, and from Beans a thumb-size, brown something that Palmer finally recognized as an ancient cigar butt. | Holy : sacred | morally or religiously good | I genuflected at the font of holy water, wet my fingertips, and made the sign of the cross. |
| hoop vs. whoop | Hoop : a large ring made of plastic, iron, etc. | But the rusted embroidery hoops left an unsightly orange ring on the linen that may have damaged my prospects for good. | Whoop : to shout loudly with excitement | Or the ten heroes in full battle armor who were getting their bronze-plated booties whooped. |
| hostel vs. hostile | Hostel : boarding house | Billy had heard from a nurse that children who had had the operation were often taken to hostels further south, which might explain how Tony Makarios came to be wandering in the wild. | Hostile : unfriendly | If there was ever a moment to declare you like someone, it was with a churro in your hand and a day of protesting a greedy land developer’s hostile takeover of your neighborhood behind you. |
| hour vs. our | Hour : a period of 60 minutes | They lined up along the raised wooden boardwalk in front of the newspaper office and stood for hours, some of them straining on tiptoe. | Our : belonging or related to us | “And Ouranos kicked you in the face as he struggled. How we used to tease you about that!” |
| in vs. inn | In : a preposition | Inn : a small hotel | Ralph knew there were not really a million mice in the inn, although he had to admit that in wintertime the mouseholes were crowded, because his rough outdoor relatives moved inside to keep warm. | |
| idle vs. idol vs. idyll | Idle : inactive | “A girl should not be idle, for then the devil may do his work in you,” my father said to me. | Idol : a statue | Alone on his bed, unable to concentrate on what he was reading, he would imagine how Amanda looked naked, wrapped in her long black hair with all her noisy adornments, like an idol. |
| insidious vs. invidious | Insidious : harmful | The breaches threatened the lives of agents and created insidious doubts, with officials questioning each other’s loyalty. | Invidious : unpleasant | Because it is invidious to their sex…it reflects the old idea of woman’s inferiority….2d. |
| instant vs. instance | Instant : immediate | In an instant, the bees were on them. | Instance : example | Why, for instance, do we shave our legs? |
| invade vs. inveighed | Invade : attack | Our line of defense against invading poisons or poisons from within is now weakened and crumbling. | Inveighed : criticized | He no longer inveighed against the United States but against a segment of the United States represented by overt white supremacists in the South and covert white supremacists in the North. |
| jam vs. jamb | Jam : unable to move | I took my place halfway between the younger and the older ones, who scowled at us and jammed the line forward with rough shoves. | Jamb : a vertical post at the side of a door | One says something to another and the jamb splinters and the door bangs open. |
| jeans vs. genes | Jeans : trousers made of strong cotton | I was wondering what and where it could be when I felt a hard tug on the leg of my blue jeans and a sting of pain in my right ankle. | Genes : plural of ‘gene’ – a unit of body cell | These genes had to be positioned farther apart on the chromosome. |
| jewel vs. joule | Jewel : a gem | Bubbles like amber jewels tumbled up and up and up, breaking and rising and breaking. | Joule : a unit of energy | They had already covered their lightweight chaulnots with their heavy woolen ones against the coming evening chill”proof that not one joule of energy had been converted to heat by means of respectable labor. |
| jinks vs. jinx | Jinks : excitement and happiness | He cracked himself up, though I wasn’t sure whether it was Calvin’s high jinks or my own making him so goofy. | Jinx : curse | As was all this poisonous Mercury, as large in jinx as it was small in size. |
| knead vs. need | Knead : to press | The tom, confident that now he would be fed in the elegant way he was accustomed to, began to knead his paws and his purring grew hoarse with triumph. | Need : a necessity | “Mother says he needs his beauty sleep,” Belet answered, and to give her credit, she didn’t sound entirely happy with her mother’s strategy in finding Nergal. |
| knee vs. nee | Knee : a part of the leg | And my mom trying to open our suitcase on her knee, and stuff falling out. | Nee : a word used after a married woman’s name | “We won’t have anything to do,” she said, “and I swan- nee if I’ll sit here for an hour and listen to you, Jem Finch.” |
| knit vs. nit | Knit : to weave | All the staring faces quickly dived back into their sewing or knitting or conversation. | Nit : a stupid person | Now I stink of explosive but I have not got nits. |
| knot vs. naught vs. not | Knot : loop | tied together | Cara tucks a stray hair back into the knot just above her neck. | Naught : nothing | “˜And there’s knives and stray arrows. That Gollum isn’t dead, for one thing. I don’t like to think of you with naught but a bit of leather between you and a stab in the dark.’ |
| know vs. no | Know : to have information | At least, though, I knew it was on Tommy’s mind after that, and I was glad he’d at least confided in me that far. | No : refusal | Even further, no one on the city council seemed to know anything about the “reactivation” of the Clarkston youth sports program. |
| knew vs. new vs. nu | Knew : past tense of ‘know’ – to be familiar with somebody/something | “I wanted to be alone, and I knew you wouldn’t follow me if I said I was going to Nora’s house.” | New : the latest | Then she pulls from her pocket a worn and smudged wee dolly and introduces the worn dolly to the new dolly. |
| lacks vs. lax | Lacks : third-person singular of ‘lack’ – to be short of something | It can be beneficial if it means that a population lacks deleterious genes. | Lax : careless | Selitos knew that in all the world there were only three people who could match his skill in names: Aleph, lax, and Lyra. |
| ladder vs. latter | Ladder : series of steps or stages | I search the edge of the room for a ladder or a staircase that will help me-climb. | Latter : the second of two people, things, etc. | They pointed their iron knives at the soldiers made of soft, sweet, smooth cheese, and the latter shrank away. |
| lain vs. lane | Lain : past participle form of ‘lie’ – to remain in a flat position | Then he’d climbed into bed again, curled up like an autumn leaf, every blanket in the house thrown over him, and lain without sleeping until dawn came. | Lane : narrow road | He watched with gratitude as the blind man moved through the lanes. |
| lair vs. layer | Lair : hideout | Though the quarry tunnels were natural, they had obviously been the lairs of generations of serpents; most of the signs were of a reptilian nature. | Layer : cover | I put on one of my new dresses with both sweaters layered on top. |
| lays vs. laze | Lays : third-person singular of ‘lay’ – to put or place something somewhere | She pulls another card from the line and lays it atop the first. | Laze : to relax | He wanted to laze away the afternoon at a dumpling house, sip plum juice by a green pond flickering with orange-and-white carp. |
| lama vs. llama | Lama : a title for a spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism | Unsure how to act in the company of a divine presence, this living reincarnation of an ancient and illustrious lama, I was terrified of unwittingly giving offense or committing some irredeemable faux pas. | Llama : an animal from South America | The result is a kind of contagion of panic, and before long the men leading the zebras and llamas are struggling to maintain control. |
| laps vs. lapse | Laps : plural of ‘lap’ – a section of a track | We all put our napkins in our laps like Coach did. | Lapse : to be invalid after a certain time | With that”the first time Reynie had ever spoken so sharply to her”Constance lapsed into furious silence. |
| larva vs. lava | Larva : young insect | Her caribou had been so infested with the larvae of nose flies it had not been able to eat. | Lava : magma | In the distance, a triangular volcano spewed green pixels of lava. |
| laser vs. lazier | Laser : a device that produces a powerful beam of light | That rock that had been living inside my chest boiled so hot it melted and shot at her like lasers out of my eye sockets. | Lazier : the comparative degree of ‘lazy’ – inactive or idle | The sound of the waves was even lazier, more drawn out than at noon. |
| law vs. lore | Law : rule or regulation | The law that applied to her was the law of sacrificial love. | Lore : knowledge that is related to a particular subject | “˜Then in the name of the king, go and find some old man of less lore and more wisdom who keeps some in his house!’ cried Gandalf. |
| lea vs. lee | Lea : an open area of land covered in grass | “Camellia, we’re issuing his estate a fine of several thousand leas.” | Lee : the part of something that provides shelter from the wind | “In a broad sense, lee means the sheltered side. A bird, flying over Mrs. Fitzgibbon’s garden, would notice something most of us would miss.” |
| leak vs. leek | Leak : to seep out | It was almost like she’d asked it so many times in her head that it leaked out. | Leek : a type of vegetable | They grow potatoes, onions, leeks, beans, and tomatoes. |
| lean vs. lien | Lean : to bend forward | But Nathaniel did, when he leaned down to look at the picture. | Lien : the right to keep somebody’s property until they pay the debt | “No man, it’s A lien!” said one of the other kids. |
| leased vs. least | Leased : past tense and past participle form of ‘lease’ – to rent | It stands there in the center while the rest of the vast, empty plate looks though it’s been leased out as a possible parking lot. | Least : to the smallest degree | Then I put five CDs in the changer behind my drums, put on my headphones, pressed shuffle, and played along with at least ten really loud metal songs in a row without stopping. |
| leaver vs. lever | Leaver : somebody who is leaving a place | “The acting is brilliant, but there is something almost cartoonish about the presentation of leavers.” | Lever : handle, knob, etc. | The children watched as the clockwork gears and levers inside the man began to engage. |
| levee vs. levy | Levee : a low wall built near a river | But right then, if you had asked me to build the levee all by myself, I wouldn’t have seen it as a problem. | Levy : tax | So despite the third levy tax looming large in everyone’s minds, people were looking in their purses and wishing they’d bought a little something, just in case the snow came early. |
| liar vs. lyre | Liar : somebody who tells a lie | Mia had already proved herself to be a liar and capable of more lies. | Lyre : a type of musical instrument | “Recited, actually. Poetry. He recited and kind of plucked at the lyre.” |
| lichen vs. liken | Lichen : a type of small plant | Around him soft bright moss curled up the yellow birches, lichens roughened the rocks, and crushed needles let go their piney scent. | Liken : to compare | I do not now, and I did not then, liken myself to Paul. |
| lie vs. lye | Lie : to tell a lie | Matthias hesitated a moment, then blurted out, “Brother Methuselah, tell me where Martin lies buried.” | Lye : a type of chemical | Insulting his bloodline is like throwing lye in his face. |
| links vs. lynx | Links : plural of ‘link’ – connection or relation | We’ve been working on this chain for weeks, churning out millions of links on our journey to six million. | Lynx : a cat-like wild animal | “His Patronus is a lynx, we saw it at the wedding, remember?” |
| literal vs. littoral | Literal : being the usual meaning of a word/phrase | “I mean it in the most literal sense.” | Littoral : coastal part of a country | Walled off from wet air by both the Andes and the Humboldt Current, the Peruvian littoral is astonishingly dry: the average annual precipitation is about two inches. |
| lo vs. low | Lo : used for calling attention to a surprising thing | They must have gone to a party and while the DJ was spinning records, they fell in love. | Low : near to the ground; not high | She tried to make her voice all low and quavery, but she just got to sound like old Pastor McClellan at Saint Andrew’s grumbling out a hymn. |
| load vs. lode | Load : weight | While an empty white box was being replaced by a loaded one, the little kid looked up at Palmer and said, “Are you a wringer?” | Lode : a line of metal in the ground/rock | First they ripped out the boards that covered the ancient fireplace, coming upon the rusty bricks like prospectors upon the mother lode. |
| loop vs. loupe | Loop : circle or loop | Camp 14 had cut Shin out of this propaganda loop, and he listened to the West’s counterpropaganda with the ears of a child” curious, confused, sometimes even bored, but always lacking in context. | Loupe : a small magnifying glass used by jewelers and watchmakers | He noted the distorted look of Kelly’s right eye as it appeared through his watchmaker’s loupe. |
| loot vs. lute | Loot : to rob shops, etc. after a riot | The huge plate-glass windows of the Stop & Shop have been broken for a couple of years, since people looted the store during a hunger riot. | Lute : a type of musical instrument | Smiling, I brought out my lute and brushed my hands over the strings. |
| lumbar vs. lumber | Lumbar : the lower part of the back | I am in my own personal happy jet”in a wide seat and with the perfect mix of cool and warm air and the little pillow positioned perfectly in my lumbar region. | Lumber : to move in a heavy way | She kept her distance when Cain lumbered toward the water jug on the table by the far wall, watching his every movement. |
| mach vs. mock | Mach : a unit for measurement of speed (1 Mach = speed of sound) | He invented a part of a threshing machine, better, cheaper, and more efficient than any in existence. | Mock : to laugh at somebody | His thin dark face had become animated, his eyes had lost their mocking expression and grown almost dreamy. |
| main vs. mane | Main : most important | Lee Scoresby wasn’t concerned for his comfort so much as for his instruments, and he spent some time making sure they were securely lashed to the main struts. | Mane : the long hair on the neck of some animals (horse, lion, etc.) | He shook his thick mane and ventured into the shallows to drink. |
| manner vs. manor | Manner : behavior | The very familiarity of his bad manners was a relief, because for a long time after the accident had happened, even Will’s best friends had acted differently around him. | Manor : a large country house | It is conveniently situated on one comer of the village square, a rather charming ivy-covered manor house capable of housing, I would suppose, thirty or so guests. |
| mare vs. mayor | Mare : a female donkey or horse | “There is no need to worry. Jewel is an experienced teacher,” Kaisa said, stroking the black mare’s neck. | Mayor : the head of a town | At the same time, the mayor had no appetite for negative publicity. |
| marital vs. martial vs. marshal | Marital : connected with wedding | The first thing he wanted to verify was Edith’s marital status. | Martial : connected with fighting | He saw the chauffeur, the martial arts instructor and Father. |
| marry vs. merry | Marry : to get married | “So…is that the only really big difference between the two worlds? Who your mom married? And then did that lead to all the other differences? What state they lived in, and…?” | Merry : cheerful | Between bites Daddy handed Ma a fat envelope and wished her a merry Christmas. |
| mask vs. masque | Mask : a covering for the face | Near the square are teams of masked and gloved people with horse-drawn carts. | Masque : a play that is written in verse | For the moment, movements in school hallways are dancelike, a procession of postures in a sexual masque. |
| meat vs. meet | Meat : animal’s or bird’s flesh that is eaten as food | I’m sure that if he were planted down in the middle of the desert, in half an hour he would have gathered together a supper of roast meat, dates, and wine. | Meet : to get together | I go up to the fourth floor to meet the other bassists. |
| meatier vs. meteor | Meatier : the comparative degree of ‘meat’ – containing meat | “Aaron,” I say, my heart thundering, my breath catching and turning into meatier and meatier coughs. | Meteor : a piece of rock in outer space | One week before the impact, Nature ran an article, “The Big Fizzle Is Coming,” predicting that the impact would constitute nothing more than a meteor shower. |
| metal vs. mettle | Metal : a type of solid mineral substance | His hair was as bright as the metal. | Mettle : bravery or courage | “The Trials are a test of my mettle. I might not know what’s in store, but must be prepared anyway. I must conquer my weaknesses and exploit competitors’ weaknesses. |
| mewl vs. mule | Mewl : to make a crying sound in a weak manner | We came upon a street that was a scene out of the infernal regions, each house afire, a lane where demonic citizens might walk, capes black, bonnets bulging, baskets filled with mewling roots. | Mule : a cross between horse and donkey | Our mule was running in circles, the cow was running toward the barn, and even the chickens took notice when the dust swirled around them. |
| mews vs. muse | Mews : a narrow street with a row of stables | Jon held her against a padded board that stretched from one side of the mews to the other. | Muse : to consider | “I wonder how she got that notch in her right ear?” she mused. |
| might vs. mite | Might : strength or power | Anyone might see through the watch business”it is a common enough device in detective stories. | Mite : a type of weapon | We can never see the legs of the scabies mite, but we can tell from the fact that it moves that it must have legs or something similar. |
| mind vs. mined | Mind : brain | intelligence | But now there was a question in my mind that had to be answered. | Mined : past tense and past participle form of ‘mine’ – to dig holes in the ground to obtain minerals | Even hundreds of years ago, they mined coal here. |
| miner vs. minor | Miner : a person who works in a mine | As I passed a line of miners walking to work, Mr. Dubonnet hailed me down. | Minor : small | Thousands of women have been sentenced to lengthy terms in prison for writing bad checks or for minor property crimes that trigger mandatory minimum sentences. |
| missed vs. mist | Missed : past tense and past participle form of ‘miss’ – to fail to achieve, hit, notice, see, etc. | It was possible he’d missed something, but he didn’t really think so. | Mist : haze or smog | Kaz’s mind stuttered and reeled, trying to explain what he was seeing as a cluster of mist became a cloak, boots, the pale flash of a face. |
| moan vs. mown | Moan : to make a long deep sound because of pain, pleasure, etc. | I hunch over the toilet moaning and hacking, but it won’t come so I wash my mouth out and get into bed. | Mown : past participle form of ‘mow’ – to cut grass, etc. with machine | I admired the long expanses of lawns mown in precise lines and the huge, graceful trees. |
| moat vs. mote | Moat : a deep wide channel around a castle | “Don’t drip on my desk. Don’t need a moat! Put your coats and hats over there. Good.” | Mote : a small piece of dust | Whole civilizations of motes are caught in the thick stripes of light beaming down from two high windows. |
| mode vs. mowed | Mode : form or style | These modes are easily performed on the xylophone and beautiful and interesting in their construction. | Mowed : past tense of ‘mow’ – to cut grass, etc. with machine | Women walked by us with baskets of corn upon their heads; men mowed wheat with scythes, followed closely by teams of gatherers. |
| mood vs. mooed | Mood : behavior | It’s not the lyrics or even the overall mood of the song. | Mooed : past tense and past participle form of ‘moo’ – (of the cow) to make a long deep sound | The oxen rolled their eyes, floundering, and mooed. |
| moor vs. more | Moor : to fasten | to tie up | Could be just a boat anchored on its mooring, farther away than I think. | More : additional or extra | Jam folded her arms, feeling more defensive than scared. |
| moose vs. mousse | Moose : a large deer | A large animal, he thought”perhaps a moose. | Mousse : a cold sweet dish | “And how’d you know all that stuff about chocolate mousse and raspberries?” |
| mordant vs. mordent | Mordant : unkind but amusing | The dwarf had been whetting the edge of his axe and making some mordant jest when Bronn spotted the banner the riders carried before them, the moon-and-falcon of House Arryn, sky-blue and white. | Mordent : a musical decoration | Brainy committees are continually evaluating the effectiveness and cost of doing various things in space, defense, energy, transportation, and the like, to give advice about prudent investments for the future. |
| murderess vs. murderous | Murderess : a female murderer | Either way, I am many things, a murderess just happens to be one of them. | Murderous : deadly | She throws a murderous glance my direction and goes back for my walker. |
| mustard vs. mustered | Mustard : a small plant that produces yellow flowers | When she declares that she can walk no farther, her father carries her off the road, traveling uphill through mustard flowers until they reach a field a few hundred yards from a small farmhouse. | Mustered : past tense and past participle form of ‘muster’ – to get together; to assemble | Chet mustered up the courage to make a noise that sounded like it could be an animal. |
| oar vs. or vs. ore | Oar : a long pole | No means of faring home are left him now; no ship with oars, and no ship’s company to pull him on the broad back of the sea. | Or : a conjunction | Ophie tried to imagine another woman just as mean and ornery as her and couldn’t. |
| odder vs. otter | Odder : strange | He was an odd man, and the things he told them were odder still. | Otter : a small animal | It made a lovely clinking sound on the rocks, and the otters squeaked with delight. |
| ode vs. owed | Ode : a poem | She hadn’t heard of odes or atmospheres before, but as she worked through the pages, these creatures took up residence in her mind. | Owed : past tense and past participle form of ‘owe’ – to be in debt | The new ruler of the gods owed Prometheus much for helping him conquer the other Titans, but he forgot his debt. |
| oh vs. owe | Oh : (an exclamation) used to show fear, joy, surprise, etc. | They had discovered the X ray, the cathode ray, the electron, and radioactivity, invented the ohm, the watt, the Kelvin, the joule, the amp, and the little erg. | Owe : to be in debt | This lack of artifice owes as much to the rousing arrangement of songs, which blend seamlessly together, as it does to Echevarri’s poignant narrative. |
| one vs. won | One : single | “There are so many ways for me to get killed,” Yossarian commented, “and you had to find one more.” | Won : past tense and past participle form of ‘win’ – to achieve, to succeed, etc. | Goldman’s rule won hands down in two directions: it was a whopping 70 percent better than the old method at recognizing the patients who weren’t actually having a heart attack. |
| ordinance vs. ordnance | Ordinance : decree | “I tell you,” said the policeman, “honestly I don’t know what the municipal ordinance about penguins is, with or without a leash, on the public streets. I’ll ask my sergeant.” | Ordnance : armaments | I rigged up my special effects, checked out the terrain, measured distances, collected the ordnance and equipment we’d need. |
| overdo vs. overdue | Overdo : to do something too much | I should be afraid she might overdo, if I didn’t know her “moral fit’ wouldn’t last long. | Overdue : not paid | The plaid suits with large collars, the bushy mustaches and overdue haircuts, and the thick knotted ties were all obviously stylish back when he went to Oxford but looked a little funny through contemporary eyes. |
| pa vs. paw | Pa : father | “Your pa was dead set on that dress. I figured”” | Paw : the foot of an animal that has claws/nails | This time it was Matthias’s turn to become excited and point a paw at his companion. |
| paced vs. paste | Paced : past tense and past participle form of ‘pace’ – to set the speed | I paced around in my hospital gown and socks, too tired and too wired to do anything but worry. | Paste : to stick two or more things using glue, etc. | to move text in a document | He will stand at his desk folding and pasting and cutting until twelve o’clock at night. |
| paean vs. peon | Paean : a song of praise or victory | “Atlanta is ours and fairly won,” was Sherman’s message to Mr. Lincoln, and that, coupled with the news from Mobile, sent the North into paeans of thanksgiving. | Peon : a low-ranked worker | I lived in the mine, in a wooden shack with a zinc roof that I built myself with the help of a few peons. |
| pain vs. pane | Pain : ache | He snarled faintly with pain and hatred when his shoulder was raked by the wicked claws of the excited cub, and made an attempt to struggle to his feet. | Pane : a single sheet of glass in a window | My eyes catch on a funny, rippling square hanging like a warped pane of glass in the air. |
| parity vs. parody | Parity : equality | It had taken Joseph Stalin’s physicists just four years to reach nuclear parity with the United States”about the time frame predicted by Robert Oppenheimer. | Parody : a comical copy of somebody’s acting, writing, music, etc. | Though his interaction with the Lilliputians wasn’t the strongest section, you would be hard pressed to find equally clever interplay of parody and originality. |
| passed vs. past | Passed : past tense and past participle form of ‘pass’ – to go or move | The bike was ripped from my hands and passed into the crowd, instantly gone, and then the hands were back and voices were shrieking and the hands were on Otto. | Past : just ended | history | The girls dressed to go after lunch while Crowell and I sat on the bed in his room and read the past performances of the horses and the predictions in the racing paper. |
| pearl vs. purl | Pearl : a jewel | The pearl ring on her left hand was cold against my palm. | Purl : a stitch that is used in knitting | When he sat in the grass and listened to the purling stream, the barriers set up in his mind by the stern day went down to ruin. |
| pail vs. pale | Pail : bucket | “There’s another brush in the pail in that corner. There by the strawberry red. Are you fast?” | Pale : light in color | In her coat against the black trees, her face looks paler and more frightened than he has ever seen it. |
| palate vs. palette vs. pallet | Palate : the top part of the inside of the mouth | Rubber bands now hooked my upper and lower palates together. | Palette : the colors used by a particular artist | The quadroon sat for hours before Edna’s palette, patient as a savage, while the housemaid took charge of the children, and the drawing room went undusted. |
Some Frequently Asked Questions
Homophones are words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings and often different spellings. Here are some examples of homophones with their meanings:
- To, too, two
- To: a preposition used to indicate direction or motion
- Too: also, or excessively
- Two: the number 2
Example: “I want to go to the store, too. Can you give me two apples?”
- Allowed, aloud
- Allowed: permitted, or given permission to do something
- Aloud: out loud, or spoken
Example: “The teacher allowed the students to read aloud in class.”
- Bear, bare
- Bear: a large mammal with shaggy fur and sharp claws
- Bare: uncovered or naked
Example: “The hiker saw a bear in the woods, but it was too far away to see if it was bare.”
- Brake, break
- Brake: a device used to slow or stop a vehicle or machine
- Break: to separate into pieces, or take a rest
Example: “You need to brake when you come to a stop sign, and then you can take a break when you arrive at your destination.”
- Here, hear
- Here: in this place, or at this location
- Hear: to listen or perceive sound
Example: “I can hear the birds singing here in the park.”
- Piece, peace
- Piece: a part of something, or a unit of something larger
- Peace: freedom from disturbance or conflict
Example: “The puzzle was missing a piece, and the family argued until they found it and made peace.”
These are just a few examples of the many homophones in the English language.
As far as I know, the term “homophones” only has one meaning, which refers to words that have the same pronunciation but different meanings and often different spellings. However, there is a related term called “homonyms” which can sometimes be used interchangeably with “homophones” but also has another meaning. Homonyms are words that have the same spelling and pronunciation but different meanings. For example, “bat” can refer to a flying mammal or a piece of sports equipment used to hit a ball.
While homophones only have the same pronunciation, homonyms have the same spelling and pronunciation, but can have different meanings. It’s important to keep in mind the distinction between homophones and homonyms when communicating in English, as using the wrong one in a sentence can change the meaning of what you’re trying to say.
The Future of Language Learning: How Technology is Revolutionizing Language Learning Applications
March 20, 2024
No Comments
The Future of Language Learning: How Applications for Learning English are Evolving Language learning has come a long way in recent years, thanks to the
Gamifying Language Learning: Fun Applications for Learning English
March 20, 2024
No Comments
Gamifying Language Learning: Fun Applications for Learning English Learning a new language can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be boring. Thanks
Discover the Power of Language Learning: Immerse Yourself in Culture with English Listening and Speaking
March 20, 2024
No Comments
Immerse Yourself in Culture: Discover the Power of Language Learning Learning a new language is an exciting journey that opens up a world of opportunities.
Discover the Power of Language Learning: Immerse Yourself in Culture with English Listening and Speaking
March 20, 2024
No Comments
Immerse Yourself in Culture: Discover the Power of Language Learning Learning a new language is an exciting journey that opens up a world of opportunities.
Can You Learn English Effectively with Applications for Learning English?
March 20, 2024
No Comments
Can You Learn English Effectively with Applications for Learning English? With the advancement of technology, learning English has become more accessible than ever. Gone are
Preparing for English Exams: Top Apps for Practice and Guidance
March 20, 2024
No Comments
Preparing for English Exams: Applications for Learning English that Offer Practice and Guidance When it comes to preparing for English exams, having access to the
- English Master
- March 25, 2023
- 2:33 am
- No Comments