32. Commonly confused words
Take a look at these two sentences – one of them contains a mistake:
I poured over book after
book. / We pored over
the catalogues.
Are you uncertain which one is
right? There are a lot of words in English that look or sound alike but have
very different meanings, such as pore
and pour or flaunt and flout. It’s easy to get them
confused and most electronic spellcheckers won’t be much help in this type of
situation: they can tell you if a word has been spelled wrongly but they can’t
generally flag up the misuse of a correctly spelled word.
Here’s a quick-reference list
of pairs of words that regularly cause people problems. The words follow the
accepted British English spelling. Some of them do have alternative American
spellings and you will find these at the main dictionary entry on this
website.
|
Word 1
|
Meaning
|
Word 2
|
Meaning
|
|
to agree to receive or do
|
not including
|
||
|
unfavourable, harmful
|
strongly disliking; opposed
|
||
|
recommendations about what to
do
|
to recommend something
|
||
|
to change or make a difference
to
|
a result; to bring about a result
|
||
|
a passage between rows of
seats
|
an island
|
||
|
all in one place, all at once
|
completely; on the whole
|
||
|
moving or extending horizontally
on
|
referring to something of great
length
|
||
|
out loud
|
permitted
|
||
|
a sacred table in a church
|
to change
|
||
|
not concerned with right or
wrong
|
not following accepted moral
standards
|
||
|
to assess
|
to inform someone
|
||
|
agreement, approval
|
the action of rising or climbing
up
|
||
|
relating to the ears or
hearing
|
relating to the mouth; spoken
|
||
|
pleasantly warm
|
foolish, crazy
|
||
|
naked; to uncover
|
to carry; to put up with
|
||
|
in phrase 'with bated breath', i.e. in
great suspense
|
with bait attached or
inserted
|
||
|
a Middle Eastern market
|
strange
|
||
|
a bunk in a ship, train, etc.
|
the emergence of a baby from
the womb
|
||
|
having started life
|
carried
|
||
|
a branch of a tree
|
to bend the head; the front
of a ship
|
||
|
a device for stopping a vehicle;
to stop a vehicle
|
to separate into pieces; a
pause
|
||
|
to break through, or break a
rule; a gap
|
the back part of a gun barrel
|
||
|
to raise a subject for discussion
|
a piece of jewellery
|
||
|
a type of strong cloth
|
to seek people’s votes
|
||
|
to criticize strongly
|
to ban parts of a book or
film; a person who does this
|
||
|
a grass producing an edible
grain; a breakfast food made from grains
|
happening in a series
|
||
|
a group of musical notes
|
a length of string; a
cord-like body part
|
||
|
forming a climax
|
relating to climate
|
||
|
rough
|
a direction; a school
subject; part of a meal
|
||
|
smug and self-satisfied
|
willing to please
|
||
|
to add to so as to improve;
an addition that improves something
|
to praise or express
approval; an admiring remark
|
||
|
a group of people who manage
or advise
|
advice; to advise
|
||
|
a signal for action; a wooden
rod
|
a line of people or vehicles
|
||
|
to keep something in check; a
control or limit
|
(in British English) the
stone edge of a pavement
|
||
|
a dried grape
|
happening now; a flow of water,
air, or electricity
|
||
|
to make a situation less
tense
|
to spread over a wide area
|
||
|
a waterless, empty area; to
abandon someone
|
the sweet course of a meal
|
||
|
careful not to attract attention
|
separate and distinct
|
||
|
impartial
|
not interested
|
||
|
a current of air
|
a first version of a piece of
writing
|
||
|
an even score at the end of a
game
|
a sliding storage compartment
|
||
|
having two parts
|
a fight or contest between
two people
|
||
|
to draw out a reply or reaction
|
not allowed by law or rules
|
||
|
to make certain that something
will happen
|
to provide compensation if a
person dies or property is damaged
|
||
|
to cover or surround
|
a paper container for a
letter
|
||
|
physical activity; to do physical
activity
|
to drive out an evil spirit
|
||
|
a young deer; light brown
|
a mythical being, part man,
part goat
|
||
|
to display ostentatiously
|
to disregard a rule
|
||
|
to move clumsily; to have difficulty
doing something
|
to fail
|
||
|
to refrain
|
an ancestor
|
||
|
an introduction to a book
|
onwards, ahead
|
||
|
to turn to ice
|
a decoration along a wall
|
||
|
gruesome, revolting
|
a type of bear
|
||
|
a store
|
a large crowd of people
|
||
|
to suggest indirectly
|
to draw a conclusion
|
||
|
reluctant, unwilling
|
to hate
|
||
|
to unfasten; to set free
|
to be deprived of; to be unable
to find
|
||
|
a measuring device
|
a metric unit; rhythm in
verse
|
||
|
to be a powerful factor
against
|
to make less severe
|
||
|
the roof of the mouth
|
a board for mixing colours
|
||
|
a foot-operated lever
|
to sell goods
|
||
|
a long, slender piece of wood
|
voting in an election
|
||
|
to flow or cause to flow
|
a tiny opening; to study something
closely
|
||
|
the use of an idea or method;
the work or business of a doctor, dentist, etc.
|
to do something repeatedly to
gain skill; to do something regularly
|
||
|
to authorize use of medicine;
to order authoritatively
|
to officially forbid
something
|
||
|
most important; the head of a
school
|
a fundamental rule or belief
|
||
|
a person inclined to doubt
|
infected with bacteria
|
||
|
the ability to see
|
a location
|
||
|
not moving
|
writing materials
|
||
|
a level of a building
|
a tale or account
|
||
|
to arouse interest
|
to make more attractive
|
||
|
full of twists; complex
|
full of pain or suffering
|
||
|
a ring-shaped arrangement of
flowers etc.
|
to surround or encircle
|
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