Commonly Confused Words

Learning Objectives

 Identify commonly confused words.

 Use strategies to avoid commonly confused words.

Just as a mason uses bricks to build sturdy homes, writers use words to build successful
documents. Consider the construction of a building. Builders need to use tough, reliable
materials to build a solid and structurally sound skyscraper. From the foundation to the roof and
every floor in between, every part is necessary. Writers need to use strong, meaningful words
from the first sentence to the last and in every sentence in between.

Writers often confuse words that sound alike but have different meanings or words that have
similar meanings. Below are some of these frequently confused words. You need to be able to
select the appropriate word based on the context. Below is a list of frequently confused words
and meanings.

Words Often Confused

Accept To take
1.
Except Without

Affect To produce a result

2
Effect Result

Able Intelligent
3.
Capable Fit to do something

Accident Mishap
4.
Incident Happening; event

Ascent Going up
5
Assent Consent, approval

6 Auditor One who checks accounts

 Editor Of a newspaper, etc.

Admit To accept something

7
Confess To accept one’s fault or crime

Allusion Reference
8
Illusion False perception

Angel Heavenly creature

9
Angle Space between two lines

Award To give strictly according to justice

10
Reward To give the fruit of

Answer Respond to a question

11
Reply Respond to a letter, etc.

Aspire To desire
12
Expire To die or end

Bare Uncovered
13
Bear To tolerate

Beside By the side of

14
Besides In addition to

Beach Sea- shore

15
Beech A kind of tree

Birth Being born

16
Berth Seat

Brake Device to check speed

17
Break To shatter

18 Blunder Serious mistake

Mistake Error
 Check Control
19
Cheque Order for withdrawing on withdraw money from the bank

Childish Foolish like a child; used in a bad sense

20
Childlike Innocent like a child; used in a good sense

Career Life, course of life

21
Carrier That which carries

Calendar A table of days and months

22
Calendar To press cloth, paper etc.

Carat Measure of the purity of gold, pure gold being 24 carat

23
Carrot A vegetable

Cellar An underground room in a house

24
Seller One who sells

Coma A prolonged state of deep unconsciousness.

25
Comma Mark of punctuation

Complement To complete; something that completes

26
Compliment To admire; greetings

Continual Continuing with breaks

27
Continuous At a stretch

Crime A legal offense punished by law

28
Sin A religious offence

Credible Believable
29
Credulous Believing others easily

Cool Pleasant
30
Cold Unpleasant

31 Cattle Animals like buffaloes

 Kettle A utensil

Coarse Rough
32
Course Path; line of action

Cloth Unstitched cloth

33
Clothe Stitched dress

Dear Beloved
34
Deer A wild animal

Dairy A milk booth

35
Diary A note book

Die To pass away

36
Dye To colour

Dying Passing away

37
Dyeing The act of colouring

Desert A sandy tract

38
Deserts What one deserves

Discover To find out

39
Invention Making something new

Decease Death
40
Disease Illness

Draught Act of drinking

41
Drought Lack of rain

Envy In a good sense

42
Jealousy In a bad sense

Excuse For a small thing

43
Pardon For a serious thing

44 Expenditure Money spent

 Expenses Cost

Elder Senior relative

45
Older Only age factor

Exercise physical practice

46
Exorcise To drive out an evil spirit by magic or prayers

Facility Comfort
47
Felicity Happiness

Feat Trick
48.
Feet Plural of ‘foot’

Floor Lower surface of a room

49.
Flour Corn powder

Farmer Peasant
50.
Former First mentioned

Foul Unfair
51.
Fowl A kind of bird

Flee To run away

52.
Fly To soar

Gait Manner of walking

53.
Gate Main door

Grate Fire place

54.
Great Big

Hare Rabbit
55.
Heir Successor

Heal To cure
56.
Heel Back part of the foot or shoe
 House Building to live in
57.
Home Place for living

Hear Natural hearing

58.
Listen To hear attentively

Hamlet A small village

59.
Helmet Protective head covering worn by two wheeler drivers

Ideal Model; Perfect

60.
Idle Without work

Ice Frozen water

61.
Snow Natural frozen water

Ill Down with fever

62.
Sick Unwell

Knotty Difficult
63.
Naughty Mischievous

Later More late

64.
Letter Written message

Luxury Costly pleasure

65.
Comfort Ease

Mail Dak
66.
Male Masculine

Meat Flesh
67.
Meet To see a person

Meter An instrument for measurement

68.
Metre Measure of length
 Pain Trouble
79.
Pane A window glass

Pail A vessel
70.
Pale Yellow

Patrol To guard; to go round

71.
Petrol Motor oil

Pray To worship
72.
Prey Victim

Precedent Example for others

73.
President Highest man

Profit Gain
74.
Prophet A divine messenger

Quiet Silent
75.
Quite Completely

Recollect To call back to mind

76.
Remember To keep in memory

Right Privilege
77.
Rite Ceremony

Road Way or street

78.
Rod Stick

Role Part
79.
Roll Register

Sail To move on water

80.
Sale Act of selling
 Sensible Having good sense
81.
Sensitive Easily hurt

Stair One of the fixed steps

82.
Stare To look

Stationary Not moving

83.
Stationery Writing material

Story A tale
84.
Storey Floor of a house

Sweet Tasting like sugar

85.
Sweat Perspiration

Son Male child

86.
Sun Heavenly body giving light and warmth

Their Possessive case of a pronoun ‘they’

87.
There That place

Vacation Holidays
88.
Vocation Profession

Vain Proud
89.
Vein Blood vessels in the body

Waste To spend uselessly

90.
Waist Part of the body

Weak Infirm
91.
Week A period of seven days

Weather Atmosphere
92.
Whether If
 Wander Move about aimlessly
93.
Wonder To be surprised

Wait To look forward to; to expect

94.
Weight Burden

Wood Hard solid substance obtained from tree

95.
Woods Forest

96. Way Method

Weigh To measure weight

Yarn Thread for weaving

97.
Yearn To have a keen desire

Vale Valley
98
Veil Cover for the face

Strategies to Avoid Commonly Confused Words

When writing, you need to choose the correct word according to its spelling and meaning in the
context. Not only does selecting the correct word improve your vocabulary and your writing, but
it also makes a good impression on your readers. It also helps reduce confusion and improve
clarity. The following strategies can help you avoid misusing confusing words.

 Use a dictionary. Keep a dictionary at your desk while you write. Look up words when
you are uncertain of their meanings or spellings. Many dictionaries are also available
online, and the Internet’s easy access will not slow you down. Check out your cell phone
or smartphone to see if a dictionary app is available.
 Keep a list of words you commonly confuse. Be aware of the words that often confuse
you. When you notice a pattern of confusing words, keep a list nearby, and consult the
list as you write. Check the list again before you submit an assignment to your instructor.
 Study the list of commonly confused words. You may not yet know which words confuse
you, but before you sit down to write, study the words on the list. Prepare your mind for
working with words by reviewing the commonly confused words identified in this
chapter.

Choose the correct option and write it in the blank given below.
1. All the cricketers ____________ Sachin Tendulkar were present in the ground.
a. except
b. accept
2. He is a very ____________ manager.
a. capable
b. able

3. Drink and drive is the main cause of ____________

a. incident
b. accident

4. The criminal ____________ that he had killed his son in a fit of anger.
a. confessed
b. admitted

5. We will ____________ you for your success.

a. award
b. reward

6. I wrote many letters but he did not even ____________

a. answer
b. reply

7. The young boy ____________ after a long illness.

a. expired
b. aspired

8. She is sitting ____________ her husband.

a. besides
b. beside
9. I was lying on the lower ____________ in the train.
a. berth
b. birth

10. By ____________ I entered into the wrong room.

a. mistake
b. blunder

11. A ____________ of eleven thousand was rewarded to the winner.

a. check
b. cheque

12. Rajiv Gandhi had a brilliant ____________ as a politician.

a. carrier
b. career

13. We cannot use a ____________ at the end of a sentence.

a. come
b. comma

14. There has been ____________ rainfall for two weeks.

a. continuous
b. continual

15. Your story is not at all ____________

a. credible
b. credulous
16. It is always very ____________ in winter.
a. cold
b. cool

17. The milk is boiling in the ____________

a. cattle
b. kettle

18. My younger brother deals in ____________

a. clothe
b. cloth

19. Teacher noticed my address and contact number in her ____________

a. diary
b. dairy

20. Columbus ____________ America.

a. discovered
b. invented

21. Cancer is a deadly ____________

a. decease
b. disease

22. He is my ____________ brother.

a. older
b. elder
23. Bread is made from wheat ____________
a. flour
b. floor

24. Birds ____________ in the air.

a. flee
b. fly

25. Short women wear shoes with high ____________

a. heels
b. heal

26. ____________ to what he is saying.

a. Hear
b. Listen

27. My uncle’s coat is too ____________ to wear.

a. lose
b. loose

28. I sent you a ____________ yesterday.

a. male
b. mail

29. Vegetarians do not eat ____________

a. meet
b. meat
30. There is no gain without ____________
a. pain
b. pane

31. Policemen ____________ the streets at night.

a. petrol
b. patrol

32. We must ____________ to God for help.

a. prey
b. pray

33. The ____________ of India lives in the President House.

a. Precedent
b. President

34. The Buddha was a ____________ of peace.

a. profit
b. prophet

35. My daughter is ____________ happy after her marriage.

a. quite
b. quiet

37. The rickshaw puller was covered with ____________

a. sweet
b. sweat
38. He is in Japan. I went ____________ to see him.
a. their
b. there

39. He is too ____________ to walk at the moment.

a. week
b. weak

40. Radha is very fat. She must reduce her ____________

a. weight
b. wait

B. Fill in the blanks.

1. The gentle breeze ____________ over the ____________ water, (blue, blew)
2. I want you to ____________ this dress ____________ well that everybody likes it. (so, sew)
3. The thieves decided to ____________ the ____________ rods lying on the path. (steal, steel)
4. ____________ the ____________ is good or bad, we will set out on our journey. (Whether,
weather)
5. She ____________ ____________ cookies, (eight, ate)
6. She was ____________ so she decided to draw something on the black ____________.
(Board, bored)
7. They had a colourful ____________ for ____________. (sail, sale)