__________ is being careful not to offend or slight anyone with our behavior.

abhorrent/ aberrant

Abhorrent describes something truly horrible like finding a dead rat in your soup, but something aberrant is just abnormal, like a cat in a pink fedora. Continue reading...

accept/ except

To accept is to receive, and except is to exclude, usually. Both are busy little words skipping around to different meanings, but they never run into each other. Continue reading...

ado/ adieu

An ado is a fuss, and adieu is French for farewell. They sound similar but aren't exactly twins. Ado sounds like "uh-doo" and adieu is like "a-dyoo," you know, in a cool French accent. Continue reading...

adopt/ adapt

"Adopt, adapt, and improve," says the thief in a Monty Python skit when he robs a lingerie shop instead of a bank. Adopt is to take something over, and to adapt is to change something to suit your needs. It's helpful advice when you ask for money and get a pair of granny panties. Continue reading...

adverse/ averse

Adverse and averse are both turn-offs, but adverse is something harmful, and averse is a strong feeling of dislike. Rainstorms can cause adverse conditions, and many people are averse to rain. Continue reading...

affect/ effect

Choosing between affect and effect can be scary. Think of Edgar Allan Poe and his RAVEN: Remember Affect Verb Effect Noun. You can't affect the creepy poem by reading it, but you can enjoy the effect of a talking bird. Continue reading...

afflict/ inflict

Both afflict and inflict cause pain, but afflict means to cause suffering or unhappiness, something a disease does, but inflict means to force pain or suffering, like if you smack someone upside the head. Continue reading...

aggravate/ irritate

Aggravate means to make something worse, and irritate is to annoy. But if you use aggravate to mean "annoy," no one will notice. That battle has been lost in all but the most formal writing. Continue reading...

allot/ a lot

To allot is to divvy up. You might allot a few hours of your day to study for a test. The words a lot refer to a large amount. If you're taking a hard class, you'll need to allot a lot of hours to study! Continue reading...

allowed/ aloud

If you're allowed to eat cookies after dinner but your brother isn't, don't say it aloud. To be allowed to do something is to have permission, but to say something aloud is to speak it. Continue reading...

allude/ elude

Allude is coy, to allude is to refer to something in an indirect manner. But elude's favorite thing to do is hide from the cops; it means "to evade." Because the accent is on the second syllable in both words, it's easy to get them mixed up. Continue reading...

allusion/ illusion/ delusion

Novelists, magicians, and other tricksters keep these words busy. Novelists love an allusion, an indirect reference to something like a secret treasure for the reader to find; magicians heart illusions, or fanciful fake-outs; but tricksters suffer from delusions, ideas that have no basis in reality. Continue reading...

alter/ altar

To alter is to change, as in to alter a skirt that's too long or alter your outdoor plans if it rains. An altar is a place that serves as a center of worship. Continue reading...

alternate/ alternative

To alternate is to take turns; an alternative is an option. When you wear your checkered blazer, the black and white squares alternate. But if you're not feeling like an '80s guitar hero, the green plaid jacket is a nice alternative. Continue reading...

ambiguous/ ambivalent

Something ambiguous is unclear or vague, like the end of a short story that leaves you scratching your head. But if you're ambivalent about something, you can take it or leave it. Whatever. Continue reading...

amicable/ amiable

Amicable refers to a friendliness or goodwill between people or groups. Amiable refers to one person's friendly disposition. A group might have an amicable meeting, because the people there are amiable. Continue reading...

amoral/ immoral

Both have to do with right and wrong, but amoral means having no sense of either, like a fish, but the evil immoral describes someone who knows the difference, doesn't care, and says "mwah ha ha" while twirling a mustache. Continue reading...

amuse/ bemuse

People often use the word bemuse when they mean amuse, but to amuse is to entertain, and to bemuse is to confuse. In Alice in Wonderland, the White Rabbit amuses Alice as he frolics, but then the Cheshire Cat bemuses her when he tells her to go two directions at once. Continue reading...

anecdote/ antidote

An anecdote is a funny little story; an antidote counteracts poison. Tell someone an anecdote about your close encounter with a rattlesnake and how the cute park ranger had to get you the antidote for snake venom right away. Continue reading...

appraise/ apprise

To appraise is to estimate the value of something, but remove the second "a," and you have apprise, which means "to tell." If you hire someone to appraise your house, you might have to apprise your family of the fact that you now owe the bank more than your house is worth. Continue reading...

ascent/ assent

Assent refers to agreement, while an ascent is a climb. Before we make our way to the top of Mount Everest, we need to make sure our guides assent to our ascent. Continue reading...

assume/ presume

Assume and presume both mean to believe something before it happens, but when you assume you're not really sure. If someone bangs on your door in the middle of the night, you might assume it's your crazy neighbor. If your neighbor knocks on your door every night at 6:30, at 6:29 you can presume she's coming over in a minute. Continue reading...

assure/ ensure/ insure

Although these three often show up at the same party, giving hugs, they're not the same, thank you very much. To assure is to tell someone everything's ok, to ensure is to make certain, and to insure is to protect financially. Have it straight now? Are you sure? Continue reading...

aural/ oral/ verbal

Aural refers to the ear or hearing, and oral to the mouth or speaking. Something verbal is expressed in words, either spoken or written. Listen to the aural sensations of songs from outer space when you've been gassed for your oral surgery. Then stay non-verbal because you can't use words for a long time after the dentist wakes you up. Continue reading...

aver/ avow

To aver is to affirm and to avow is to openly declare. There's some overlap with these words because when people want to aver something — state a truth — they probably also want to avow it — say it publicly. Continue reading...

bare/ bear

Bare means naked, but to bear is to carry something. A bear is also a brown furry animal, but most people keep that one straight. Continue reading...

bazaar/ bizarre

Bazaar and bizarre might sound alike but a bazaar is a market and bizarre describes something kooky. There could be a bizarre bazaar run by monkeys selling people feet. Continue reading...

border/ boarder

A border is an outer edge around something like a puzzle or a country. Add an "a" and a boarder is a person who pays to live and eat somewhere, like boarding school. Continue reading...

breach/ breech

If you break a contract, it's a breach. If you're talking about pantaloons or feet-first babies, use breech with a double "e." Continue reading...

bridal/ bridle

Bridal is related to a bride, but bridle refers to a part of a horse's harness and what you do with it. Although the words sound the same, they run in different circles unless you're getting a horse ready for her wedding. Continue reading...

broach/ brooch

To broach a subject is to bring it up. A brooch is a decorative pin. These words sound exactly the same! They rhyme with "coach." Both come from a word root meaning "something pointy," but the spelling brooch branched off as a word for the piece of jewelry. Continue reading...

callus/ callous

These words sound the same, but they're not. A callus is a rough patch of skin. Add an "o" for "offensive" and you get callous, an adjective meaning "insensitive to the feelings of others." Continue reading...

cannon/ canon

Cannon, with two n's, is a long heavy gun on wheels. Lose an n and the word canon is a set of rules or traditions. If you thought these words were spelled the same, you're not wrong: they used to be. Continue reading...

chord/ cord

Chord and cord sound the same, but a chord is three or more notes played together while a cord is basically a thick string. You strum a chord, but you tie a cord. Continue reading...

cite/ site/ sight

All are good for research papers: cite is short for citation, site is a place, and sight is what your eyeballs are for. The Web has a lot to answer for, good and bad. One item in the minus column is the increased popularity of site and people throwing these sound-alikes all over the place! Continue reading...

climactic/ climatic

Climactic describes the high point, the most intense part of a movie, play, song, or, well, anything. Climatic refers to the climate, like the climatic changes that turned Santa's workshop into a sauna for elves. Continue reading...

complement/ compliment

Both are awesome on a first date — complement means to complete something, and a compliment is flattering. If you feel you and your new friend complement each other, maybe it's because he's been giving you so many compliments like when he says you look like a supermodel. Continue reading...

compose/ comprise

Compose is to make up a whole, and comprise is to contain parts. Poodles compose the dog class because the class comprises poodles. The parts compose the whole, and the whole comprises the parts. Confused? Everybody else is! Continue reading...

concurrent/ consecutive

Bad guys don't like these words because they often describe jail terms: concurrent means at the same time, and consecutive means one after the other in a series. Con artists would rather serve concurrent terms and get them over with, instead of consecutive ones. Continue reading...

confident/ confidant(e)

Confident is how you feel on a good hair day, but a confidant is the person you tell when you're secretly wearing a wig. It's no wonder that these words are so easily confused: they were once both confident. Continue reading...

connotation/ denotation

A connotation is the feeling a word invokes. But take note! A denotation is what the word literally says. If these words were on a trip, connotation would be the baggage, and denotation would be the traveler. Continue reading...

connote/ denote

Don't let the rhyme fool you — to connote is to imply a meaning or condition, and to denote is to define exactly. Connote is like giving a hint, but to denote is to refer to something outright. Continue reading...

conscious/ conscience

Both words have to do with the mind, but it's more important to be conscious, or awake, than conscience, or aware of right and wrong. Remain conscious while listening to your friend's moral dilemma so you can use your conscience to give good advice. Continue reading...

contemptible/ contemptuous

Something contemptible is worthy of scorn, like the contemptible jerk who's mean to your sister; but contemptuous is full of it, like the contemptuous look you give that guy as he speeds away in his gas guzzler. Continue reading...

continual/ continuous

The words continual and continuous are like twins: they both come from continue, but they get mad if you get them confused. Continual means start and stop, while continuous means never-ending. Continue reading...

correlation/ corollary

A correlation is exactly what it sounds like: a co-relation, or relationship — like the correlation between early birds waking up and the sun rising. But corollary is more like a consequence, like the corollary of the rooster crowing because you smacked it in the beak. Both words love the math lab but can hang with the rest of us, too. Continue reading...

council/ counsel

A council is meeting for discussion or advice, but to counsel is a verb meaning to give advice. They sound exactly the same, but the language council met and decided to counsel you on how to keep them straight. Continue reading...

decent/ descent/ dissent

Decent is all buttoned up. Descent has all the fun because it gets to climb down a mountain. Dissent is what you do when the glee club wants to get matching red outfits but you like purple. Continue reading...

definitely/ definitively

Use definitely and definitively when there's no doubt, but save definitely for emphasis and definitively for the final say. If you definitely want to go to a party, but your mom definitively says no, then you aren't going. Quit asking. Continue reading...

demur/ demure

To demur is to show reluctance or to hesitate, like not quite getting in the car when someone opens the door, but demure isalways an adjective describing a modest, reserved, or shy person, and sounds like the mew of a tiny kitten. Continue reading...

desert/ dessert

A desert is a hot and dry place like the Sahara, but add an s and some whipped cream and you have a dessert, a sweet treat to eat. Dessert has two s's because you always want two. (If you prefer two arid ecosystems, that's on you.) Continue reading...

didactic/ pedantic

Both words relate to teaching, but didactic teaches a lesson and pedantic just shows off the facts. Continue reading...

disassemble/ dissemble

Disassemble is to take something apart, like an old car motor, but dissemble is sneaky — it means to hide your true self, like the guy who said he was a mechanic but had never actually seen a motor, much less put one back together. Continue reading...

discomfit/ discomfort

To discomfit is to embarrass someone. Say it with a Southern accent while sipping sweet tea. Discomfort is a noun meaning uncomfortable, like the feeling you get when you realize you put salt instead of sugar in Mama's tea. Continue reading...

discreet/ discrete

Discreet means on the down low, under the radar, careful, but discrete means individual or detached. They come from the same ultimate source, the Latin discrētus, for separated or distinct, but discreet has taken its own advice and quietly gone its separate way. Continue reading...

disillusion/ dissolution

To disillusion someone is to rid her of an illusion, like lifting up the curtain to show that the wizard is just a man. Dissolution, on the other hand, is when everything falls apart. Both are disappointing. Continue reading...

disinterested/ uninterested

If you’re disinterested, you’re unbiased; you’re out of the loop. But if you’re uninterested, you don’t give a hoot; you’re bored. These two words have been duking it out, but the battle may be over for uninterested. Heavyweight disinterested has featherweight uninterested on the ropes. Continue reading...

disperse/ disburse

To disperse is to scatter, and to disburse is to pay. Don't get them mixed up — you don't want your money to disperse! Continue reading...

dual/ duel

Seeing double? Not quite! Dual is two, or double, but a duel is a fight. If you’re getting sick of your fair-weather friend’s dual personality, perhaps you should throw down your glove and challenge him to a duel at high noon. Continue reading...

economic/ economical

Economic is all about how money works, but something economical is a good deal. You might take an economic studiesclass to understand the ebb and flow of cash in the world, but if you buy a used textbook for it, you’re being economical. Continue reading...

elusive/ illusive

An elusive fairy is one you can't catch, but an illusive one was never really there at all. It was just an illusion! Continue reading...

emigrate/ immigrate/ migrate

Going somewhere? Emigrate means to leave one's country to live in another. Immigrate is to come into another country to live permanently. Migrate is to move, like birds in the winter. Continue reading...

eminent/ imminent

No, it's not the name of the latest rapper from Detroit — eminent describes anyone who's famous. But imminent refers to something about to happen, like the next big thing's imminent rise to the top. These two words sound the same to some, but they're unrelated. Continue reading...

eminent/ imminent/ immanent

No, it's not the name of the latest rapper from Detroit, but it could describe one — eminent describes anyone who's famous. Imminent refers to something about to happen. And anything immanent (with an "a" in there) is inherent, like that good attitude you were born with. Continue reading...

empathy/ sympathy

Empathy is heartbreaking — you experience other people’s pain and joy. Sympathy is easier because you just have to feel sorry for someone. Send a sympathy card if someone’s cat died; feel empathy if your cat died, too. Continue reading...

endemic/ epidemic

Endemic and epidemic are both words that diseases love, but something endemic is found in a certain placeand is ongoing, and epidemic describes a disease that’s widespread. Continue reading...

entitle/ title

To entitle means to give someone a rank or right, like if your perfect attendance entitles you to free ice cream at lunch. A title is the name of something, like the title of a song you wrote about ice cream. Continue reading...

entomology/ etymology

Don’t bug out! Entomology is the study of insects, but etymology is the study of words. They sound similar and both end in -logy, which means “the study of,” but don’t mix them up unless you like completely confusing people. Continue reading...

envelop/ envelope

To envelop is to surround something completely. But an envelope is a piece of paper you put your love note in and lick to seal. With enVElop, the accent is on the second syllable, while with ENvelope, the accent is on the first. Continue reading...

envy/ jealousy

It’s no fun to feel envy or jealousy because both make you feel inadequate. Envy is when you want what someone else has, but jealousy is when you’re worried someone’s trying to take what you have. If you want your neighbor’s new convertible, you feel envy. If she takes your husband for a ride, you feel jealousy. Continue reading...

epidemic/ pandemic

A pandemic is like an epidemic on steroids. Both are words for a widespread disease, but a pandemic can spread across continents, while an epidemic affects a smaller population. An epidemic disease can originate in one area but grow to be a pandemic as it infects people all over the world. Continue reading...

epigram/ epigraph

An epigram is a little poem or clever statement, but an epigraph is a specific kind of epigram: a witty statement that's inscribed somewhere, such as on a building or at the beginning of a chapter or book. Continue reading...

epitaph/ epithet

An epitaph is written on a tombstone. An epithet is a nickname or a description of someone. Halloween graves often combine them: “Here lies Fearsome Frank, who bet that he could rob a bank. Continue reading...

especially/ specially

The words especially and specially, have just a hair's breadth of difference between them. Both can be used to mean "particularly." Continue reading...

exalt/ exult

To exalt, means to glorify or elevate something, but to exult is to rejoice. Exalt your favorite pro-wrestler, Jesus, or your status in the world. Exult when you get the last two tickets to see your favorite band. Continue reading...

exercise/ exorcise

While both words can refer to ways to get rid of something — belly fat, Satan — that's where the similarities end. Exercise is physical activity but to exorcise is to cast out evil. Continue reading...

expedient/ expeditious

Something expedient is helpful to you. If you vote your friend in for student body president just because you know she'll hook you up — that's an expedient choice. But expeditious is speedy, like your expeditious exit from the school cafeteria after you spilled spaghetti and meatballs all over your shirt. Continue reading...

extant/ extent

They sounds similar and both have exes, but extant means “still here,” and extent refers to “the range of something.” People get them mixed up to a certain extent. Continue reading...

facetious/ factious/ fatuous

The word facetious describes something you don't take seriously. Remove the middle "e," and factious describes a dissenting group. And finally there's fatuous, which is a fancy way to say dumb. Continue reading...

factious/ fractious

Feeling factious? If so, you disagree and are ready to break away. Add an "r" and you have the word fractious, which means irritated and annoyed. People get these words mixed up because if someone is factious, or rebellious, they're probably also fractious, or mad. Continue reading...

faint/ feint

Anything faint is barely there, but a feint is a fake out. If your understanding of these words is still somewhat faint, never fear! Just keep reading... Continue reading...

farther/ further

Use the word farther when you mean physical distance, like if you run farther than your friend. Use further for basically everything else. Further refers to abstractions like ideas or thoughts. Continue reading...

faze/ phase

To faze is to disturb, bother, or embarrass, but a phase is a stage or step. It could faze your family if your princess phase lasts well into your college years. Continue reading...

ferment/ foment

When change is a brewin', remember: to ferment is to cause a chemical change to food or drink, like turning grapes into wine, but to foment is to stir up trouble, like turning a group of people into an angry mob. Continue reading...

fictional/ fictitious/ fictive

Fictional, fictive, and fictitious all branch off the "fiction" tree, but fictional is literary, fictive is specific, and fictitious is just plain fake. Continue reading...

figuratively/ literally

Figuratively means metaphorically, and literally describes something that actually happened. If you say that a guitar solo literally blew your head off, your head should not be attached to your body. Continue reading...

flair/ flare

Flair is a talent for something, like what the pro-wrestler Nature Boy Ric Flair had back in the day. Flare is on a candle or the shape of bell-bottoms that kids rocked back in the heyday of wrastlin’. Continue reading...

flaunt/ flout

Flaunt is to show off, but flout is to ignore the rules. Rebels do both — they flaunt their new pink motorcycles by popping a wheelie, and flout the law by running a red light. Continue reading...

flounder/ founder

To flounder is to struggle, but to founder is to sink like a stone and fail. Both are fun as nouns, not so fun as verbs. Continue reading...

formerly/ formally

Formerly is something that happened before, like when a pop star changed his name to a squiggle, he became known as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince. But formally comes from formal, or fancy, like the prom. Continue reading...

formidable/ formative

Formidable describes a foe you're slightly afraid of, but formative describes what formed you. Perhaps a formidable gym teacher told you to get the lead out during your formative years in grade school, and now you're a world-class athlete. (Or a bookworm, depending on how you react to formidable foes.) Continue reading...

fortunate/ fortuitous

Get our your lucky rabbit’s foot! Fortunate is lucky, but fortuitous means by chance or accident. Silly rabbit, these words aren’t the same. Continue reading...

gambit/ gamut

A gambit is a kind of sacrifice, while a gamut is a range. Your offer to do more chores might be a gambit to get a higher allowance — but if your parents simply pile on more tasks without offering more cash, your feelings might run the gamut from sad to angrily disappointed. Continue reading...

gibe/ jibe

To gibe is to sneer or heckle, but to jibe is to agree. Funny thing is, though, jibe is an alternate spelling of gibe, so surprise! People get them mixed up. Continue reading...

gig/ jig

Gig with a hard "g" is a job. Jig, on the other hand, is a dance. The kind a band might do when they land a gig headlining Madison Square Garden. Continue reading...

gorilla/ guerrilla

You might see a gorilla in a zoo, but a guerrilla (sometimes spelled with one “r”), is someone who belongs to a group of independent fighters. If you remember your high school Spanish, you’ll know the difference. Continue reading...

grisly/ gristly/ grizzly

Blood, guts, and man-eaters, oh my! Faint of heart turn back now! Grisly means relating to horror or disgust, gristly means related to gristle or cartilage, and grizzly is a big ol' bear. That can eat you. Continue reading...

hale/ hail

Hale describes someone hearty and healthy. Rarr. All hail the next word! To hail is to greet enthusiastically. And when it hails, ice falls from the sky and hits those hale people on the head. Continue reading...

healthful/ healthy

Healthful describes something that will create good health, like apples, yoga, and fresh air. Healthy describes someone fit, trim, and utterly not sick. Continue reading...

hero/ protagonist

A hero is the firefighter who pulls you out of a burning car. The protagonist is the main character in the story you write about it. Continue reading...

historic/ historical

Something historic has a great importance to human history. Something historical is related to the past. People with big egos get them mixed up if they say they had a historic family background. Unless they helped win a war, it was probably just historical. Continue reading...

hoard/ horde

To hoard is to squirrel stuff away, like gold bricks or candy wrappers. A horde is a crowd of people, usually, but it can also be a gang of mosquitoes, robots, or rabid zombie kittens. Continue reading...

homonym/ homophone/ homograph

This word set can be confusing, even for word geeks. Let's start with the basics. A homograph is a word that has the same spelling as another word but has a different sound and a different meaning. Continue reading...

hone/ home

To hone is to sharpen a knife or perfect a skill. Home is where you live, where your stuff is, is where the heart is, and all that. Continue reading...

imply/ infer

Imply and infer are opposites, like a throw and a catch. To imply is to hint at something, but to infer is to make an educated guess. The speaker does the implying, and the listener does the inferring. Continue reading...

incredible/ incredulous

Incredible describes something you can’t believe because it’s so right, like an incredible double rainbow. Incredulous describes how you feel when you can’t believe something because it’s so wrong, like when someone tells you leprechauns left two pots of gold. Continue reading...

indeterminate/ indeterminable

Understanding the nuances of this word pair, indeterminate and indeterminable, hinges on understanding the words' parts. The root word, determine, means to establish something. Continue reading...

indict/ indite

If you're using indite to talk about people being formally accused of lawbreaking, you're using the wrong word: it's indict. Continue reading...

inflammable/ inflammatory

Inflammable and inflammatory can be confused with one another, but they also offer their own source of confusion with the prefix in-. Continue reading...

ingenious/ ingenuous

Anything ingenious is smart and clever, but ingenuous means innocent and naive. The ingenious villain in your favorite comic book series might come up with diabolical plots, while the ingenuous heroine doesn't suspect a thing. Continue reading...

insidious/ invidious

Neither insidious nor invidious are happy words: insidious describes something that lies in wait to get you, and invidious is something offensive or defamatory. Cancer can be insidious, lurking in your body without your knowing it. Invidious doesn’t hide; it’s hateful right away. Continue reading...

lay/ lie

The verbs lay and lie are total jerks. People often say lay when they mean lie, but it's wrong to lay around. You have to lay something, anything — lay an egg if you want. But you can lie around until the cows come home! Continue reading...

loath/ loathe

Confusion between loath ("unwilling or reluctant") and loathe ("to hate") is a growing trend. Continue reading...

lose/ loose

Lose sounds like snooze. If you lose something, you don’t have it anymore. Add an “o” and loose rhymes with goose and describes something that’s not attached. Continue reading...

luxuriant/ luxurious

In yet another attempt to reduce English to features and selling points, advertisers often use luxuriant to describe their products or services. Continue reading...

mantle/ mantel

A mantle is a covering, like a robe. But a mantel is a ledge over a fireplace. If Little Red Riding Hood tosses her cloak on the shelf above her fireplace, she has a mantle on the mantel. Continue reading...

marital/ martial

Marital and martial look almost alike, but the only time they overlap is when you declare war on your spouse. Marital has to do with marriage, and martial is concerned with fighting. Continue reading...

mean/ median/ average

Wordsmiths sometimes dislike numbers, or at least have a hard time grasping them. These words offer us an opportunity to better understand numbers and use their terms more precisely in writing and speaking. Continue reading...

medal/ meddle/ mettle

Here we have a trio of words that sound similar (at least in American English) but mean very different things: medal, meddle, and mettle. Continue reading...

metaphor/ simile

Both make comparisons, but a metaphor compares one thing to another straight up, while a simile uses "like" or "as." Continue reading...

moral/ morale

A moral is the lesson of a story. Add an "e" and you have morale: the spirit of a group that makes everyone want to pitch in and do better. Continue reading...

morbid/ moribund

Morbid describes something gruesome, like smallpox or Frankenstein's monster. Moribund refers to the act of dying. Goths love both. What fun! Continue reading...

nauseated/ nauseous

If you’re nauseated you’re about to throw up, if you’re nauseous, you’re a toxic funk and you’re going to make someone else puke. These words are used interchangeably so often that it makes word nerds feel nauseated! Continue reading...

overdue/ overdo

If you're overdue for a trip to the gym, be careful not to overdo it on the exercise when you get there — otherwise you'll be sore. Anything overdue should have happened already, but to overdo something is to do too much of it. Continue reading...

palate/ palette/ pallet

Palette can refer to a range of colors. A platform used for moving things is a pallet. And your preference of flavors in food is your palate. Continue reading...

paradox/ oxymoron

A paradox is a logical puzzle that seems to contradict itself. No it isn't. Actually, it is. An oxymoron is a figure of speech — words that seem to cancel each other out, like "working vacation" or "instant classic." Continue reading...

parameter/ perimeter

Parameter is a limit that affects how something can be done, and perimeter is the outline of a physical area. Both words have special meanings in math, but they take off their pocket protectors and relax their definitions when they join the rest of us. Continue reading...

parody/ parity

They're different, but when these words are said out loud it's hard to tell them apart. A parody is a silly spoof and parity is equality, and that's no joke. Continue reading...

peak/ peek/ pique

Let's look at three homophones: peak, peek, and pique. Peak is a topmost point, such as a mountain peak, or to reach that point. Continue reading...

peddle/ pedal/ petal

Sometimes the only way to choose your words with homophones is to memorize their spellings and meanings. Pedal/peddle/petal is one such set of homophones. Continue reading...

persecute/ prosecute

What is it about pursuing legal action that makes people think of harassing someone? Although we're not sure, it turns out that people have been confusing persecute and prosecute from the start. Continue reading...

personal/ personnel

Personal and personnel can be confused if the writer is not diligent, especially as both can be used as a noun and an adjective. Continue reading...

pragmatic/ dogmatic

If you're pragmatic, you're practical. You're living in the real world, wearing comfortable shoes. If you're dogmatic, you follow the rules. You're living in the world you want, and acting a little stuck up about it. Continue reading...

precede/ proceed

These two words have similar sounds. They also have similar definitions, encompassing an idea of forward movement. This leads to some confusion. Continue reading...

precedent/ president

How has the United States affected this word pair, precedent and president? Let's find out. Continue reading...

prostate/ prostrate

Oh, for the want of a letter! Prostate is a gland found in male mammals, but prostrate, with an r, means to lie face down. Get them mixed up and you’ll thoroughly confuse your doctor. Continue reading...

quote/ quotation

If you quote someone, do you create a quote or a quotation? To quote is to transcribe what someone said or wrote, crediting that person. Continue reading...

rebut/ refute

To rebut is to try to prove something isn’t true, but to refute is to actually prove it isn’t. Getting them mixed up won’t get you kicked out of the debate club, but it’s worth knowing the difference. Continue reading...

regrettably/ regretfully

Regrettably is used when something’s a bummer, but it’s not necessarily your fault. Regretfully is when you’re full of regret, like if you decided to stay home and your friends saw your crush at the dance. Continue reading...

reluctant/ reticent

Reluctant means resisting or unwilling, while reticent means quiet, restrained, or unwilling to communicate. Is it a distinction worth preserving? Continue reading...

respectfully/ respectively

If you kiss the mob boss’s ring, do it respectfully, or full of respect and admiration. But respectively means “in the order given,” so if you have to kiss up to the rest of the mob, make sure to shake hands and high five Jimmy Rags and Tommy Two Face, respectively because Jimmy prefers a handshake, but Tommy loves a good high five. Continue reading...

sac/ sack

Both are containers, but a sac is for plants and animals, and a sack is for a sandwich. So spiders put their eggs in a sac, and people put their groceries in a sack. Continue reading...

scrimp/ skimp

These words are two sides of the same coin: ways to get more or to make something go further. One side is about saving; the other is about spending less. Continue reading...

sensor/ censor/ censer

These words sound the same, but a sensor is a device, a censor is a person who cuts potentially offensive material from a text or broadcast, and a censer is a container for incense. Continue reading...

stationary/ stationery

Make sure you’re stationary, or still, while you jot down a love letter on your fancy stationery, so the writing isn’t all squiggly. Continue reading...

statue/ statute

Look under the pigeons and you might find a bronze statue in a park, but there’s probably a statute, or law, about how big it can be. Continue reading...

than/ then

Than compares things, but then is all about time. They sound similar and were even spelled the same until the 1700s. Not anymore! Vive la difference! Continue reading...

that/ which

The words that and which point to something — which one? That one! Before a clause or phrase, a that clause goes with the flow, but a which clause starts with a pause. American English makes a big deal out of the distinction but British English doesn't, which may be why it's so dang confusing. Continue reading...

their/ there/ they're

How do you comfort grammar snobs? Pat them on the back and say, their, there. You see, they're easily comforted, but you have to get it in writing because those words sound alike. Their shows possession (their car is on fire), there is a direction (there is the burning car), and they're is short for "they are" (they're driving into the lake). Continue reading...

tortuous/ torturous

Don’t torture yourself trying to remember the difference between tortuous and torturous. Tortuous describes something like the long and winding road. But torturous is what a room full of masochists might say: “Torture us!” It describes something painful, like a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Continue reading...

troop/ troupe

Troop and troupe both rhyme with "group," but a troop is a group of soldiers or scouts, while a troupe is a group of performers. To keep these two homophones straight, just remember that troop has two "o"s like soldiers lining up in matching uniforms. Continue reading...

turbid/ turgid

Turbid can refer to something thick with suspended matter, while turgid means swollen or bombastic. Continue reading...

unconscionable/ unconscious

These two words look and sound similar. In fact, if you think too hard about them together, you might find your tongue tripping over them. Continue reading...

undo/ undue

If you undo your shoelaces just because the cool kids wear their sneakers unlaced, the popular crowd may have undue influence over you. Tie those shoelaces back up! To undo something is to make it go back to its original state. Undue means "undeserved or excessive." Continue reading...

unexceptional/ unexceptionable

Clearly, past writers have confused the meanings of unexceptional and unexceptionable to an extent that meanings are expanding. Continue reading...

vain/ vein/ vane

Vain people love mirrors. A vein, though, moves blood through your body. And a vane is a big metal rooster on a rooftop showing which way the wind blows. Continue reading...

venal/ venial

Catholics everywhere are confused: do they commit venal sins or venial sins? And what is a venal/venial sin anyway? Continue reading...

veracious/ voracious

Voracious describes someone super hungry, like a zombie or a wolf. A voracious appetite makes you want to eat a whole cake. Veracious (with an "e") means truthful, as in a veracious first president who cannot tell a lie. Continue reading...

wave/ waive

To wave is to move to and fro, like when you wave your hand. Hello there! To waive, with a sneaky "i," is to give up your right to do something. Continue reading...

weather/ whether/ wether

The weather outside is partly cloudy whether you like it that way or not. A wether, on the other hand, is a castrated sheep. You read that right. Continue reading...

who/ whom

To Whom It May Concern: who is a subject and whom is an object. Who acts and whom receives. Say what? Who is like "he" or "she" and whom is like "him" or "her." Who is collecting money for homeless kittens? He is! Then to whom does the money go? Send the money to him. Continue reading...

who's/ whose

Knock knock. Who's there? It's an apostrophe telling you that who's is short for "who is." Whose silly idea was it to make these words sound alike? Who knows? But whose shows possession and who's is a contraction. Continue reading...

wreck/ wreak/ reek

What happens when wild chimpanzees go to a party? They wreck the furniture, wreak havoc, and make the whole house reek. To wreck is to ruin something, to wreak is to cause something to happen, and to reek is to smell bad. Continue reading...

your/ you're

You're is short for "you are" and your shows ownership. If you're getting them mixed up, your secret is safe with us. Better yet, here's help! It's your secret. And now you're about to know more. See? Continue reading...

Is the prejudgment of a person or situation based on attitudes?

Are best described as people who live and work in a country other than their native country?

Which of the following is the final step in the complaint model?

Which of the following is the first step in the complaint model for handling employee complaints?