Recently Added Articles Page #39

Complaisant vs. Complacent

John is a complaisant guy, I don’t know how he ended up marrying somebody as complacent as Mary.The above sentence have two adjectives in it; complaisant and complacent, which describe the character of John and Mary respectively. Can you figure out...

Defuse vs. Diffuse

The bomb squad defused the bomb and contained the gas before it diffused in the air.English as a language never stops to amaze its learners. As easy as it might be, there are times when you find yourself panicking about what meant what as the words a...

Discreet vs. Discrete

The government’s discreet decision about the four discrete divisions caused a lot of uprising. The two very similar words; discreet and discrete are used in the above sentence, are you familiar with the words? Do you think they mean the same? If no...

Learned vs. Learnt

What is the past tense of learn? Consider the following sentence:I learnt French last year.Are you getting thoughts in your mind that say that this sentence has got something wrong in it? Maybe it’s the use of past form of learn. Is your inner nerd...

Assure vs. Ensure vs. Insure

The heading might give the creeps for if you might somehow knew the differences of these three words before, you must have forgotten them written together. Assure, ensure and insure are word triplets that are most commonly confused in English languag...

Capital vs. Capitol

The legislators were called to the capitol to discuss the issues of country’s capital.The above sentence constitutes two words, capital and capitol, which are both homophones. This means that capital and capitol have same sounds but totally differe...

Enquire vs. Inquire

She inquired about the library charges.What do you make from the above sentence? Do you think the word inquired should maybe have started with an e except of an a? If you did, there is nothing wrong with you or your language skills as inqui...

Principal vs. Principle

Our principal made it compulsory to follow all school principles.Principal and principle are a pair of words that are called homophone, meaning they have same pronunciation but very different meanings and spellings. It is very common for readers and ...

Historic vs. Historical

The words historical and historic were synonymous to each other back in the 18th century meaning something that belonged to or is representative of the past. Historic was used as a shortened form of historical but the difference between the two ...

Sympathy vs. Empathy

The terms sympathy and empathy is an addition to the list of the commonly confused pair of words. It may be attributed to the fact that both the words have to do with the person’s relationship with feelings and emotions. This article will explain t...

Lay vs. Lie

The words lay and lie are one the most confusing pair of words, which are often mistaken for each other. The words have different spellings, meanings and pronunciations but their very close spellings lead to the prodigious misunderstanding where one ...

Immigrate vs. Emigrate

Alan emigrated from America and immigrated to Australia.The above sentence might be a little confusing for you as the two words which you thought had the same meaning imply differently. The words immigrate and emigrate are very much related to each o...

Somber vs. Sombre

Somber and sombre are a pair or words that are opposite to homophones that is, they have different spellings but same meaning. The words like these with different spellings and same meaning causes equal confusion to writers as does the homophones bec...

Seize vs. Cease

The enemy countries ceased fire and then one seized the other’s air force base. Does the above sentence makes sense to you? It uses two homophones i.e. a pair or words that have same pronunciation but different meanings and spellings. Cease and sei...

Admit vs. Confess

Ever wondered about the difference between admission and confession? And don’t say there isn’t because there IS! Admit and confess is a pair of words that usually tips of writers while writing their pieces and make them think twice before using ...

Canon vs. Cannon

Do you ever wonder how much difference one single letter in a word in English language? Embrace yourself! Canon and cannon are two different words with entirely different meanings. One is a law while the other one is a weapon. In this article we wil...

Then vs. Than

The policeman’s strategy was better than the burglar’s so he waited for him to make a move first and then arrested him. Did you notice than and then in the above sentence? Do you sometimes get confused when to use which than? No worries! Today we...

Liter vs. Litre

Have you ever wondered about the spellings of liter? Does writing liter makes you rethink and reconsider how you should spell it for you have come across two types of liter? You are not to be blamed! The word liter exist in two alternative spellings....

Favor vs. Favour

Can you do me a favor and bring the grocery bags inside.Favor is a widely used word which can be spelled with or without the u. If you are confused about when to use which favor and what is the difference in the meanings of these both words, then you...

Neighbor vs. Neighbour

New neighbors just moved in the big white house. Consider this sentence for a moment. Does the word neighbors make you think again that maybe the spellings of neighbor aren’t really like these? Maybe there’s a u in it as well? If you are confused...

Honor vs. Honour

Is someone close to you getting married and you need to print out the wedding card? Are you confused about the phrase Maid of Honor and wondering if it’s Maid of Honour? The difference in the spellings of honor and honour is one major confusion peo...

Fulfil vs. Fulfill

Say you were asked to make a sentence with expectation and you wrote this: Getting an A on the test did not fulfil her expectations While proofreading it, did you pause at fulfil and wondered if these are the right spellings for it? Well, if you did ...

Humour vs. Humor

Humor me! Or, Humour me? This amusing word has two alternative spellings which are most widely used in the English language and guess what? Both of them are correct. Humor without the u and humour with the u both have the same meaning and pronunciati...

Favorite vs. Favourite

While reading or writing, do you ever pause upon favorite and wonder what the correct spellings of it are? His favorite restaurant is that small place in the suburbs. Or should it be like: His favourite restaurant is that small place in the suburbs. ...

Cancelled vs. Canceled

A student’s best friend and a party lover’s worst enemy, cancel, has two possible forms of past tense, cancelled/canceled. Consider this: The English class has been cancelled today as the teacher is on sick leave. The drummer had an accident, so ...