Homophones and Other Frequently Confused Words
NOTE: This page is under construction. If you have suggestions for any of the undefined words, please e-mail me.
The following sets of
words are often especially confusing for beginning writing
students. Some students aren't even aware that they have
difficulties with these sets of words, and it's unfortunate that
the repeated misuse of these words can drastically change a paper's grade
for the worse. Make sure that you keep this from happening to
your papers' grades by knowing the difference between these
sets of words.
If you don't understand what the difference is between any of these
sets of words, use the link at the bottom of the page to access the
Merriam-Webster online dictionary. Commit to memory those
word sets that give you trouble, and avoid misusing them in
your writing at all costs.
HOMOPHONES: Words that sound alike, but are spelled differently
and have differing meanings.
accept/except -- Accept is a verb meaning "to receive." Except is a preposition
or conjunction that means "other than." As a verb, except means "to leave out."
affect/effect -- Affect is a verb meaning "to influence." Effect can
be a verb, meaning "to bring about," or a noun, meaning "result."
already/all ready -- All ready means "completely prepared." Already means
"by or before this or that time."
altar/alter -- To alter is a verb meaning "to change." Altar is a noun
meaning a sort of religious table.
any more/anymore
assure/ensure/insure -- Assure means "to tell confidently or to promise."
Ensure and insure can be used interchangeably to mean "to make certain," but
always use insure to mean "to protect people or property against loss."
bare/bear -- To bare is to disrobe or uncover. A bear is a large hairy mammal.
bazaar/bizarre -- A bazaar is a type of open-air market. Bizarre is an
adjective meaning "very strange."
board/bored -- A board is a flat piece of wood. To be bored is to feel as though your time is being wasted.
capital/capitol
cite/site/sight
coarse/course -- If something is rough or unmannered, it is coarse. A class or a planned route is a course.
complement/compliment -- A complement is something which completes or is compatible with something else. A compliment is a piece of praise.
council/counsel
discreet/discrete -- Discreet means "tactful", and discrete means "individual" or seperate".
due/do
elicit/illicit -- Elicit is a verb meaning "to draw out" or "to bring forth", and illicit is an adjective describing something that is illegal or prohibited.
emigrate/immigrate
eminent/imminent -- If someone is distinguished or prominent, he or she is eminent. If something is just about to happen, it's imminent.
everyday/every day -- Everyday is an adjective meaning commonplace or mundane, and every day is an adverbial phrase referring to the frequency with which something happens.
feet/feat -- The objects at the end of your legs are feet. If you have an
accomplishment or achievement, it's a feat.
fisher/fissure -- A man who catches fish is a fisher. A crack in a surface
is a fissure.
foul/fowl -- If something is unpleasant or bad, it it foul. If you want to
refer to poultry, use fowl.
its/it's -- It's is a contraction meaning "it is." Its is a possessive pronoun.
morning/mourning -- The first part of the day is morning. If you are
grieving after someone's death, then you are in mourning.
passed/past -- If you need a verb, use passed (I passed my math class). Past can work as a noun (You're living in the past), an adjective (In the past semester, I earned all A's), an adverb (I walked past the haunted house), or a preposition (I was awake past midnight).
pear/pare/pair -- A pear is a fruit, a pair is a set of two things, and to pare
is to trim (you can pare your fingernails, for instance.).
peace/piece -- The approximate opposite of war is peace. A portion of
something is a piece.
pray/prey -- If you speak devotedly to a deity, you pray. If something is hunted, it is prey.
principal/principle -- A principle is a guiding rule or fundamental truth. Principal can mean chief or most important, the head of an elementary or secondary school, or a sum of money lent or borrowed.
profit/prophet -- A prophet is someone who foresees and tells the future. A profit
is money that you make through some enterprise.
raign/rain/reign
reek/wreak
role/roll
sole/soul -- Sole means "only," and is also the proper word to refer to the bottoms of
feet. A soul is one's spirit or essence.
stationary/stationery -- If something is immovable or fixed in place, it's stationary. If you're writing a letter on paper, you're using stationery.
tenant/tenet
than/then -- If you're demonstating time order, use then (I ate breakfast and then I went to school.).
If you're making a comparison, use than (My dad is taller than your dad.).
their/they're/there -- Their is a possessive plural pronoun. They're is a contraction meaning they are. There is a
word indicating direction, as in "not over here, over there."
to/too/two -- The preposition is to (I'm going to the store), the number is two,
and if you want to use a word that means "also," use too.
who's/whose -- If you are asking "who is," use the contraction who's. If you
wish to use a possessive pronoun, use whose (as in "whose shoes are those?")
your/you're -- If you want the possessive form of "you", use your (I love your sweater). If you want to say "you are", use you're.
CONFUSING WORDS: Words that, for some reason,
frequently become confused in the mind of the freshman composition
student.
adapt/adopt
advice/advise -- Advice is a noun meaning "helpful opinion" or "counsel". If you advise someone, you give counsel or give advice (and I'm sure you sensed that advise is a verb).
adverse/averse -- Adverse means hostile, unfavorable, or difficult. Averse (generally followed by "to") indicates the opposition someone has to something (I'm averse to playing golf in adverse weather).
allusion/illusion -- An allusion is an indirect reference to something. An illusion is a false impression or misleading appearance (illusion is the word that you want if you're referring to a magic trick).
a lot/alot -- Alot isn't a word. Don't use it.
anecdote/antidote -- Got a funny story? It's an anecdote. Drank poison by mistake? Then you need an antidote -- and I'd hurry if I were you.
cloths/clothes -- Cloths are pieces of fabric. Clothes are articles of apparel, or what people wear.
contented/contended
defiant/definite
desert/dessert -- If you're eating something sweet after dinner, you're eating dessert. If you're in a place with a lot of sand and very little water, then you're in a desert.
for all intensive purposes/for all intents and purposes -- The correct phrase is for all intents and purposes (the other phrase is an incorrectly transcribed version of the correct phrase), but this phrase is unnecessary "filler" and should be avoided in academic writing.
formally/formerly -- When you wear a tuxedo or ball gown, you are dressed formally. If you're writing about the way things used to be, you're writing of how things were formerly.
good/well -- Good is an adjective (I love good food) and well is an adverb (I love to eat well).
homey/homely -- If a place is comfortable and like home, it's homey. If something is ugly or unattractive, it's homely.
idea/ideal
install/instill
precede/proceed
prostate/prostrate
real/really -- Real means "actual", "not fiction". Really is an intensifier (That baby's head is really big), but you should try to find more specific and descriptive phrasing (That baby's head is mythologically enormous).
renown/renowned
seize/cease -- If you stop doing something you cease doing it. If you grab something, you seize it.
social/societal
tenant/tenet
weary/wary
who/whom -- When you need a subject or nominative pronoun, use who (Who wrote this poem? Janet is the girl who wrote the poem). When you need an objective pronoun, use whom (To whom were you speaking?).
WORDS OFTEN WRITTEN AS MULTIPLE WORDS: These are words
that are often written as two or three seperate words, when they are
actually just one word.
anyway
flashback
however
masterpiece
nonetheless
overnight
standpoint
therefore
throughout
viewpoint
WORDS OFTEN MISTYPED: These are words that many people mistype, but the common "typo" is also a word in English (so spellchecking won't find these mistakes).
quiet -- quite
where -- were
from -- form
though -- thought
Links
Composition Class Homepage
Ms. Strong's Homepage
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary and Thesaurus
Email: kathy_strong@hotmail.com
