Commonly Confusable Words

Commonly Confusable Words

activate/actuate

admission/admittance

adverse/averse

advice/advise

affect/effect

allude/elude

alternate/alternative

ambiguous/ambivalent

appraise/apprise

arrant/errant

assign/attribute

assume/presume

attain/obtain

bail/bale

baited/bated

blatant/flagrant

bloc/block

born/borne

cache/cachet

carat/caret/carrot

cereal/serial

charted/chartered

cite/sight/site

complacent/complaisant

complement/compliment

compose/comprise

constant/continual/continuous/incessant

criticise/critique

cue/queue

decent/descent/dissent

decide/determine

delegate/relegate

deprecate/depreciate

desert/dessert

deserve/merit

diffuse/infuse/suffuse

discreet/discrete

discrepancy/disparity

disinterested/uninterested

dual/duel

effective/effectual/efficacious/efficient

elegy/eulogy

eminent/imminent/immanent

emulate/imitate

expedient/expeditious

extant/extinct

faint/feint

fandango/farrago/fiasco

faze/phase

fictional/fictitious

flare/flair

flaunt/flout

flaw/floor

flounder/founder

formally/formerly

font/fount

forbear/forebear

forego/forgo

foreword/forward

hear/here

historic/historical

hoard/horde

home in/hone

imply/infer

incidence/incident

insidious/invidious

instance/instant

invaluable/valuable

lead/led

leant/lent

lightening/lightning

literally/figuratively

luxuriant/luxurious

magnate/magnet

manner/manor

meat/meet/mete

militate/mitigate

mnemonic/pneumonic

moorish/moreish

oral/verbal

pair/pare

palatable/palpable

palate/palette/pallet/pellet

paramount/tantamount

peace/piece

peak/peek/pique

pore/pour

practicable/practical

precede/proceed

principal/principle

prise/prize

rack/wrack

raise/raze

rap/wrap

regime/regimen

reign/rein

régime/regimen

reluctant/reticent

riffle/rifle

scupper/scuttle

sewage/sewerage

simple/simplistic

sort/sought

sole/soul

sort/sought

spasmodically/sporadically

specious/spurious

stationary/stationery

straightened/straitened

strategic/tactical

substantial/substantive

tack/tact

throe/throw

tended/tendered

tenant/tenet

vain/vein

want/wont

while/wile

wreak [havoc]/wreck