Confusing Words and Homonyms
dam damn |
a barrier obstructing the flow of liquid a swear word or curse |
dammed damned |
blocked from flowing doomed |
days daze |
24-hour periods of time to stun or overwhelm |
dear deer |
affectionate term the animal |
| denote (see connote) | |
desert (noun, verb) dessert |
a desolate area; to abandon extra “s” for sugary treat |
desperate disparate |
lost all hope, in despair entirely dissimilar |
device (noun) devise (verb) |
an invention to invent |
dew do due |
condensation in the morning to take action owed by a certain date |
die dye |
to cease to live; the singular of dice to stain or color using an agent |
discreet discrete |
careful, confidential individual, distinct |
discussed disgust |
talked over repulsion |
does does |
female deer (plural) (pronounced like "hose") a form of "to do" (pronounced like "fuzz") |
doughs doze |
unbaked loaves of bread to sleep |
dual duel |
two-fold fight |
| eager (see anxious) | |
| effect (see affect) | |
e.g.
i.e. |
for example Example: My living expenses have increased, e.g., rent, food, and utilities. that is, in other words Example: My living expenses have drained my finances, i.e., I have less money in the bank at the end of every month. |
| eight (see ate) | |
elicit illicit |
evoke, extract, draw out illegal |
| elude (see allude) | |
elusive illusive |
difficult to describe, evasive Example: The point of the novel is elusive to me. plausible or possible; deceptive Example: She had the illusive dream of finding happiness by traveling. (plausible, possible) |
emigrate immigrate |
to exit one country in order to live in another country to enter a new country to live |
empathy sympathy |
to understand another's feelings to feel compassion or sadness for another |
| ensure (see assure) | |
epic epoch |
saga a period of time, an age |
| err (see air) | |
every day everyday |
each day Example: I learn something new every day. ordinary Example: These are my everyday clothes. |
| except (see accept) | |
| eye (see aye) | |
facts fax |
objective data short for “facsimile”; technology that sends images by phone |
faint feint |
to go unconscious pretense |
fair (adjective, noun) fare |
impartial; an exhibition payment or expense for travel |
fairy ferry |
imaginary being possessing magical powers type of boat |
farther further |
Refers to physical distance Example: We had to walk farther than the map indicated. Refers to nonphysical distance Examples: We need to discuss this further. |
faux foe |
fake, imitation enemy, opponent |
faze phase |
to perturb or fluster a period or situation |
feat feet |
an extraordinary act or accomplishment twelve inch increments; appendages at end of legs |
feted fetid |
celebrated, honored noxious, gross |
fewer less |
refers to a number that can be counted (fewer days off) refers to an uncountable amount (less rain, less fear) |
find fined |
discover penalized |
fir fur |
type of tree hairy coat of an animal |
flair flare |
style erupt |
flea flee |
insect to run away |
flew flu flue |
past tense of “fly,” to have moved through the air with wings a virus part of a chimney |
floe flow |
sheet of floating ice pour, proceed, spew |
flour flower |
grain the bloom of a plant |
for fore four |
the preposition ahead the number after “three” |
forego forgo |
to go in front of, precede to do without |
foreword forward |
introduction to a book written by someone other than the author opposite of “backward” |
fort forte |
a military fortification someone’s strong point, talent |
forth fourth |
forward number after “third” |
foul fowl |
offensive, disgusting certain birds |
frees freeze frieze |
releases to make cold a decorative band on the wall |
| further (see farther) | |
gait gate |
a manner of walking or stepping, stride Example: trotting, galloping, limping barrier |
gilt guilt |
gold-covered blame |
gone
went |
used with “has” or “have” Examples: Ella has gone to the store. Barry and Ella have gone to the beach. past tense of "go" Examples: Ella went to the store. Barry and Ellen went to the beach. |
gored gourd |
stabbed with a horn or tusk hard-shelled fruit |
gorilla guerrilla |
largest of apes soldier using surprise raids, irregular tactics |
graft graphed |
attach; acquisition of money dishonestly diagrammed |
grate great |
a cover or partition of parallel or crossed bars excellent |
grill grille |
method of cooking; barbecuing an openwork barrier for a gate |
groan grown |
a low, mournful sound of pain or grief to have increased in size |
guessed guest |
conjectured, offered an opinion company, honoree |
guise guys |
appearance or assumed appearance men |
hair hare |
what grows on one’s head and body rabbit |
hall haul |
passageway or large room to pull, drag, or lower |
halve have |
divide into two to possess |
hangar hanger |
shed or shelter for housing airplanes something to hang a garment on in the closet |
haut or haute hoe |
high class, fancy as in haute couture (pronounced “oh” or “oht”) flat-bladed gardening tool |
| have v. of | “should’ve,” “could’ve,” and “would’ve” are contractions for “should have,” “could have,” and “would have.” No such wording as “should of,” “could of,” “would of” |
hay hey |
dried grass interjection used to call attention |
heal heel |
to alleviate or cure back part of the foot; scoundrel |
healthful healthy |
something that promotes health Example: Organic food is thought to be healthful. to have good health |
hear here |
to listen; to give an official hearing in this spot |
heard herd |
listened a flock of animals |
| heir (see air) | |
heroin heroine |
a narcotic derived from morphine female admired for courage or ability |
hi high |
a greeting, informal "hello" elevated |
higher hire |
more elevated to pay for services |
him hymn |
pronoun referring to male person or animal song in praise of religious deity |
hoard horde |
stockpile, amass a large group, crowd |
hoarse horse |
cracked voice animal |
hoes hose |
flat-bladed gardening tools a flexible tube for conveying liquid |
hole whole |
an opening entire, complete |
holy wholly |
religious entirely, completely |
hostel hostile |
boarding house or inexpensive lodging antagonistic |
hour our |
sixty minutes possessive pronoun |
| I (see aye) | |
idle idol idyll |
not active; unemployed someone admired interlude, breathing space; romance, fairy tale |
| i.e. (see e.g.) | |
| I'll (see aisle) | |
| illicit (see elicit) | |
| illude (see allude) | |
| illusion (see allusion) | |
| illusive (see elusive) | |
| immigrate (see emigrate) | |
imply infer |
to indicate without being explicit to conclude from evidence |
in inn |
preposition; inside small hotel |
inc. ink |
abbreviation for “incorporated” fluid in pens |
incite insight |
to prompt to action understanding, comprehension |
incredible incredulous |
astonishing Example: Her gymnastic moves were incredible. skeptical Example: Citizens are incredulous about the reason for the increase in the price of gas. |
ingenious ingenuous |
clever naive or simple |
innocence innocents |
to be without guilt people who are without guilt |
| insure (see assure) | |
irregardless regardless |
no such word exists in spite of, without regard |
| isle (see aisle) | |
it's its |
contraction for “it is” Example: It’s for a good cause. possessive pronoun Example: The cat hurt its paw. |
jewel joule |
gem in physics, a unit of work or energy |
| karat (see carat) | |
| kernel (see colonel) | |
| key (see cay) | |
knead kneed need |
work with bread dough hit with one’s knee to require |
knew new |
past tense of “know,” to have understood opposite of “old” |
knight night |
a soldier in the Middle Ages period between sunset and sunrise |
knot not |
interlacing of cord or rope used to express negation |
know no |
understand, comprehend a negative to express dissent |
knows nose |
understands part of the body one smells with |
sacks sax |
large bags saxophone |
saver savor |
one who saves to appreciate a taste |
scene seen |
a view, a setting to have viewed with eyes |
| scent (see cent) | |
sea see |
a body of salt water to view with eyes |
seam seem |
line formed by pieces of fabric sewn together appear |
sear seer sere |
scorch, burn, or char one who sees (as in the future) withered, dry |
seas sees seize |
bodies of salt water views with eyes to grab hold of |
| seed (see cede) | |
| sell (see cell) | |
| semiannual (see biannual) | |
| sensor (see censor) | |
| sent (see cent) | |
serf surf (noun, verb) |
slave breaking waves; to ride a surfboard |
| serial (see cereal) | |
set sit |
one sets a thing Example: Please set the table. one sits oneself Example: Please sit down at the table. |
sew so sow |
to stitch in the manner indicated to scatter or plant seed |
sewer suer |
a conduit for carrying off waste one who sues |
shear sheer |
to cut transparent |
shoe shoo |
foot attire interjection used to scare away an animal |
| shoot (see chute) | |
sic
sick |
a Latin term used to indicate that something written is intentionally left in the original form, which may be incorrect Example: She wrote, "They made there [sic] beds." ill |
sics six |
attacks a number |
| sight (see cite) | |
sign sine |
an indication a trigonometry term |
sink synch or sync |
to submerge; to descend to a lower level to synchronize, to coincide or match up |
| site (see cite) | |
slay sleigh |
kill snow vehicle, sled |
sleight slight |
cunning, skill slender, of little substance |
slew slough |
past tense of “slay” swamp |
soar sore |
to fly at great height in pain |
soared sword |
flew at great height a bladed weapon |
sole soul |
front of foot; alone the spiritual part of humans |
some sum |
a certain unspecified number the total from adding numbers |
son sun |
male offspring star that is the central body of the solar system |
sonny sunny |
diminutive of son lit or warmed by the sun; cheerful |
spade spayed |
digging tool to have removed the ovaries of an animal |
staid stayed |
solemn, serious remained, waited |
stair stare |
step to look without blinking |
stake steak |
a pole cut of meat |
stationary stationery |
in one place writing paper |
steal steel (noun, adjective) |
rob iron alloy; determined |
step (verb, noun) steppe |
moving by lifting the foot; degree vast grasslands |
stile style |
turnstile, passageway fashion |
straight strait |
not curved or bent narrow passage of water connecting two bodies of water |
succor sucker |
relief, assistance fool |
suede swayed |
leather finished with a soft, napped surface past tense of “sway”; persuaded |
suite sweet |
a connected series of rooms opposite of “sour” |
summary summery |
an abstract or brief account of the summer |
sundae Sunday |
ice cream with syrup day of the week |
| sympathy (see empathy) | |
tacks tax |
short nails percent of earnings paid to the government |
tail tale |
hindmost animal appendage story |
| take (see bring) | |
tare tear |
allowance for the weight of packaging rip, pull apart |
taught taut |
past tense of “teach” tightly stretched |
tea tee |
a beverage a peg from which a golf ball is hit |
team teem |
group playing on the same side in a game swarm |
tear tier |
salt water coming from eyes when sad a row or layer |
tense tents |
nervous strain portable shelters used for camping |
than then |
used for comparison indicates time, answers “when?” |
their there they're |
possessive pronoun location contraction for “they are” |
threw through |
past tense of “throw” in one end and out the other |
throes throws |
agonizing struggles tosses, hurls |
throne thrown |
royal seat or office was tossed |
thyme time |
herb of the mint family past, present, future sequences of events |
ticks tics |
parasites, sounds of a clock facial twitches |
tide tied |
ebb and flow of the ocean past tense of “tie” |
to too two |
in the direction of, toward also, to an extensive degree Example: It is too hot to jog. the number after “one” |
toad toed towed |
similar to a frog having a toe pulled, hauled |
told tolled |
said sounded a bell |
tort torte |
a breach of contract a rich cake made with little or no flour |
tracked tract |
followed an extended area of land; a political or religious pamphlet |
troop troupe |
a body of soldiers a group of traveling performers |
vain vane vein |
excessively concerned about one’s appearance a blade moved by wind as in a weather vane blood vessel |
vary very |
to change or alter extremely |
verses versus |
lines of poetry as compared to another choice; against |
vial vile |
small container for holding liquids repulsive, depraved |
vice vise |
bad habit; immoral practice device used to hold an object firmly |
wade weighed |
to walk through water to have put on a scale |
wail whale |
mournful cry marine mammal |
waist waste |
narrowest part of the human torso (usually) to squander or spend uselessly |
wait weight |
to be available or ready quantity of heaviness or mass |
waiver waver |
a relinquishment of some right to feel indecisive; vary |
wear where |
to carry on the body in what place? |
warn worn |
to notify carried on the body; deteriorated |
warrantee warranty |
person who is given a written guarantee written guarantee |
way weigh |
direction to measure mass |
we're were |
contraction for “we are” past tense of “are” |
we've weave |
contraction for “we have” to interlace thread or yarn to make a fabric |
weak week |
lacking strength seven days starting with Sunday |
| went (see gone) | |
wheeled wield |
moved on wheels to exercise power; to handle a weapon effectively |
weather whether |
state of the atmosphere in a location if |
which witch |
what one? sorceress |
while wile |
during or in the time that a trick to fool, trap, or entice |
whine wine |
complaining cry fermented grape juice that becomes an alcoholic beverage |
whined wind wined |
past tense of “whine,” complained what one does to keep a watch ticking on time (pronounced like "kind"); air current (pronounced like "sinned") to supply with wine |
whirled world |
spun rapidly planet Earth |
| whole (see hole) | |
| wholly (see holy) | |
who's whose |
contraction for “who is” Example: Who’s at the door? possessive case of “who” Example: Whose coat is this? |
| won (see one) | |
won't wont (adjective, noun) |
contraction for “will not” accustomed; habit |
wood would |
tree trunk material expressing an intention (would if I could) |
| wrap (see rap) | |
| wrapped (see rapt) | |
| wreak (see reek) | |
| wrest (see rest) | |
| wretch (see retch) | |
| wring (see ring) | |
| write (see right) | |
| wrote (see rote) | |
| wrought (see rot) | |
| wry (see rye) | |
yoke yolk |
harness for oxen yellow center of an egg |
yore you're your |
long past contraction for “you are” possessive pronoun |