Commonly Confused Words
Pairs and sets of words that resemble one another in sound, spelling, or sense, each distinguished by meaning and correct use.
A–C
- ability / capacity
- abjure / adjure
- above / over
- abrogate / arrogate
- abstruse / obtuse
- accede / exceed
- accept / except
- access / excess
- accord / accordance
- accrue / incur
- across from / opposite
- acute / chronic
- adapt / adopt / adept
- adherence / adhesion
- adjacent / adjoining
- admission / admittance
- adventurous / adventuresome / adventuristic
- adverse / averse
- advice / advise
- aesthetic / ascetic
- affect / effect
- affective / effective
- afflict / inflict
- aged / age-old
- aggravate / irritate
- aid / aide
- allude / elude
- allude / refer
- allusion / illusion
- almost / most
- altar / alter
- alternate / alternative
- ambiguous / ambivalent
- amend / emend
- amiable / amicable / amenable
- among / between
- amoral / immoral
- amuse / bemuse
- anecdote / antidote
- anti / ante prefixes
- anticipate / expect
- anxious / eager
- apposite / opposite
- appraise / apprise
- apt / liable / likely
- arbiter / arbitrator / mediator
- artist / artiste
- ascent / assent
- assignment / assignation
- assume / presume
- assurance / insurance
- assure / ensure / insure
- astronomy / astrology
- attorney / lawyer
- auger / augur
- aught / naught / nought / ought
- aural / oral
- autonomy / autarky / autarchy
- avenge / revenge
- await / wait
- bail / bale
- baited / bated
- barbaric / barbarous / barbarian
- bare / bear
- bazaar / bizarre
- beside / besides
- biannual / biennial / semiannual
- bias / biased
- biweekly / bimonthly
- blackmail / extortion
- blatant / flagrant
- bloc / block
- blond / blonde
- boarder / border
- boor / bore
- born / borne
- bough / bow
- brake / break
- breach / breech
- bridal / bridle
- bring / take
- broach / brooch
- burglary / robbery / theft
- cache / cachet
- calendar / calender
- callous / callus
- cannon / canon
- canvas / canvass
- capital / capitol
- carat / caret / karat
- careen / career
- cavalry / Calvary
- cement / concrete
- censor / censure / censorious
- cereal / serial
- ceremonial / ceremonious
- childish / childlike
- chord / cord / accord
- cite / sight / site
- classic / classical
- clench / clinch
- climactic / climatic
- coarse / course
- collaborate / corroborate
- common / mutual
- compare to / compare with
- complement / compliment
- complementary / complimentary
- compose / comprise / comprised of
- concave / convex
- condole / console
- confidant / confident
- congenial / congenital
- connote / denote
- consequent / subsequent / consequent result
- contagious / infectious
- contemporary / contemporaneous
- contemptible / contemptuous
- continual / continuous
- convince / persuade
- core / corps / corpse
- council / counsel
- councilor / counselor
- credible / creditable / credulous
- cue / queue
- currant / current
Also covers commonly confused words
- a / an
- a historic / an historic
- a while / awhile
- abide / abided / abode
- advisor / adviser
- all ready / already
- all together / altogether
- along with / together with
- also / too / as well placement
- amount / number
- analog / analogue
- any more / anymore
- any one / anyone
- any way / anyway
- anybody / anyone agreement
- as / like
- awake / awaken / wake / waken
- awful / awesome
- backup / back up
- backward / backwards
- bad / badly
- because / since / as
- because of / because
- better than any / any other
- bit / bitten
- broadcast / broadcasted
- burned / burnt
- can / may
- cannot / can not
- checkout / check out
- comparison: as … as / than
- could of / could have
- criterion / criteria: number and agreement
- currently / presently
D–H
- dairy / diary
- decent / descent / dissent
- definite / definitive
- defuse / diffuse
- delegate / relegate
- delusion / illusion
- demur / demure
- dependent / dependant
- deprecate / depreciate
- desert / dessert
- device / devise
- diagnosis / prognosis
- differ from / differ with
- different from / different than / different to
- disassemble / dissemble
- disburse / disperse
- discreet / discrete
- disinterested / uninterested
- distinct / distinctive
- dosage / dose
- dual / duel
- due to / because of
- eatable / edible
- economic / economical
- effective / efficient
- egoism / egotism
- elder / older
- elicit / illicit
- elusive / illusive
- emigrate / immigrate / migrate
- eminent / imminent / immanent
- emotive / emotional
- empathy / sympathy
- empty / vacant
- endemic / epidemic / pandemic
- entitled / titled
- entomology / etymology
- envelop / envelope
- enviable / envious
- envy / jealousy
- epigram / epigraph / epitaph / epithet
- equable / equitable
- erupt / irrupt
- especially / specially
- essay / assay
- euphemism / euphuism
- evidence / proof
- evoke / invoke
- exacerbate / exasperate
- exalt / exult
- explicit / implicit
- extant / extent
- facetious / factious / fictitious
- faint / feint
- fair / fare
- farther / further
- fatal / fateful
- faze / phase
- fearful / fearsome
- feasible / possible
- fiance / fiancee
- fictional / fictitious
- flair / flare
- flammable / inflammable
- flaunt / flout
- flounder / founder
- forbear / forebear
- forcible / forceful
- forego / forgo
- foreword / forward
- formally / formerly
- former / latter
- forth / fourth
- fortuitous / fortunate
- foul / fowl
- gait / gate
- gamut / gauntlet
- gibe / jibe / jive
- gorilla / guerrilla
- gourmet / gourmand
- grisly / gristly / grizzly
- hail / hale
- healthy / healthful
- historic / historical
- hoard / horde
- hole / whole
- homogeneous / homogenous
- human / humane
- hyperthermia / hypothermia
Also covers commonly confused words
- data / datum / data point
- dice / die
- dive / dived / dove
- double comparative / double superlative
- double copula / is is
- drank / drunk
- dreamed / dreamt
- drunk / drunken
- each other / one another
- enormity / enormousness
- enquire / inquire
- enslaved person / slave
- enthuse / enthused
- every day / everyday
- every one / everyone
- expletive it / anticipatory it
- few / a few / quite a few
- fewer / less
- fit / fitted
- forecast / forecasted
- gender / sex
- gerund / infinitive after verbs
- good / well
- got / gotten
- hanged / hung
- hardly / scarcely
- homograph / homophone / homonym
- hove / heaved
I–O
- ignorant / stupid
- illegal / illicit
- impassable / impassible
- imperial / imperious
- imply / infer
- incidence / incidents
- incredible / incredulous
- inculcate / indoctrinate
- indict / indite
- informant / informer
- ingenious / ingenuous
- inhuman / inhumane
- injured / damaged
- insidious / invidious
- instinct / intuition
- intense / intensive
- inter / intern
- internment / interment
- its / it’s
- jam / jamb
- judicial / judicious
- last / past week
- later / latter
- lead / led
- learn / teach
- lend / loan
- lessee / lessor
- liable / likely
- libel / slander
- lightening / lightning
- loath / loathe
- loose / lose
- luxuriant / luxurious
- mantel / mantle
- marital / martial
- masterful / masterly
- material / materiel
- meretricious / meritorious
- metal / mettle
- miner / minor
- moral / morale
- mucus / mucous
- nauseated / nauseous
- naval / navel
- noisome / noisy
- notable / notorious
- official / officious
- on behalf of / in behalf of
- oral / verbal
- ordinance / ordnance
- overt / covert
Also covers commonly confused words
P–Z
- passed / past
- patience / patients
- peace / piece
- peak / peek / pique
- pedal / peddle
- peer / pier
- penultimate / ultimate
- perpetrate / perpetuate
- perquisite / prerequisite
- personal / personnel
- perspective / prospective
- perspicacious / perspicuous
- pore / pour
- practicable / practical
- pray / prey
- precede / proceed
- precedence / precedents
- premier / premiere
- prescribe / proscribe
- principal / principle
- prostate / prostrate
- purposely / purposefully
- quiet / quite
- raise / raze
- rational / rationale
- ravage / ravish
- rebut / refute
- regimen / regiment / regime
- regretful / regrettable
- reign / rein
- reluctant / reticent
- respectfully / respectively
- restive / restless
- retch / wretch
- rifle / riffle
- right / rite / write
- role / roll
- seasonable / seasonal
- seeing as / seeing that
- sensuous / sensual
- sew / sow
- shear / sheer
- simple / simplistic
- sleight / slight
- sole / soul
- stationary / stationery
- statue / statute / stature
- straight / strait
- strategy / tactics
- supposedly / supposably
- taut / taught
- than / then
- their / there / they’re
- thorough / through / threw
- to / too / two
- tortuous / torturous
- track / tract
- trooper / trouper
- turbid / turgid
- unexceptionable / unexceptional
- venal / venial
- veracious / voracious
- wait on / wait for
- waive / wave
- warrantee / warranty
- wary / weary
- weather / whether
- who’s / whose
- wreath / wreathe
- yoke / yolk
- your / you’re
Also covers commonly confused words
- participle / participial phrase
- phenomena / phenomenon
- plead / pleaded / pled
- preventive / preventative
- pronoun case after than / as
- proved / proven
- raise / rise
- restrictive / nonrestrictive clauses
- ring / rang / rung
- sank / sunk
- set / sit
- set up / setup
- shall / will
- shine / shined / shone
- showed / shown
- shrank / shrunk
- sign up / signup / sign-up
- slay / slew / slain / slayed
- smelled / smelt
- snuck / sneaked
- some time / sometime / sometimes
- sort of / sorta
- spelled / spelt
- spilled / spilt
- spoiled / spoilt
- sprang / sprung
- stank / stunk
- storey / story
- strive / strove / striven / strived
- suppose to / supposed to
- swim / swam / swum
- that / which in relative clauses
- there is / there are
- thou / you historical
- thrive / thrived / throve
- till / until / ’til
- toward / towards
- try and / try to
- username / user name
- waked / woke / woken
- where / that / in which in relative clauses
- while / whilst
- who / whom
- whoever / whomever
- wove / weaved
- you and I / you and me