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Homophones / Confusables
Homophones
Many spelling errors result from a writer's confusion between homophones,
words that
sound alike but have different spellings and different meanings. This
kind of misspelling can result in an unintentionally humorous or illogical
statement. These sound-alike words, though troublesome, are relatively
few in number. Look over the following list of commonly confused spellings.
If you are unsure of the distinct meanings of each sound-alike word, consult
a good desk dictionary.
Commonly
Confused Sound-Alike Words |
| |
| aid / aide |
led / lead |
| altar / alter |
lesson / lessen |
| ascent / assent |
miner / minor |
| born / borne |
past / passed |
| by / buy |
peace / piece |
| compliment / complement |
principal / principle |
| council / counsel |
patients / patience |
| course / coarse |
right / rite / write / wright |
| discreet / discrete |
sight / site / cite |
| elicit / illicit |
stationary / stationery |
| fourth / forth |
than / then |
| gorilla / guerilla |
there / their / they're |
| hear / here |
to / too / two |
| heard / herd |
who's / whose |
| its / it's |
you're / your |
Homophones Practice Exercises (12 questions)
Confusables
Certain words in English are similar in sound or meaning and have a slippery sense, even for native speakers of the language: Did she imply or did I infer, or did she infer and I imply?
Below are pairs of commonly confused words and their meanings, along with some strategies for remembering which word to use.
Common Confusables |
| |
| affect / effect |
affect is a verb meaning act upon or influence. effect is most commonly used as a noun meaning result or impact; effect can also be used as a verb meaning to bring about. |
| between / among |
Use between when referring to two things (between a rock and a hard place) and among when referring to more than two persons or things (among the members of her squadron). |
| defuse / diffuse |
A potential conflict or argument is defused, made less explosive or rendered powerless: it is a bomb squad word in origin. Sound-alike verb diffuse means to spread something around. |
| delusion / illusion |
A delusion is a pathological condition in which an individual believes something to be true that is categorically untrue. An illusion is a temporary false perception or misleading appearance. One can suffer from delusions (a form of mental affliction) but not from illusions. |
| eminent / imminent |
An eminent person is someone of distinction. An imminent disaster is likely to occur at any moment. |
Confusables Practice Exercises (12 questions) |
