ilustreous_choose_your_words

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 discrtus, for separated or distinct, but discreet has taken its own advice and quietly gone its separate way. Today discreet is to be politely private about something and to be aware of consequences if everyone finds out what you're doing. Be discreet when you eat the lollipop your mom gave you but not your sister, so you don't have to listen to a tantrum. Wealthy people often try to be discreet with their money, because they don't want everyone to know they're rich. When you're trying to be cool, and keep something quiet, you're being discreet : A source said: "Wayne attracts a lot of attention and the millionaires attracted to the area like to be more discreet ." ( The Sun ) Sound Level: Quiet, with widely spaced tables allowing for discreet conversations. ( Business Week ) Discrete remains closer to its roots, meaning individual, detached, separated: It is far better to think of these as isolated, unpredictable, discrete events. ( Salon ) Quantum theory is usually thought of as discrete ; after all, that's what the word "quantum" connotes. ( Scientific American ) So last year, when earthquakes were recorded in small, discrete clusters in north central Arkansas, researchers perked up. ( New York Times ) Although discreet and discrete have separate (or discrete ) meanings, they are often confused. Remember that the "ee's" in discreet hide together in the middle of the word, but the "t" in discrete separates them. sensual / sensuous [some repetition in "sensual"] Both are touchy-feely words, but sensual has a hint of sexy, and sensuous is related to all those other senses, like the ones that enjoy art and apples. The terms share the root sens-, which means to arouse the senses. Sensual has referred to gratifying carnal, especially sexual, senses since before 1425. But rumor has it that sensuous was created by John Milton in 1641 to mean relating to the senses instead of the intellect without the sexual connotation. Sensual refers to pleasing the senses, in a sexy but not raunchy way: Cornelia alone now captivated his sensual as well as his intellectual nature. ( Wilhelmine von Hillern ) "These women were beautiful, sensual and never vulgar," he said. ( New York Times ) Designer Zac Posen sent out sensual cancan girls straight out of a vintage Paris revue. ( Huffington Post ) Sensuous , on the other hand, is related to experiencing the five senses in a nonsexual way, like when you're blown away by a play or awesome music: "Yet there's something missing: a relish for the play's sensuous energies." ( Guardian ) Even at their most gossamer the songs are rooted in strong melody, while the singing is meticulous, sensuous and, finally, soulful. ( New York Times ) The words haven't changed much over the years, although many writers use them interchangeably. It's a shame to lose these shades of meaning. Save the sensual descriptions for the adults, but talk about the sensuous experience of an apple orchard in the fall with the kids.

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. Healthful food and exercise fills you full of health! Healthful has meant something that will create good health since 1398, and that remains the main definition of the word: Choosing the most healthful foods for your family is no easy task. ( Time ) Tilapia crusted in pulverized plantain chips, with sweet maduros on the side, was a relatively healthful departure. ( New York Times ) Healthy is used to describe someone or something that enjoys all that good health. If you're healthy , whether you're a tree, a bank account, or a human, you're well, thank you very much. Here are some healthy tidbits from the news: Any team interested in Sizemore will need to be convinced he is, finally, healthy again. ( Washington Post ) Healthy forests are built to withstand severe natural disturbances. ( New York Times ) This word pair, healthful and healthy, has been causing debate for over a century. The question is whether these adjectives can both be used to mean conducive to good health. This is what gets some word mavens' blood boiling. Healthy, they say, cannot be used to mean conducive to good health. But according to the Oxford English Dictionary, healthy has been a synonym for healthful since its earliest appearance in print... in 1552. So it's OK to use healthy and healthful as synonyms for conducive to good health: have a healthy snack or a healthful one. But if you're referring to someone that enjoys good health, however, use healthy because it'd be weird to call a person healthful. Save healthful for the granola and healthy for your personal trainer.

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. Epigrams are short and often catchy, and sometimes a little sassy. Wits like Dorothy Parker and Mark Twain were masters of the epigram : The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue. ( Dorothy Parker ) Censorship is telling a man he can't eat steak because a baby can't chew it. ( Mark Twain ) An epigraph is a kind of epigram, but it's written on an object, like a coin, a building, or a book. An epigraph often comes at the start of a novel or short story, and gives the reader a little hint about what's to come: A good epigraph should be more than mere adornment. ( Guardian ) The epigraph to Shelley's novel is the fallen Adam's complaint to God in Book X of Paradise Lost. ( Independent ) "Stop! It is here, the empire of death,'' reads an epigraph from poet Jacques Delille that has marked the Catacombs' entrance since they opened to the public in the 19th century. ( Globe ) An epigram is a funny little remark or poem you could get one by telegram! But an epigraph reminds you of your graphite pencil, because it's always written down.

naval/navel

Can you name this type of orange ? If you said a navel orange, give yourself a gold star (or a navel orange, if you're feeling peckish). Navel refers to the spot in the middle of your belly where the umbilical cord was once attached. The oranges are refer to as thus because they have a dimple that resembles, well, a navel. Some more examples of navel : How to prevent navel piercing deformity when pregnant? Navel orange production blossoms this season Navel gazing refers to being obsessed with oneself or solely focused on one issue, generally a minor one: Americans are incredibly self-absorbed navel gazers. Now it seems many thirtysomethings find themselves succumbing to existential navel-gazing. 'What did I do with my life?' these relative whippersnappers ask. Naval on the other hand, pertains to a navy, that branch of the military that operates at sea. The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility has agreed to pay $56,000 for hazardous waste violations. IDF naval forces recently boarded the yacht "Irene." The amount owners had to spend on repairs and naval stores fell for all vessel types, with container ships again having the largest decline. Remember, your nav e l is in the c e nt e r of your belly, while n a v a l ships belong out at se a .

formidable/formative

Formidable describes a foe you're slightly afraid of, but formative describes what formed you. Perhaps a formidable gymteacher scared the pants off you 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.) If you're a software designer, Microsoft is a formidable opponent. Such an enemy is one you dread, or perhaps respect or are awed by, because of its power, size, or capabilities. If you have a formidable vocabulary, you have a lot of words to choose from: "A really formidable fighter can be worth more than a horse," he said. ( New York Times ) Temple turned out to be more formidable than most expected. ( Washington Post ) Heath Shuler is taking on an even more formidable opponent: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. ( Knoxville News ) Something formative shapes or forms a person or thing . Your early years are generally considered formative because they greatly influence who you are. Let's form an idea from some examples: Psychologists have always stressed the formative influence of parents, but siblings have been studied less. ( New York Times ) Marc Webb's film explores the formative years of Peter Parker, previously played on screen by Tobey Maguire. ( BBC ) Naturally, he has formative memories built around the intersection of the team with his life. ( Seattle Times ) Remember: your formative period was when you were learning to become a formidable foe for words with unruly definitions. And mean gym teachers.

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. Ambiguous is something that is confusing or has more than one meaning. It can be the ambiguous look your ex-girlfriend gives you as she leaves the library, or the ambiguous ending of the movie Lost Highway , where you don't know what the heck just happened. Here's the word in action from the news: Are there threads you might come back to later, or was that a deliberate choice to leave some things about him ambiguous ? ( New York Times ) "The election law in New York is written in an ill-defined, ambiguous way," Goldfeder said, adding that he did not believe any laws were broken. ( Reuters) Ambivalent is when you don't hate something, but you don't love it either. Since you feel two ways about it, you don't really care. It's often used to describe feelings, attitudes, and relationships: Danya, now nearly 14, was ambivalent about leaving, drawn toward being a teenager in New York City. ( New York Times ) Valentine's Day When You're Dating a Woman You're Ambivalent About. ( All Word News ) He had told me early on that he was ambivalent about his maleness but had made peace with it. ( New York Times ) When choosing between ambiguous and ambivalent, consider whether you are describing something that is unclear or vague: that's ambiguous. If it's a fluctuation in attitude or feeling, that's ambivalent. If you're ambivalent about ambiguous movie endings, stay away from David Lynch and stick to blockbusters when the good guys win.

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. A gorilla is a type of large African ape. Sure they fight, but that's not why they're called gorillas. When they show up in the news, they're usually just monkeying around: This short clip of a Silverback gorilla in Kent walking upright on his hind legs, like a human, has become an internet sensation. ( BBC ) Anaklet says we're going to surprise some gorillas eating breakfast. ( Time ) A guerrilla , on the other hand, is a fighter who's a part of a rebellious group that's battling a government or other authority, and likes to raid and ambush. The word has picked up a casual meaning of describing anything that's meant to take you by surprise. Here are some examples: Al-Shabab had spoken of a switch to guerilla warfare, which could mean more suicide bombings as well as grenade attacks and land mines, he says. ( BBC ) Guerrilla Marketing is a phrase coined by Jay Conrad Levinson as a take-no-prisoners way of marketing. ( Guerrilla Marketing ) So how will knowing your high school Spanish help you keep them straight? Guerrilla comes from the Spanish word for a war made up of skirmishes. That guerilla is related to guerra for (you guessed it), war. If you remember that guerra is war and guerrilla is little war, you'll remember that in English, independent fighters are guerrillas, no matter how hairy they are.

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: We're sort of at peak demand right now. A peek is a glance or a quick look, like you do with the unwrapped Christmas presents at the bottom of your loved one's closet. It can also mean to glance or to peer at. It's frequently paired with sneak, which can lead you to use the incorrect peak : Residents take a peek at bike and pedestrian safety plans Yellowstone Offers Sneak Peek Of New Visitor Center Finally, pique is to upset or excited someone. You will sometimes see peak one's interest for pique one's interest , but don't be fooled. If you're piquing someone's interest, you are exciting their interest not taking a quick look at it: If that doesn't pique your interest, you can leave (but I'm keeping your shoes). Here's your mnemonic device: You have to r ea ch to gain the p ea k. If you p ee r at something, you are p ee king. And if you're pi que d about something, there's usually a que stion in your mind about it.

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. The robber didn't invent the motto, it's from the Round Table Club, and it comes from a speech made by the Prince of Wales in 1927. The full quote is: The young business and professional men of this country must get together round the table, adopt methods that have proved so sound in the past, adapt them to the changing needs of the times and wherever possible, improve them. The prince was encouraging the new generation of businessmen to take on, or adopt , methods that had worked before. Adopt means to take on as one's own, like an idea, an attitude, or behavior, or even, of course, a creature like a baby or a dog: All this strengthens my conviction that Europe must adopt strict and rigorous rules, including but not limited to the rating agencies," he said. ( Wall Street Journal ) Two months ago, I turned down the opportunity to search for my adopted daughter's birth parents. ( New York Times ) But the prince wanted Britain's industries to go further and adapt those methods to current conditions. Adapt means to change something to fit new situations, to modify: One wonderful thing the English language can do is adapt. ( Forbes ) "But obviously that military presence can adapt over time, taking into account the development in the overall security environment," he said. ( Reuters ) Remember, if you mean to rob a bank but wind up at an underwear store: adopt , adapt, and improve!

censor/censure

A censor hides information. A censure is harsh criticism. They're both judgments and they both stink. Foul language, nudity, and revolutionary ideas are often censored , or hidden, by some gang who's in charge, such as a government, the FCC, or your parents when they kick you out of the room for the best part of the movie. Censor can act as a verb or a noun: But Iran routinely censors the Internet using sophisticated filtering technology. ( Wall Street Journal ) The catalog reproduces a news photograph of "beach censors " arresting women in such offending garb. ( New York Times ) Censure is a strong dislike. When you strongly disapprove of something, usually in an official capacity, you are censuring that something, like when the student council censures your idea to have a pool party in December. Here are more examples: "They're tired of being censured or criticized," Dr. McKenna said. ( Time ) While Maud, still smarting inwardly from her father's recent sharp censure , had not dared to brave Mr. Warren's certain anger by doing so. ( Laura Dent Crane ) They sound alike but not the same: censor sounds like senser and censure sounds like senshure . Remember: to be censored is to be stopped from saying something; to be censured is to be reprimanded after you've said it.

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. Abhorrent means disgusting or detestable. When you abhor something, you loathe it. Its Latin root means, "to shudder, recoil," which is what you do when faced with something abhorrent like a zombie, or or in these examples: She said sanitary conditions in the emergency room were abhorrent . ( Seattle Times ) If I thought monarchy abhorrent , for example, I would not seek British citizenship. ( Washington Times ) Aberrant (no "h") means unusual, straying from a defined path. It's not necessarily nasty. It's from the Latin, aberrantem, "wandering away." It's related to err , a mistake, through Old French and Latin. If a behavior is aberrant , it's just not normal: Weeks ago the nation witnessed the culmination of aberrant fan behavior when Bryan Stow was beaten in the Dodger Stadium parking lot. ( Newsweek ) Upstairs the show gives way to delicious aberrant moments, like the gallery kitted out in beige walls and chunky red molding. ( New York Times ) Illinois citizens will be subjected to another round of descriptions of aberrant behavior by a governor who freely dropped the f-bomb. ( Quad-City Times ) If you can remember that the err in aberrant indicates an error and that you abhor something that is abhorrent, your word choice will be neither aberrant nor abhorrent. Wearing a feather boa to a funeral? Aberrant . Stealing the body? Abhorrent .

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. Aural is related to the sense of hearing: While the songs may be familiar, the delivery is the aural version of having one's stocking stuffed. ( technorati.com ) Audio teams capture far-flung aural impressions to set the proper movie mood ( Dallas Morning News ) Our second word, oral, refers to something spoken (rather than written) or something related to the mouth: The Long Island Storytelling Network will be telling tales at the library on Wednesday to help revive the oral tradition. ( Storynet.org ) Oral cancer has always been a bigger threat to men than women. ( Washington Post ) Now what about oral vs. verbal ? They both relate to something expressed through words, but oral is spoken and verbal can be spoken or written. Oral and verbal are often used interchangeably both describe spoken words after all. But they're not always interchangeable. If your little sister sticks everything in her mouth, she has an oral fixation. If she can recite the Constitution by age two, she's quite verbal . Consider these quotes from articles about college basketball: K-State basketball gets oral commitment from 7-footer Diaz. ( Wichita Eagle ) Gipson is Kansas State's second verbal commitment. ( Fox Sports ) Using those definitions, Diaz told K-State he'd join the team. He didn't sign any paperwork. But Gipson could have signed on the dotted line, or he might have just spoken his commitment. Remember: if it's related to the e a r or he a ring, you want a ural . If it's related to something sp o ken or to the m o uth, it's o ral . And although verbal can mean spoken or written, oral can only mean spoken.

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. Concurrent events happen at the same time, like when thieves make a plan to rob two houses at midnight. Here are some examples from the Times . Don't try to read them all at once: Most patients ultimately require at least two concurrent treatments to achieve remission of their depression, he said. ( New York Times ) A second Esquire promotion, meanwhile, is concurrent with its Brooklyn Decker effort, with both running through Feb. 28. ( New York Times ) He was given 20 concurrent life sentences, and has been held for nearly 30 years in the Broadmoor high-security psychiatric hospital west of London. ( New York Times ) The adjective consecutive, on the other hand, means one after the other, like little ducks all in a row. Thieves go from one house to the next on down the block if they're robbing consecutive houses. Sports fans like the word consecutive, especially when their team is winning. Here are some consecutive examples, read them one at a time: Harvard also won its 19th consecutive game at home. ( Seattle Times ) Each team will have to play on three consecutive nights at least once. ( Seattle Times ) South Korea's factory activity shrank for a fourth consecutive month. ( Reuters ) If the robbers served time consecutively , they'd serve first two months for robbing houses, and then another two months for stealing a car. If they served time concurrently , they'd be out in just two months. Woohoo!

venal/venial

Catholics everywhere are confused: do they commit venal sins or venial sins? And what is a venal / venial sin anyway? Whether they're Catholic or not, many writers are just as confused: Elshtain's Alleged Venal Sins Drinkin', cheatin', killin', temptation, greed and other mortal and venial sins. Politicians couldn't possibly be as venal, as stupid, as irresponsible or as heartless as portrayed in the 30-second spot. That Republicans would value this crass, conniving, venial, vapid airhead [Sarah Palin] indicates the direction that the Republican party is headed. Venial means minor in the circumstances; when speaking specifically of sins, it's a slight sin, such as occasionally getting drunk or giving in to small temptations. (Most would agree that killing at least comes under the "mortal" heading.) Political scientist Jean Bethke Elshtain might be guilty of a venial sin according to the author, but not a venal one. Venal means corruptible, able to be bribed. Politicians are often described as venal. Adolf Hitler, Fidel Castro, and Saddam Hussein certainly wear that label. Whether Sarah Palin does could be a great conversation starter, as long as you don't mind if it comes to blows. But no one will say she's of slight consequence. Her ability to grab headlines proves that. The last example wants venal, not venial.

precede/proceed

Choose the correct word: Deadly Skills Days Precede/Proceed the Deadly Days Festival CO2 regulation to precede/proceed in U.S. without climate bill These two words have similar sounds. They also have similar definitions, encompassing an idea of forward movement. This leads to some confusion. Precede is to go before . Proceed means to move ahead, to continue. Our first sentence, then, calls for precede, because the skills day will come before the festival. In the second sentence, proceed is the right choice; CO2 regulation will happen even though there's no overarching climate bill. This is one of those cases when knowing your prefixes can help you choose the right word. The two words share a root, cede, which comes from the Latin cedere, which originally meant to go. With precede, the prefix pre - means before.So precede is to go before. In proceed, the prefix pro - means forward, and therefore proceed is to go forward. Sometimes writers will also confuse the terms by misspelling precede as preceed : The event will preceed the men's soccer exhibition match against UNC Chapel Hill. Preceed your website development with a proper graphics design. Here, it's just a matter of memorizing the spellings: precede and proceed.

premier/premiere

Choose your words: Avon: Building The World's Premier/Premiere Company For Women Namely, RJ has a choice to make, hence the season two premier/premiere title, "RJ's Choice." In the first sentence, Avon is being described as the chief, or perhaps the earliest, company for women. The correct choice is premier. It entered English in 1448 from the Middle French premier, for first or chief, which comes from the Latin prmarus. A premier can also refer to a prime minister. Premier Kathy Dunderdale says Danny Williams did not bring any concerns to her directly. The first fruits of Bay of Plenty's premier rugby status are about to be harvested. The second sentence discusses the first episode of a TV show's second season. This time we want premiere, meaning first public performance. This is also a borrowing from French, in this case from premire in premire representation, in 1889 . This premire is the feminine form of premier . It makes it even more surprising a zero-budget production about the wall-crawling superhero was able to premiere first. The Mainstage Season season will begin with the New York premiere of Itamar Moses' Completeness. Premiere was first used as a verb, as in to have a first public performance, in 1940. It took several decades before critics allowed premiere to be used that way, but the usage is now considered standard.

reluctant/reticent

Consider this sentence: They may also be reticent about sharing bad news with you. Are they reticent? Or are they reluctant? It's a subtle difference to be sure. But is it worth preserving? Reluctant means resisting, unwilling. There's a strong negative connotation attached to it, as these examples demonstrate: The US healthcare industry has been extremely reluctant to embrace outsourcing firms. The subject lends itself to hyperbole both because of its urgency and the imperative to draw reluctant readers. US websites are reluctant to remove extremist religious material because of the First Amendment to the constitution protecting free speech. By comparison, reticent means quiet, restrained, unwilling to communicate. Despite the unwillingness component, reticent imparts less of a negative feeling: They were reticent about their main concerns, and few wanted to talk about how they voted. The mustache and beard deny us the opportunity to get too close to the man, whose reticent gaze appears fixed to the floor. Korchagin, usually calm and reticent, spoke with a passion that surprised Tsvetayev Garner's Modern American Usage reports that reticent for reluctant is at stage 4 of language change: a nearly universal form that only "linguistic stalwarts," those "die-hard snoots," object to. Those snoots (syntax nudniks [pests] of our time) are people who love language, are at ease with its nuances, and tend toward tradition, rejecting neologisms without good cause. It's up to you, then. If you're in favor of preserving the nuance between reluctant and reticent , then be proud to be a snoot!

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. To rebut is more than just "to deny," it's a serious attempt to prove something is false. If you rebut something, you haven't necessarily won the argument; you've only presented your side of it: A Jesuit priest has taken to YouTube and his blog to rebut arguments raised by British physicist Stephen Hawking. ( Catholic News Service ) Baldwin has used his Twitter account to rebut criticism. ( Washington Pos t) Refute means to disprove something straight up. If you refute something, you successfully win the argument: The hearing was unfortunately based on hearsay evidence that we were not able to refute by cross-examining anyone. ( Eagle Tribune ) Daly refuted the report Monday, saying that only one general manager had expressed concern. ( New York Times ) So, if you try to defeat an accusation, you rebut it. You still need to butt in again, so you re-but , as in "But wait! I can still prove it!" If you actually de f eat the accusation, you have re f uted it.

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. A correlation is a relationship, but not a cause and effect one . In statistics, a correlation is some connection between random variables or data values. Since correlation is a kind of relation, it's often followed by "between." Here are some examples of correlations out in the world: Correlation is not necessarily causation, so I'm sure this has nothing to do with the departure of Rahm Emanuel. ( New York Times ) Their study looked only at wider geographical patterns, showing a correlation between an area's radon levels and rates of the skin cancer. ( Reuters ) Corollary, on the other hand, is one thing naturally following another. In mathematics, a theorem is a statement proven true through reasoning. Its corollary is a statement so closely related that it doesn't need to be proven independently. For the rest of us, it's more like the aftermath of something. Let's look at some examples: The corollary to this finding is that dairy products have no effect on cough, he said. ( New York Times ) There is a natural foreign policy corollary : those who see America as a work in progress are less likely to view it as exceptional. ( Time ) How can non-math geniuses keep the two straight? Remember that cor relation has an equal, though not necessarily defined, relation ship. Corollary is more like a consequence .

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. Council is a group of people who get together to figure something out, or or a group chosen to give advice, like a student council . Used as an adjective, council describes things related to a council , such as a council candidate or a council room, or a council member: But the information was often incomplete or conflicting and council members are now asking the agencies to respond to their queries in writing. ( New York Times ) The council is trying to "contain" acts of armed resistance by military defectors and described them as "isolated incidents." ( Business Week ) On the other hand, counsel is more s lippery; it can act as a noun or a verb. As a noun, counsel is a synonym for advice , but it can also mean the act of giving that advice or refer to a person who gives legal advice. In fact, a lawyer who goes to trial for you is your counsel. That lawyer would counsel you. Here are some counsels in the wild: He had argued that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. ( Reuters ) "Don't go out in the storm tonight," counseled his wife. ( Rossiter Johnson ) Before the 16th century, council and counsel were interchangeable, but by the 1500s, council 's meaning became restricted to "a meeting" and counsel 's "to give advice." The two should not be confused. Never! If you need a verb or a lawyer, use counsel because she'll s ay something helpful. If you are referring to a meeting or group, choose c for crowd and council.

pore/pour

A pore is small opening in a surface that lets stuff through. To pour , on the other hand, means to flow continuously and rapidly. A pore is a little hole in a surface that lets gases, liquids, and microscopic elements through. The surface might be your skin (think of all those clogged pores suffered through in teen years) or something else, like a filter: With the sweat starting from every pore he essayed a few more steps, stumbled, and in clumsily catching his balance, his hat fell off. ( James Beardsley ) Solid bodies are not absolutely so, all undoubtedly containing pores , or spaces void of matter. ( Thomas P. Jones ) As a verb, to pore is used with through or over and means that you are absorbed in the study of something or that you are reading something intensely. For example: He spent more than 10 hours on the manuscript, poring over the details and asking faculty members for advice. ( Nature ) Meanwhile, players pore over Polaroid photographs during breaks or wait as officials measure out first downs using sticks attached to chains. ( New York Times ) On the other hand, to pour is to flow, like when you pour yourself a glass of water while it pours down rain.Usually an inanimate object is poured , but people can pour , too: The donations began pouring in on Thursday, many of them delivered electronically and accompanied by politically tinged comments. ( New York Times ) Within seconds, other heavily armed cops are pouring out the car, guns drawn, to surround the now disabled jet. ( Time ) So her group and others are pouring energy into training mounted riders to fend off wolves. ( New York Times ) After you pore over the difference between these words, po u r yourself a glass of lemonade and say, "This one's for U!"

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. Adverse describes something that works against you, like a tornado or a computer crash, and is usually applied to things. It's often followed by the word effects : More significantly, he has shown that if such ageing cells are selectively destroyed, these adverse effects go away. ( Economist ) The pact was intended to limit the adverse effects of climate change but only obliged developed countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ( Scientific American ) Averse is usually applied to feelings, attitudes, or people. It's a strong feeling of opposition it's a big "no thanks" and it's often followed by to . Averse also goes with risk to describe people (or banks) who don't like taking them: Balth isn't averse to including human beings in his work. ( Seattle Times ) Nevertheless, Ms. Fishbein is not averse to a large sociable gathering. ( New York Times ) Your survey shows that banks are more risk- averse than they used to be. ( Business Week ) If it's a force of nature working against you, use adverse . Kick out the "d" and a person can be averseto or againstanything, like rainy days or gambling.

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. To aggravate is to make something go from bad to worse. Yet aggravate was first listed as meaning, "exasperate, annoy" in A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues by Randal Cotgrave in 1611. But it's not exactly the same as irritate , darn it, and the sentences below get it right. In the news, aggravated often goes with battery , which is worse than simple battery (beating someone up), and carries a tougher punishment: Knight was arrested for aggravated battery and resisting a police officer. ( Chicago Tribune ) Tapia, 27, was charged after the confrontation with several counts of aggravated battery on a police officer and resisting arrest. ( Reuters ) Regardless of pH levels, high-fat meats, dairy products, caffeine, chocolate, carbonated beverages, fried foods, alcohol and mints are known to aggravate reflux symptoms. ( New York Times ) Irritate means to annoy someone. If you try to use irritate in the sentences above, it doesn't work as well. Irritate also means to inflame a part of the body, and in that sense, aggravate won't do: Bedbugs don't spread disease, but they can irritate skin. ( WebMD ) Gold chains are also very irritating to the neck and arms of an infant. ( Eliza Leslie ) Despite four hundred years of English speakers using aggravate to mean annoy or irritate , there is a shade of difference. If you make something worse, you aggravate the situation. A bedbug will irritate your skin. If you're determined to annoy, use either.

capital/capitol

Aha! A capital is a stash of money or the government headquarters of a state. Oh, a capitol is a building. A state's capital is the primary city and usually the seat of the state government. The most important city is the capital city. The capital of New York is Albany, for example. Washington DC is the nation's capital : Park Police found an abandoned vehicle, with an assault rifle inside it, near a bridge leading out of the nation's capital to Virginia. ( New York Times ) Capital is also a financial word referring to, in a nutshell, the money a person or business has, not including debts. But wait, there's more! A capital letter starts a sentence or a proper noun, like the capital V for Virginia. It's also a crime that carries with it the severest penalty (life in prison or execution): Wilson is the 19th death row inmate to commit suicide since California reinstated capital punishment in 1978, according to the Department of Corrections. ( Reuters ) If you want to sound like a British spy, use capital to mean excellent, first rate, or really important: In the realm of amateur fruit growing, on the other hand a realm now daily widening dwarf fruit trees are of capital importance. ( F.A. Waugh ) A capitol (with an o ) is a building that houses a government's legislative branch. When capitol is capitalized (ahem), it refers to the Capitol Building in Washington, DC, that is home to US Senators and Representatives. It's located on where else? Capitol Hill. Remember that capitol with an o refers to a certain type of building that usually has a d o me , then you'll know that in all other cases you want capital with an a .

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! Cite is a verb to mean to quote, to summon officially, to mention formally, or even to compliment. It's also the noun form of the same things: a formal summons, or an official mention. You have to cite your sources when you write a paper, but it's also a nod to wherever you got your idea. Check out what cite can do: The band, formed in Ohio 10 years ago, cite numerous influences in different genres from hip-hop to rock and blues. ( Reuters ) He was taken to his residence in Bellevue, cited and released. ( Seattle Times ) A site is a specified place, such as a building site , but it's also short for Website, which is a collection of Web pages that are found within the same URL. Either way it's somewhere you can go: It's taken nearly nine years, but large-scale commercial redevelopment of the World Trade Center site is tantalizingly close to taking off. ( New York Post ) The death also was reported on the singer's web site . ( Seattle Times ) Sight , of course, is vision or something that can be seen. If something is outta sight then it's fabulous whether you can see it or not. Here's an example of sight : Visually impaired servers who have some sight wear blindfolds. ( New York Times ) Though cite, site, and sight were confused before the Internet, we are more likely to use site for all of them because we use it so often for Website. If you can remember cite is short for citation and site is a location, whether it's online or off, you'll have the sight to use the words correctly.

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. To allude is to talk around something, give hints, and generally not say what you really want to say. You allude to something when you don't want to say it outright: In fact, McCarthy alluded to Williams as being an afterthought in Green Bay's game plan. ( Washington Post ) Your film alludes to various versions of the "sleeping beauty" myth was there a single starting point? ( New York Times ) To elude , on the other hand, is to get away. Elude does love hiding from the law, but it can also refer to an idea you can't grasp or cheap health care: It was a secluded zone with no mobile telephone reception perfect for eluding law enforcement snooping. ( New York Times ) Gregory Standifer was arrested at the scene after allegedly attempting to elude police by jumping out of a window, police said. ( Chicago Tribune ) How the aspiring artist achieved his accomplished technique eludes us. ( New York Times ) Good, cheap health care has long eluded America. ( Economist ) Allude to something by saying all but what you actually want to say. Elude evades and gets away, like a name that's on the tip of your tongue.

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? To assure is to remove doubt, or confidently tell someone about something. It's generally followed by an object, so you assure someone. You can also tell someone to rest assured when you know everything's under control: "Rest assured that Brazil will have a great World Cup in 2014," Rebelo said. ( Washington Post ) I assure you I meant no harm. ( V for Vendetta ) He considered retirement before doctors assured him he could still fight. ( Newsweek ) Ensure, on the other hand, means to make certain a thing will (or won't) happen: Aides said the leaders conferred by telephone to ensure that their speeches, while different in tone, would not be incompatible. ( Reuters ) Roast Brussels sprout mixture on sheet pan for 12 to 15 minutes, shaking pan about halfway through to ensure even cooking. ( New York Times ) The "feed kids first" policy is designed to ensure that parents can eat in peace. ( New York Times ) Finally, use insure when you need insurance. To insure is to arrange for financial compensation against the loss of something or against someone getting hurt or dying. You might insure your health, your Cadillac, your beachside condo, or your stocks and bonds: Very well then, listen: You know our house was insured for a good deal of money fifteen thousand dollars. ( Gabrielle Emile ) Euro-area finance chiefs meeting tonight also will discuss using the European Financial Stability Facility to insure bonds of troubled governments. ( Business Week ) Remarkably, younger and healthier individuals in other industrialized countries have long accepted the mandate to be insured in return for community-rated premiums and guaranteed issue. ( New York Times ) Sometimes people say ensure or insure when they really mean assure, to remove doubt. Bryan Garner points out in Garner's Modern American Usage that the usage has become "ubiquitous." Harrumph! We assure you that there is a difference, and by reading this you've ensured that you know your homonyms, but alas we can't insure you. It's just not that kind of party.

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 . Amicable comes from the Latin amicabilis, for friendly, which can be traced to the Latin amicus, for friend. Here are some friendly examples: Through an email, Sala said negotiations have been very amicable and that both sides are motivated to get a deal done. ( Seattle Times ) It was a relatively amicable divorce and at least they remain on speaking terms. ( BBC ) The split was amicable, Mr. Robbins said, with his former partner breaking even on the sale and returning to the music business. ( New York Times ) Amiable also comes from the Late Latin amicabilis, with a stop in Old French as amiable before English adopted it. Some experts use amiable to describe only people, but amiable is also used to describe things being sociable or agreeable, like an amiable tone of voice. It's usually used for people, though: A tall, amiable man, he wears a white hard hat with "JOE" written in faded marker on the front. ( Washington Post ) One former roommate described him as amiable and talkative. ( New York Times ) Amicable refers to the connections between people or things, like a friendly situation with a crowd. Take out the "c" for crowd and you're left with amiable , one friendly person.

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. An anecdote is a story someone tells about themselves or people they know. It's often short and unreliable. That rattlesnake encounter? Well, maybe you embellished a bit you saw a rattlesnake, but it didn't bite you. Anecdotes can be true or false; they're revealing little tales: All the little anecdotes I had heard of him pleased me very much. ( Miranda Eliot Swan ) The pages are thick with freaky anecdotes : One patient suffers permanent brain damage after an anesthesiologist causes him to nearly suffocate. ( Washington Post ) Mr. Smith offered only anecdotes to back his beliefs. ( New York Times ) An antidote cures what ails you. It's an actual counteragent to a poison, like snake venom. It's what you need if your wife tries to kill you, like poor Wang below, or when you just need to turn that frown upside down: Then he told the physician there was only one way to save Wang's life an antidote called Prussian Blue. ( Daily Mail.uk ) Forced blossoms are an antidote to the gloomy winter months ( Digthedirt.com ) An anecdote is a memoir sound bite, a little story. They're fun, but they don't change your destiny. But antidote , is anti -poison, so dote on situations that require antidotes your life may be on the line.

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." Epitaph is usually the words inscribed on the stone, but it can also be a memorial statement about someone who has died. Epitaphs are usually grave (ha ha), but old ones can sometimes be unintentionally funny, like this one: "Here lies Lester Moore/Four slugs/From a forty-four/No less/No more." Here are some other examples of epitaph : "Here lies one whose name was writ in water," is the epitaph he composed for his grave, in Rome. ( New York Times ) Her epitaph , being written in brass instead of marble, has escaped the wear and tear of nearly three centuries. ( Hunter Joseph ) He has picked out a cemetery plot, selected his tombstone and written his epitaph . ( New York Times ) An epithet is a description of someone, often a nickname, like if you're tall and people call you Daddy Long Legs. It's not necessarily an insult, but these days it's used that way a lot, like a racial or sexist slur. It's the kind of thing people sling at each other, like "red headed stepchild." An epithet can be negative, but it doesn't have to be: According to legend, it is the Golden State an epithet that might originate from the discovery of gold in California in 1848. ( The Independent ) Elizabeth Olsen still needs to be described as "Mary-Kate and Ashley's younger sister," but any day now she might shake that epithet . ( New York Magazine ) Be wary if someone writes your epitaph , after all, it'll be inscribed on your grave. But don't be afraid of an epithet , or nickname, maybe they call you The Gorgeous Successful Person.

instant/instance

Around the Vocabulary.com office, we might like an instance of tea, but we vehemently oppose instant tea. That's because instance means an example or an occurrence: Police investigated five instances of criminal mischief to motor vehicles on Forest Avenue A student in the engineering academy, for instance, would have to take three engineering-specific electives. There was an instance in a game in August where the catwalk came into play. Instant, on the other hand, mean immediately or urgently: Easy Reader: Philip Roth's Nemesis an Instant Classic Starbucks announced last summer it would start retailing flavored instant coffee, and here it is. Now think about the times when you fell victim to the instant desire to buy that new shinny thing. Oddly enough, the two are related. Instance dates back to 1380 as meaning the current time, but it comes from the Medieval Latin (through Old French) instantia, which refers to both presence and urgency. Instant dates to about the same time, prior to 1398, as meaning a specific moment. It comes from the Medieval Latin instantem , meaning present and urgent. Instant picked up its modern meaning of immediately around 1443 from its English definition and instance seems to have never meant urgency, creating a distinction between the two. But instant tea is still disgusting.

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 (and hope!) 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. To assume is to suppose or believe something without any proof. It also means to take over, usually responsibilities and duties, such as with a job, or to take on a look or attitude: First, based on your question, we'll assume you're a recent college graduate. ( USA Today ) Receiving no reply, three days later he sent a second missive, in which he assumed that his first letter had gone astray. ( Elizabeth S. Kite ) "I won't have him," said Sir Henry at once, his eyes assuming their most prawnlike expression. ( Mary Cholmondeley ) Presume is from the Latin pre "before" and sumere "to take," like taking something for granted. It means to be sure of something before it happened. When you presume, you suppose something without proof, based on probability: In her latest video, Britney Spears arrives on earth an alien, we presume to spread the message of consumerism. ( Washington Post ) I favor the latter explanation, also known as a sensibly presumed truth, just as I believe William Shakespeare wrote a few plays in his day. ( Time ) People don't love it when you assume , based on the catchy phrase that calls you an ass, because you're basically making a guess. When you assumed it was your neighbor knocking on your door and you told her to go away, you found out later it was your mom! There's no funny phase about presume , because you're usually right.

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. A bazaar is usually a market in the Middle East. Picture lots of booths with merchants selling their wares. It's crowded, with haggling going on all around and pungent smells from the food vendors. Istanbul's Grand Bazaar is a good example. The American version of a bazaar is quite tame by comparison. It's a temporary (usually a day or two) market offering various goods for sale for a charitable cause, such as a church or school. Here are some examples of both: Abdul Halim, an Afghan Special Forces sergeant, happened to be passing through the bazaar in his truck. ( New York Times ) Arab Festival: Food, coffeehouse, children's activities, fashion show, bazaar , performances, panel discussions, noon-7 p.m. ( Seattle Times ) Cochise College Adult Education will host a craft bazaar fundraiser from 10 am to 3 pm Wednesday, Nov. 17 at the Sierra Vista Campus. ( Sierra Vista Herald ) The other half of our word pair , bizarre , is an adjective meaning strange or very unusual, wacky, odd: Cain's bizarre ad had mustached campaign manager Mark Block blowing cigarette smoke at the camera. ( New York Times ) The video, which was posted days ago but gained Internet traction on Tuesday, was called " bizarre " and "strange" in some media reports. ( Reuters ) The only reason you might get bazaar and bizarre mixed up is that they sound the same. You won't find them together often, unless you're in the market for some human toes.

grisly/gristly/grizzly

Blood, guts, and man-eaters, oh my! Feint 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. Grisly describes blood and guts, horror movie fodder, something totally repulsive. It shows up in these blood-curdling examples: The grisly massacre some bodies were grotesquely mutilated and defiled shocked the country and made global headlines. (Time ) Television video showed a heavily damaged building and a grisly scene inside, with clothing and prayer mats scattered across a blood-splattered floor. ( New York Times ) Gristly is gross, too, but it means related to gristle or cartilage, that yucky hard stuff in a chicken leg, for example, or the tough chewy part in any meat. Or person. Here are some gristly examples to gnaw on: In a ham sandwich is a cold, pink punch in the face, an angry thing marbled with gristly neglect. ( Guardian ) This is surrounded by a sheath of connective tissue, at first merely membranous, later becoming cartilaginous or gristly . ( John Mason Tyler ) Grizzly refers to a species of brown bear found in North America. Grizzly can also refer to the color gray or gray hair: Grizzlies get their name from the white hairs that grow in their brown coats, making them look grizzled (streaked with gray). He makes a face like a threatened grizzly bear: mouth wide open, snout muscles flexed, teeth bared. ( New York Times ) All in all, if you're going out on a bear hunt, avoid grisly, gristly, and even grizzly bears. Hunt for teddy bears instead.

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. If something afflicts you, it hurts. Cancer, death, arthritis, or even bad skin can afflict you. Afflict is often, but not always, followed by the preposition with : It's also quite likely that he was afflicted with an eating disorder. ( Slate ) He has never publicly revealed what type of cancer afflicted him. ( New York Times ) In the proud tradition of genuine watchdog journalism, Khalil Bendib's work aims to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. ( Brunei Times ) Inflict is meaner. It's more aggressive it actively hurts and causes problems. A self- inflicted wound is when you hurt yourself. Inflict is often, but not always, followed by on : Some participants in the debate said the rule could unintentionally inflict economic harm on Africans. ( Washington Post ) Five other men accused of taking part in the fight were convicted of hooliganism and inflicting light bodily injury. ( Seattle Times ) Most injuries are self- inflicted ; they're not necessarily inflicted by others. ( New York Times ) The difference between the two is whether the emphasis is on the one suffering or the one causing the suffering. Afflict emphasizes who is doing the suffering. Inflict emphasizes the person or thing causing the suffering . Try this: I a m a fflicted with something terrible, so I in flict in juries upon others.

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. To complement , with an e , means to complete or supplement something, such as chocolates complementing the flowers you give your date. A complement is the thing doing the completing. The chocolates are a complement to the flowers. Here are some things that go well together: Even as teenagers, they finished each other's sentences, complementing and encouraging the other. ( Golf Digest ) In Ms. Clinton's case, IAC said her "skills and background complement the existing areas of expertise of other board members." ( New York Times ) GM mosquito technology must be evaluated as a complement to existing control measures. ( Scientific American ) To compliment , with an i , is to offer praise to or admiration. This could be in the form of words or actions. You might compliment your date on his dance moves, for example. "Your moonwalk is perfect!" is a compliment . Here are more: "I lived on people's compliments , kind words," she says. ( Washington Post ) Biggest compliment : After Rob completed his waltz, Judge Len Goodman announced, "You've got the best footwork of any guy I've seen on this show ever." ( Time ) Once spelled the same, compliment became distinct from complement around 1650. They're still pronounced the same. You see the difference when they're written, so as long as you're just yapping no one will know if you mix them up. When writing, though, remember that a comple ment comple tes something, but I like getting compl i ments.

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. If you are amoral , you're not a jerk, you just don't know that what you're doing is wrong. In the 1800s, Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (among other treasures), coined the word amoral to differentiate from immoral. Amoral is generally more descriptive, rather than judgmental: In an age enamored of machines, life becomes amoral , without moral bearings, devoid of moral categories. ( Edith Sizoo) Amoral nature committed the crime "the man" could not. ( Eye for Film ) Immoral is having no morality, being wicked or evil. If you are immoral , you know what society considers right and wrong, yet you do wrong anyway. It's a judgment, no doubt: The bankers who took millions while destroying people's savings: greedy, selfish, and immoral. ( Business Week ) At best, it is in bad taste and worse, flatly immoral . ( Scientific American ) If you call someone immoral, you are saying that person knows better. If you call him amoral, you are saying that person does wrong but doesn't understand that it is wrong. It can be a fine line, other times it's clear: If a giant wave turns your boat over, that wave isn't being mean, it's amoral. If another boat rams into you and does the same thing, that is an immoral act, especially if the immoral captain laughs instead of helping you out of the water.

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. Conscious, pronounced "KAHN-shuhs," means being aware of yourself or the world around you. It also means being sensitive to something or being awake, not asleep or insensible: Witnesses say he was bleeding profusely but conscious and talking. ( Washington Post ) He was even horribly conscious of a slow pallor creeping over his face. ( Bertram Mitford ) Conscience, pronounced "KAHN-shuhns," is a moral understanding, an inner feeling, of right and wrong. If you were a cartoon, your conscience would be that little angel on your shoulder, telling you the right thing to do (and to ignore the little devil on the other side). See the word in action: They went out guiltily, as men whose consciences troubled them. ( Richard Marsh ) Passports are not required, but a social conscience probably is. ( New York Times ) To help keep conscious and conscience straight, try emphasizing the second n in conscience, remembering that the conscience deals with your in ner thoughts.

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. Bridal refers to something to do with a bride or a wedding. It comes from the Old English word brydealo for wedding feast. It's formed from bryd, for bride, and ealo, or ale, which was often drunk at wedding feasts. Here's bridal in the news: There are bridal trends that will never go away, such as the classic white gown and the big balloon skirt. ( ABC News ) Forgo the champagne treatment a bridal boutique often provides. ( Associated Press ) "I wanted nothing bridal , nothing white," Mr. Alexandre said. ( New York Times ) The word bridle also comes from an Old English word, meaning "to move quickly." Used as a noun, bridle is part of a horse's harness. As a verb, it can be used to mean restrain, as you would a horse in its bridle . If you bridle at something, you're angry or offended. Before the tent sits a cavalier, glass in hand and holding a horse by the bridle , talking to a woman standing in front of him. ( Esther Singleton ) As a result, I instantly bridle at news the government could sell off these beautiful and therapeutic spaces in search of a quick buck. ( BusinessGreen.com ) You can think of this form of bridal as bride + -al , and all of the stuff that goes with a wedding, but bridle is the thing that restrains a horse, and what you might do if someone tried to put a leather harness on your head.

persecute/prosecute

But I firmly believe these particular bureaucrats have only one group they plan to monitor and persecute I mean prosecute on this issue. 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. Prosecute entered English first: probably before 1425 from prosecuten (to follow up or pursue) in Polychronicon by Ranulf Higdon. Higdongot his term from the Latin prsectus, whose root means to pursue. By 1579, prosecute had taken on the sense of pursuing legal action before a court: His compassion and experience would allow him to prosecute cases that will make us all safer. Persecute, on the other hand, entered English in 1450 meaning to pursue for the purpose of harming. Before 1450, it had often been confused with prosecuten from (you guessed it) Higdon's Polychronicon. Persecute, however, comes from the Middle French perscuter, to pursue, torment, or begin legal action. Today, persecute can mean harming, harassing, tormenting, or oppressing: "It was actively involved in every operation to persecute, expel and exterminate the Jews from the very beginning," he said. Given that persecute and prosecute once both meant shades of to pursue and to begin legal action, perhaps those who confuse the two should be neither prosecuted or persecuted.

personal/personnel

Choose the right word for each sentence: XYZ Co. is letting go of personal/personnel at an alarming rate. My personal/personnel files include notes on how to take over the world using just a red paperclip. Match.com and other dating sites have eliminated the need to advertise in the personals/personnels . The HR department kept James' personal/personnel file updated with all the complaints about his work habits. Personal and personnel can be confused if the writer is not diligent, especially as both can be used as a noun and an adjective. Let's go through the quiz to uncover all four usages. The first example could say that XYZ Co. is laying off employees or staff; the correct choice here is personnel, a plural noun. You wouldn't have one personnel; you'd have many. The second sentence calls for personal. Personal refers to something of a particular person's, something done in person, something related to a person, and so on. My files belong to me; they are personal. They don't have anything to do with my employer. The third sentence refers to those ads placed in a newspaper by people looking for romance or wishing to send messages to others. Personals is the correct, if increasingly rare, choice. In the final sentence, a personnel file is an employee file. Although the file is about one person and is somewhat private, it is limited to James' work life at his current company; it is a file kept by the company about its employee. To remember which word is which, try this: Personnel has two n s, just as a company has to have at least two employees to have personnel. Anything personal (one n ) is about one individual.

laudable/laudatory

Choose your words: Acclaimed playwright-actor returns home for a laudable/laudatory cause When it was published, the most laudable/laudatory review came from the novelist Anthony Burgess. In the first sentence a playwright-actor comes home for a good cause, a praiseworthy cause. That's laudable. Though a positive word, laudable many times precedes a negative follow-up statement. I soon realized that the efforts, though laudable, have a ways to go to meet the standard being set in my hometown. Cutting taxes laudable, but some city needs must be addressed In the second sentence, Burgess gave a positive review of the it mentioned. The review itself isn't being described as praiseworthy, the review was doing the praising. We want laudatory here. A trio of laudatory articles on Amazon in recent days compelled one to take another look at the company's performance. Thomas Keneally wrote a laudatory biography of Hasler in 1993 titled Utility Player. The difference to watch for between these adjectives is who or what is receiving the praise. If the noun that the adjective modifies is receiving the praise, such as a worthy cause, then choose laudable. Think able to be praised. If the noun is giving the praise to something else, such as a positive review of a book, then choose laudatory.

moral/morale

Choose your words: Moral/Morale of the story: If you became a middle school football coach so you could trick little kids, shame on you. Posh needed a moral-/morale -boosting win after a couple of insipid home displays and credit to the players for providing it. In our first sentence, we want a word that means the lesson of the story, especially a lesson of right and wrong. That word is moral. In the plural, it refers to the rules by which one conducts one's life. Some more examples that use moral : However, here are 10 moral character failings destroying our nation that I feel, like the mayor, we ought to be up in arms about addressing. Saudi Arabia Blocks Facebook on Moral Grounds, Promptly Unblocks It The second sentence describes a win that will make the team feel more confident and enthusiastic. Here the choice is morale. If your department or team has a strong sense of common purpose or dedication, your morale is high; if there's a lot of bickering going on and people are quitting the company or just not doing their jobs, morale is low.Some more examples: Perks keep morale high at Michigan's top workplaces To improve officer morale, Sheppard said he will repair union relations, address concerns that officer discipline is handled unfairly and solicit more officer input while improving training..

affect/effect

Choosing between affect and effect can be scary. Think of Edgar Allen Poe and his RAVEN: R emember A ffect V erb E ffect N oun. You can't affect the creepy poem by reading it, but you can enjoy the effect of a talking bird. In everyday speech, affect is a verb. It means to influence something, such as in the headline from the Albuquerque News , Downed Power Line Affects PNM Customers The downed power line had an impact on some power customers: they were without electricity overnight. Effect is mostly commonly used as a noun meaning the result or impact of something, an outcome. If there's "a/an/the" in front of it, it's an effect . The second sentence is from a story about the outcome of long-term sleeping trouble, The Effect of Persistent Sleepiness Adding to the confusion, effect can also be used as a verb to mean to produce or to cause to come into being. Here's an example that uses it correctly, A government unable to effect any change is a government that will produce no surprises. Put another way, a government that can't produce change won't be able to produce surprises; it will be predictable. Most of the time, you'll want affect as a verb meaning to influence something and effect for the something that was influenced. The difference between affect and effect is so slippery that people have started using "impact" as a verb instead. Don't be one of them! Another trick is to remember that affect comes first alphabetically, and an action ( to affect ) has to occur before you can have a result ( an effect ).

practical/practicable

Choosing between practical ("sensible") and practicable ("possible") often depends on context. Luxury gifts are out this Christmas with practical/practicable presents now topping most people's wish lists. Health Amendment Act 2007 required councils to take all practical/practicable steps to ensure drinking water complied with drinking water standards. The Torah contains 613 commandments, many of which we call ritual because they don't fulfill a practical/practicable or moral purpose. In the first sentence, the presents on people's wish lists are sensible or reasonable. They're practical. Here's another example: The problem with personal budgets is practical , not ideological. The second sentence refers to steps that can actually be put into practice, steps that are achievable. They're practicable : He failed to take all practicable steps to ensure his actions did not cause harm to any other persons. The third quiz sentence talks about three types of commandments: those concerned with religious ceremonies (ritual), those concerned with a sense of right and wrong (moral), and those concerned with things able to be put to use. That last group was labeled practical in the original sentence. But if those commandments, such as returning lost objects, are ones that we can put into use, aren't they also practicable, commandments that are feasible? In a word: sometimes. Context can be everything. When faced with a choice between practical and practicable, look at the context around the word. Do you mean to say that a thing is sensible? Choose practical. Do you want to say it is possible? Choose practicable. Out of context, sometimes either word will do.

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. Climactic comes from climax, with the x changed to a ct . A climax is the top point of something, so something climactic describes that intense moment. Climactic isoften used in the negative , anticlimactic , like when there's a build-up to something that falls short . But let's be positive: But I have seldom seen this climactic moment staged to such haunting effect. ( New York Times ) Still, a viewer would have to be made of stone not to get worked up during the stirring climactic section. ( Reuters ) The skies were shattered with a final climactic crash of thunder. ( Virginia Brooks ) Take out the extra "c," and climatic refers to weather conditions. The word climatic gets thrown around a lot these days, with all the talk about global warming, like the climatic insanity that made it snow on Halloween. FYI: There's no such word as "anticlimatic." Also, climatic changes come from the climate, not the soil: Warmer and wetter have become cooler and drier, a wholesale change of climatic fortunes. ( Bakersfield Now ) This will trigger unpredictable climatic disasters in many parts of the world. ( Huffington Post ) Lee eased Louisiana's worst drought since 1902, according to the National Climatic Data Center. ( Business Week ) To keep climatic and climactic straight, remember that a clim act ic moment could be the most intense act yet. Something climactic gives you a kick! But clim a tic is just a ir.

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! Compose means to make up a whole (it also means to create, but that's not the definition that troubles people). Mention the parts first, then the whole, as in "four rooms compose our small house."The whole can be first if you say composedof , as in "our house is composed of four rooms." Check it out: Fresh ptal flowers composed the royal throne, Golden blossoms raised the state umbrella. ( Vidyapati Thakura ) The nest is composed of dry grass and lined with finer fibres. ( Rev. C.A. Johns ) Comprise means made up of, contain, include. When you use comprise , mention the whole thing first, then the parts, as in "the house comprises four rooms." It doesn't need an of after it. (That's the other word.) Here are some examples of the whole comprising the parts: The stories comprised in this volume deserve to be widely known and appreciated. ( Williams Andrews ) "Earth" comprises clay, mud, ochre, marl, and "peculiar earths generally." ( Georgius Agricola )   The Penn State police force comprises 46 armed officers. ( Slate ) Often comprise shows up in the phrase composed of, but really, comprise does not like of to follow it around . Usage maven Bryan Garner points out that this error is at stage 4 of his language change index ; many are mixing up the words so much that the language is changing, but it hasn't changed yet. Remember that those fluffy poodles compose the dog class because the class comprises eager pups. Woof.

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. If you're looking and feeling good, you're confident. Confident is a feeling of self-reliance or of certainty about something. It comes from Middle French, confident, which in turn comes from Latin, cnfidentem, meaning "trusting or bold." If you're not confident , you turn tail and go home. Hold your head up high to read these confident examples: He appeared confident that he could get to any spot, setting up lanes by running with patience and vision. ( New York Times ) Both camps say they are confident of winning. ( Reuters ) A confidant , with an a, is the person you trust to spill your guts to. It also comes from the French confident , which came from the Latin confidente, for "a trusted friend." Confidante has been used to refer to a female trusted friend, parallel to the French confidente, but that usage has fallen largely out of favor as an unnecessary feminine version, like authoress. You can add that e if you want, either way say it with a sultry French accent: They were friends, confidants , inseparable companions as well. ( Frederick William Robinson ) "I'm not talking about just two or three of my closest confidants ." ( New York Times ) Try remembering that if you are confid e nt, the person you believe in is "m e ." If you have a confid an t, you are putting your trust in an other. If you're confident your friend won't tell all your business, she can be your confidant .

loath/loathe

Confusion between loath ("unwilling or reluctant") and loathe ("to hate") is a growing trend. What do the following sentences have in common? But Saudi Arabia isn't the only Muslim country that seems to loath Iran. Broadcasters are loathe to relinquish control of lucrative cable package services to third party providers. I'm loathe to put up another Netbook, so let's try this. Deep Down inside Bud Grant loaths the state of affairs in Minny. All of them use either loath or loathe incorrectly and all are from trusted publications. The error is a growing trend. Garner's Modern American Usage puts this error at stage 3: "commonplace even among many well-educated people but is still avoided in careful usage." Loath means to be unwilling or reluctant about something: For-profit education institutions have been loath to put out that kind of information. Coalition upper house leader David Davis was loath to speculate on the final outcome in the 40-seat Legislative Council. Loathe, on the other hand, means to strongly dislike someone or something or find it disgusting: Love it or loathe it, there's no denying that the holiday season is upon us. And if voters in general dislike Obamacare, Republican voters positively loathe it. When it comes to loath and loathe, choose your words with care and avoid a common error.

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. Decent, pronounced "DEE-sent," means "socially acceptable." It's also an old fashioned way to say "polite." These days if you ask someone if she's decent, you probably don't care if she went to finishing school, you're just wondering if she's dressed so you can come in. Decent can also mean good but not excellent. Have it both ways: He's a decent old chap, but isn't at home much. ( Bertram Mitford ) "We're going to work hard out there, and earn a decent living." ( New York Times ) Descent, pronounced "dih-SENT," means the act of moving downward, either physically or socially, like an evil cartoon character's descent into the underworld, or a villain's decent into madness, or even your descent into the subway station or down a mountain: There are a few nasty, short climbs, but several long descents too. ( Guardian ) Descent can also refer to a person's cultural background. Makes sense if you think about going down the family tree: The women, U.S. citizens of Somali descent , are charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. ( Washington Post ) Finally, dissent, also pronounced "dih-SENT" is to pipe up against popular opinion. It can refer to an opinion that differs from an official or popularly held one.To dissent is to voice such an opinion. There are shades of meaning, but it always means to go against the grain: Mr. Putin, who has rarely faced public dissent in his 11 years in power, appeared momentarily taken aback, but quickly recovered and finished his statement. ( New York Times ) Mrs. Twining curled her mouth in bitter dissent . ( Edgar Fawcett ) To recap: decent is fine and you're dressed, descent is to go down down down, and dissent is when you're opinion doesn't mesh with others.

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. Disassemble is formed from dis-, meaning reversal, and assemble, to put together. Disassemble, then, is to take something apart, literally or figuratively: Entering the moon's orbit, the rocket was further disassembled enabling two Apollo Astronauts to explore the lunar surface. ( Scientific American ) Lawmakers are, of course, free to disassemble their Frankenbill and pass the measures separately. ( Chicago Tribune ) But Mr. Walker and Republican leaders said disassembling unions was not the point at all. ( New York Times ) Dissemble , which means to hide one's beliefs or feelings, has a less direct breakdown. (Why would it be direct? It likes to hide!) It comes from the Latin dissimulare, meaning to conceal, from dis- for completely, and simulare meaning pretend. If you completely pretend you believe something other than you really do, you are dissembling : Pictures have always dissembled there are millions of snaps of miserable families grinning bravely but now they directly lie. ( Guardian ) Is this not the curse of power, forever compelled to conceal and dissemble ? ( New York Times ) A sweet religion, indeed, that obliges men to dissemble and tell lies, both to God and man, for the salvation of their souls! ( John Locke ) Ditch the dis an it's easy to keep these two straight: (dis)assemble is the opposite of assemble , and (dis)semble is to not resemble yourself.

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. Entomology comes from the French entomologie and the New Latin entomologia. These come from the Greek ntomon, for insect, and logia, for study. Entomology, then, is the study of insects: From the department of entomology you expect to learn something about the troublesome insects, which are so universal an annoyance. ( A.W. Latham ) Entomology : that branch of Zoology that deals with insects and, specifically, the Hexapods. ( John B. Smith ) The etymology of the word etymology is that it comes from the Old French ethimologie and the Latin etymologia. Both come from the Greek etymologia, from etymon, for "true sense," and logos, word. Today's etymology is the study of a word's history: Dictionaries take decades to compile, while slang terms come in and out of fashion faster than you can say etymology . ( Time ) In fact, Metcalf devotes a whole chapter to the various false  etymologies  of OK, including several you may have heard. ( The Globe and Mail ) Thinking about the etymology of these words made me think about exactly why we, as designers, were originally inspired by these ideas. ( Co. Design ) Remember, entomology is the study of insects, like ants . If you're talking about words and where they came from, use etymology.

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. To connote is to suggest a connection. The word red can connote danger; we use the color red in warning signs to signify danger. Only words and symbols can connote something; people imply it. Here are some hints: The "Good Old Days" connote a fond remembrance of better times in the past. ( Forbes ) "Dear is a bit too intimate and connotes a personal relationship," Ms Barry told the paper. ( BBC ) The word red also denotes a color, and a blue wheelchair painted on a parking spot denotes handicap parking. A word's denotation is its literal meaning. You can also use denote to mean to indicate something or to be a sign of something: With the meters no longer denoting each spot, drivers can fill up a parking lane as they see fit, whether efficiently or inconsiderately. ( New York Times ) Blue colours denote wetter earth; yellow colours show drier conditions. ( BBC ) According to Garner's Modern American Usage , use of connote for denote is at stage 3 of language change: it's common even among educated speakers and writers . To keep it straight remember that connote is like imply, and denote is telling you like it is.Musical notes denote sound. What's denote ? It's a B-flat. Get it?

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. Tortuous, pronounced "TOR-choo-us," describes something that has many twists and turns, like a zigzagging road or the plot of a soap opera. Here are some examples from the news, Path to peace in Middle East still tortuous as ever. ( Morning Star) Let us walk with you down the tortuous road of this first year in college. ( North by Northwestern ) Fortunately, not all technology is on the side of the companies that hide behind tortuous voicemail systems. ( CNN Money ) Add another "r" for torturous, pronounced "TOR-cher-us," used to identify something that somehow involves extreme pain or suffering (torture): Chance and Guererro stage a daring rescue of Winston from the hands of his torturous kidnappers. ( TV Guide ) For the next two torturous hours, the Scarborough man was bound, beaten, robbed and left to wonder whether his wife, children and tenants were dead or alive. ( canoe.ca ) He had survived homelessness, hunger and depression in a torturous journey from the Guatemalan highlands. ( Washington Post ) Tortuous is descriptive, not judgmental driving on a road that's so long and crooked it makes you dizzy is tortuous , but you might like it. Torturous is definitely judgmental. If your friend in the passenger seat is white knuckled and scared, she'd say the ride was torturous.

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 . Economic appeared in the late 1500s, referring to household management, but its sense of relating to a country's wealth first appeared in the 1800s. It's still related to economics (the study of the transfer of wealth) or economy (a country's wealth), but not thrifty (that's the other one). Here are some economic examples: The Fed said economic conditions will likely warrant "exceptionally low" interest rates through at least mid-2013. ( Business Week ) Some slowing is expected in 2012 because of global economic woes. ( New York Times ) The word economical also showed up in the 1500s, referring to household management, but it refers to being thrifty or not wasteful, which is still the definition today: Not long after The New York Times profiled an inventive and economical restaurant experiment taking place in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, the experiment ended. ( New York Times ) Electric lights are economical, clean, and give more light than gas. ( Rose Buhlig ) If you want an adjective related to the economy , economic is your word. If you want a word to describe something that saves money, like buying used textbooks, use economical.

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. Empathy was first used to describe how a viewer's appreciation of art depends on her ability to project her personality onto the art. These days it applies to anything you can basically "project your personality" on. When you feel what someone else feels, that's empathy . It's a good skill for doctors, actors, and characters from Star Trek: Nearly all medical schools teach the importance of listening to patients and showing empathy . ( New York Times ) "I've always thought of acting as more of an exercise in empathy ." (Edward Norton) In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Commander Deanna Troi was an empath: she could psychically sense other people's emotions. She experienced their emotions as they did. Sympathy is an older word, from the Greek sympatheia , for "having a fellow feeling." It's a snuggly, comforting word. It's nice to get sympathy if you're feeling under the weather. To feel sympathy for someone is to feel bad for them: This has already proved effective at drawing attention and sympathy . ( Slate) Police show no sympathy for "polite bandit." ( Chicago Tribune ) So many dramas resort to cadging sympathy for their troubled characters by killing off loved ones. ( Time ) If you're feeling empathy , you're in (em) the feeling. If it's s ympathy , you're feeling s orry for s omeone.

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. A disease that is endemic is found in a certain geographic region or in a specific race of people. Malaria is endemic to parts of Africa because it's hot and skeeters love it. Tay-Sachs is a genetic disease endemic to Jews and French Canadians. On the brighter side, a plant or animal can also be described as endemic to a region. If it's in the system, it's endemic : Many relief workers who came to Haiti lived in South Asia, where cholera was endemic . ( New York Times ) Catalina endemic plants are species that occur naturally on Catalina Island and nowhere else in the world. ( Catalina Island Conservancy ) Epidemic describes a disease that is widespread, affecting an "atypically large number of individuals within a population, community, or region at the same time," according to the Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary. The disease, however eventually subsides. Here are some epidemics : The Sunshine Coast is in the midst of a whooping cough epidemic with an average of three new cases presenting every day this year. ( Sunshine Coast Daily ) But we're still talking about a huge epidemic in this country where more than half a million babies are born each year preterm. ( Time ) An endemic disease is restricted to a place, as with malaria, or a people, as with Tay-Sachs. An epidemic disease may happen in a specific place, but it can spread beyond that place, as with asthma or AIDS.

indict/indite

Ex-General Electric Executives Indited in Muni-Bond Scandal This particular man was only indited in his scam because he came clean about it with Google in a blackmail scheme. Both of these examples use indite to talk about people being formally accused of lawbreaking. Unfortunately, the sentences themselves break a rule of good writing: choose your words with care (or perhaps a different rule: always have someone edit your work). What those statements wanted was indict, a homophone of indite that means to formally accuse someone of lawbreaking: Prosecutors Delay Indictment of Man Arrested in Harlem NYPD Shootout Roger Clemens has now been indicted on charges he lied to Congress under oath. Indite, an uncommon word, means to craft something, such as writing a sonnet or composing a musical score. Most instances of it in a Google search bring up results like our first ones or instances of language so mangled, one wonders why it was published at all: Roger Clemmons is being indited for 6 counts of "lying to Congress". I would declare you indite your own; some another artefact would be a writing ravishment and rattling unethical! Occasionally, though, you can find an instance or two that use indite correctly, if in a consciously literary way: I hold indited epistles of hurting, of rejection, of sentences. Ofttimes musicians (especially in electronic music and hip hop) hit a hard time grasping this distinction because they indite music while they are producing it.

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. Most of us were taught that figuratively means something other than literal, and that literally means "actually" or "exactly." Somewhere along the line, literally began to be used as, well, figuratively , like this: But they're also going to create literally a tidal wave of data. ( Washington Post ) There wasn't an actual tidal wave, just a lot of data. Here are some examples that make word nerds literally smile: Today, protesters literally occupy Wall Street, camping in Zuccotti Park at the heart of New York's financial district. ( Washington Post ) They're really, actually there. People can literally drown in their own body fluids. ( Scientific American ) "We literally had fish blood running through the parking lot," he says. ( Forbes ) Ew, but true. Figuratively is more imaginative, it's used when you mean something didn't really happen. It's metaphorical, as in these examples with boats and feathers: Besides, figuratively speaking, they are still in the same boat. ( Mayne Reid ) So Joshas he figuratively put ithad not a feather to fly with. ( Burford Delannoy ) Although literally has been horning in on figuratively 's turf, they're really not the same, in fact the two words are often go together to complete a picture: Watching a waterfall drowns out literally and figuratively everyday cares. ( Seattle Times ) "The Piano Lesson" tells a more haunting story, both literally and figuratively . ( New York Times) Will people understand you if you use literally when you mean figuratively ? Sure. Most people will recognize that when you say, "The guitar solo literally blew my head off" it was an awesome solo, but your head is, in fact, still on your neck.

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'. Flair is a noun meaning an aptitude or eagerness for something or a distinctive style. You might have a flair for photography, wrestling, or dressing like a flapper. If you describe food as having a certain flair , such as a Latin flair , you mean it has the distinctive style of Latin food. Flair isn't a synonym for flavor. Style is more than flavor. Here are some flairs, ta da: Charming and gregarious with a flair for grand gestures, he was haunted by drug addiction. ( New York Times ) Nice has always boasted an Italian flair ; La Promenade respects that tradition by serving firm pasta, an outlier in a world of overcooked French noodles. ( Business Week ) Flare has fun, too, in many different ways. As a noun, flare is a shape that is wider at one end, such as bellbottoms, also called flares. It can also be a flickering light, as with the flare of a match. To flare might be widen or to suddenly burn. A disease can flare up, or become worse, while your skirt can flare out, or widen. Flare on: One oak is hollowed and flared at the bottom like an arched, empty shell. ( New York Times ) Sudden anger flared up in the girl's blue eyes, though, he knew it was not directed against him. ( Harold Bindloss ) If you're not sure which f-word you want, choose flare. After all, flair just refers to that special something, it's restricted to being a noun that means stylishness or an aptitude for something. Flare means everything else! (Almost)

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. Flaunt means to work it, to preen like a peacock. You could flaunt your new Harley, your wealth, or even your bright colors: Prosperous Chinese are less shy about flaunting their wealth than people in other countries. ( Economist ) Daffodils flaunted golden cups at their more gorgeous neighbors, the tulips. ( Lucy Foster Madison ) Flout, on the other hand, means to show a blatant disregard or contempt for. If you scoff when told what to do, you flout the rules. Here are some rules being flouted in the news: In other words, the euro zone is based on a gentleman's agreement that's widely flouted . ( Salon ) Baseball's rulebook is routinely ignored, flouted and evaded. ( New York Times ) The problem is that people use flout to mean flaunt. If you mix up the words in the sentences above, the meaning changes. It would be weird to flout your wealth or your golden color. Garner's Modern American Usage identifies this error at widespread: it can be seen in the writing of well-educated people. However, Garner advises (and we concur) that the distinction between flaunt and flout be preserved.

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. Former is at the root of formerly, referring to something that occurred earlier. If you changed your name, you'd be referred to as formerly known as whatever-your-name-used-to-be. It's not just for pop stars. If you want a word that means in the past or before, formerly fits the bill: Movies, books, television shows, the journalistic outlets formerly known as newspapers, podcasts, YouTube videos, actual museums, tweetsthey all comprise the noise. ( Slate ) Erskine Bowles, formerly President Bill Clinton's chief of staff, said, "I'm worried you're going to fail." ( Business Week ) At the root of formally is formal, an adjective that describes something as following custom, regulations, or ceremonies. You might speak formally during your speech, but chat casually with everyone after. Formally describes something official: Delaware spent years piloting and fine-tuning their system before putting it in place formally state-wide. ( Washington Post ) The current council will formally disband within the next few days. ( Time ) Remember where these two words came from and you'll keep them straight: formerly former, and formally formal.

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. Fortunate means having good fortune that you're born with or win somehow. You're fortunate if you're rich, good looking, and in love. Here are some examples full of fortunes: Let's say you are fortunate enough to have a good job and some savings. ( Business Week ) More fortunate refugees have been taken in by local families. ( Reuters ) Fortuitous traditionally refers to something that happens by accident or chance either good or bad. It descends from the Latin forte, meaning "by chance." People often use fortuitous to mean lucky because they want to sound fancy, but you don't have to be one of them. Let's stumble upon these fortuitous examples: Meetings with other individuals in the course of foraging, basking, or seeking shelter, are fortuitous and have no social significance. ( John M. Legler ) There are also fortuitous street finds, like the Eames lounge chairs he discovered near their apartment in Greenwich Village. ( New York Times ) Fortuitous has also been used to mean fortunate for so long that the meaning is morphing. Fortuitous is still separate from fortunate , though it's closer to serendipity . The usage guru Bryan A. Garner notes that this usage of fortuitous is at stage 3 in his Language Change Index: "the form becomes commonplace even among many well-educated people but is still avoided in careful usage." Don't thank that rabbit foot for your being so fortunate ; after all, it wasn't so lucky for the rabbit. But if you're superstitious, it's fortuitous that you found it right before you bought that lottery ticket.

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 bird in the winter. The choice between emigrate,immigrate, and migrate depends on the sentence's point of view. Emigrate is to immigrate as go is to come. If the sentence is looking at the point of departure, use emigrate . The point of arrival? Immigrate. Talking about the actual process of moving? Use migrate. Emigrate means you are exiting your current homeland: People are always saying there's no quality of life in Russia, and everyone wants to emigrate ," he said. ( New York Times ) Immigrate means you are coming in to a country to live: Citizens from 17 European Union countries were given freedom to immigrate to Switzerland in 2007. ( Business Week ) Migrate means to move, like those crazy Monarch butterflies that migrate from Canada to Mexico and back. It doesn't have to be a permanent move, but migrate is more than a weekend away, and it's not just for butterflies. "Snowbirds" are people who migrate south for the winter and come back north when the snow melts, or someone might migrate to another part of the country for work or to be closer to family. Here are some examples: Nevertheless, it has often been assumed that dinosaurs did migrate. ( Scientific American ) People are prepared to travel and migrate within America. ( Business Week ) If you have ants in your pants and you have to move, remember: Emigrate is from the point of view of the departure. Think exit. Immigrate is from the point of view of the destination. Think come in. Migrate is all about the moving. Think move.

medal/meddle/mettle

Here we have a trio of words that sound the same (at least in American English) but mean very different things: medal, meddle, and mettle. A medal is a disc made of metal with an inscription or image. It is generally used as an award or a commemoration of an event: Maplewood Officers Receive Medal Of Valor Special Olympics duo wins gold medal in golf To meddle is to interfere with someone or something: Belarus will not let any other country meddle in its December presidential election. Politicians meddle with existing taxation arrangements at their peril. Finally, mettle is a quality or qualities that help a person in a difficult situation. Those qualities might include courage, ardor, and stamina: Madison native tests his mettle in "Hell's Kitchen" Test of mettle: How the Steelers can win without Roethlisberger If you don't speak American English, you might be wondering why mettle makes this list. In American English, when a t appears in an unstressed syllable between two vowelsor between a vowel and an l, as is the case herethat t is said with a flap of the tongue similar to how we say d. Linguists call it a "medial flap." The same thing happens in betting, metal, noted, writing and many other words.

precedent/president

How has the United States affected this word pair, precedent and president ? Let's find out. Precedent refers to something that went before; it precedes something or serves as an example: This may be a dangerous precedent that facilitates and enables dozens and potentially hundreds of unethical fathers to solicit money for their sons in a pay-for-play manner. The decision sets up a precedent for other cases, which means it's possible that the ruling will be taken to the US Supreme Court. There is no precedent for what Manny Pacquiao has now done, winning eight titles in eight weight classes. President refers to the leader of an organization, the chief presider. It was first used to mean the executive leader of a republic in 1787 in the American colonies and is used in that manner in the U.S. Constitution: The president of Fresno State University's student body acknowledged publicly that he is an illegal immigrant. Eric Rosengren, the president of the Boston Federal Reserve Bank said Wednesday that he doubted the economy was about take off. President Obama's planned meeting for Thursday with top Congressional leadership has been postponed until Nov. 30. So you could say America set a precedent by creating the role of president within a republic.

principal/principle

If offered a choice, would you rather have principles or principals ? A principle is a fundamental or general truth. It might also be the original (fundamental) source of something. America's principles establish religious liberty as a fundamental right. Microsoft principle group manager selling Issaquah 4BD In principle refers to something in its fundamentals without all the details worked out: After just one hearing, Arroyo's bill penalizing drunk driving and five other similar bills were approved "in principle" by the committee on transportation. Principal, on the other hand, is the person with the highest authority in a group, such as a school principal or the principal investor in a company. It is also the original sum of money or assets invested or lent: An Israeli high school principal has been summoned for a hearing by the country's Education Ministry. Jan van Eck serves as a director and principal at the firm. The FHA refinance plan for homeowners may allow for principal reductions and underwater refinancing opportunities for those who qualify. If you remember that the princi pal is your pal , you'll be able to choose your words well.

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 ! Nauseated is how you feel after eating funnel cake and riding the tilt-a-whirl, when you're two months pregnant, or any other time you need a vomit bag. Here are some examples from the New York Times, He was constantly nauseated , so much so that he lost 50 pounds. In the place of public transport, fleets of private vans career from stop to stop with their hapless, nauseated passengers. Nauseous , on the other hand, should be reserved to mean causing that feeling, not having it. But it's used so often now to mean "feeling sick," that dictionaries define it that way. Here's how to use the word if you want to tuck in your shirt and be proper: It does not contain iodine, but is said to possess all the therapeutic qualities of cod-liver oil without its nauseous taste. ( Encyclopedia Britannica ) But more examples look like this: She was too nauseous to keep down her food. ( BBC ) In his Modern American Usage, Garner labels this usage as "ubiquitous" but held on to by "die-hard snoots." The Oxford English Dictionary calls this usage of nauseous common. Another distinction is that nauseated can be used to describe "sick in the stomach" and nauseous for "sickening to think about." Sticklers will keep the distinction. If you feel nauseated after thinking about this nauseous distinction, then you're on the right track.

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. To show respect is to show how you admire something or someone, to show deference or obedience. Therefore, when you do something respectfully, you're being polite because you do it full of respect: Mr. Ruck listened, as he always listened, respectfully . ( Henry James ) "So tonight, we are respectfully asking the candidates to try to put aside the talking points," he says. ( Time ) The servants bowed respectfully , and retired in silence. ( Bernhard Severin Ingemann ) Respectively, on the other hand, means in a manner that treats several things individually, one by one, in a sequence. It's a way to keep lists parallel, and it rescues sentences from extra words: By comparison, Mitalas said fellow Metro League schools Seattle Prep and Lakeside had 70 and 40 turn out, respectively . ( Seattle Times) That's easier to say than "Seattle Prep had a turn out of 70 and Lakeside had a turn out of 40." Same goes for this quote from an obituary of actor Cliff Robertson: His TV performances in "Days of Wine and Roses" and "The Hustler," for example, were filmed with Jack Lemmon and Paul Newman, respectively . ( Washington Post ) Sign your emails " respectfully yours" if you're full of respect for the person you're writing to, and save respectively for singling things out. The grammar mob appreciates your attention to these details.

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: As a result, until yesterday, the Company had been quoted only on the Pink Sheets. "She was kind of a rainbow," Sheri Potter said Wednesday, quoting Kimmie's father, Cecil. A quotation is the transcription of what someone said or wrote, crediting that person: A quotation attributed to Adolf Hitler that made its way into a high school yearbook in Pennsylvania has left students, parents and educators mortified. Yet we also see quote used to mean quotation, and not just by Johnny-Come-Lately quotation publishers like Quote of the Day, BrainyQuote, and the Quotations Page: Twain is known for more notable quotes about more topics than you can shake a stick at. It features the presidential seal in the center and quotes from some of the leaders Obama admires most. Most dictionaries allow that quote can mean quotation, though some will label such usage as informal. Given the prevalence of this usage in edited news copy, don't worry overmuch about using quote to mean quotation ... unless, of course, you're writing for someone who is very formal.

predominate/predominant

If you win an election by a 3:1 margin, are you the predominant winner or the predominate winner? Predominate is a verb meaning to prevail, to have greater importance or quantity. You can easily see the root word: dominate , to command over. Its history is uncertain, but it was probably borrowed from Medieval Latin's predominare. Queens and Staten Island, where single-family homes predominate, actually saw their first upticks in years. Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, winds from westerly directions predominate. They gave an insight into the ethos that predominates at top English clubs. Predominant is a derivative of predominate and, by extension, dominate . Predominant , however, is an adjective describing something or someone with the greatest importance, influence, or power. It can also be used to describe something that is most common. The fancy shovels that didn't really cost that much were an example of the predominant theme of Monday's ceremony. Just as in years past, steel was the predominant material at this year's NAHBS. Such direct calls for regime change may not represent the predominant public opinion in Syria. The trick is not to use predominate as an adjective, as some less-observant language users are wont to do. It's often labeled as a needless variant by usage manuals and dictionaries. Garner's Modern American Usage notes that the usage of predominate as an adjective is at stage 3 of language change: "the form is commonplace even among many well-educated people but is still avoided in careful usage." Your best bet is to reserve predominate as a verb and predominant as an adjective.

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. If you want a disinterested, or unbiased opinion, don't ask your ex-boyfriend if you can ask his brother out . He will not be disinterested. Disinterested means impartial, having no bias or profit from something: There is no convincing evidence for this convoluted advice, disinterested researchers say. ( New York Times ) Disinterested service is a virtue ordinary human intelligence cannot grasp. ( F.E. Mills ) Uninterested means neutral or indifferent, having no interest in something. Once your former sweetheart has a new girlfriend, he might be bored, or uninterested , enough for you to ask him about his cute brother. Here are some uninterested examples: The coach had put some thoughts on paper and gave his friend the name of a possible publisher who turned out to be uninterested . ( New York Times ) "He was dedicated to the automobile," Mr. Joyce said, and uninterested in mass transit. ( New York Times ) If your ex is disinterested enough to give you his brother's number, he's over you and unbiased. If the cute brother is uninterested and doesn't call you back, then he's just not into you. But know this: disinterested appears almost twice as often as uninterested , and a quick scan shows that disinterested is frequently used to mean uninterested.Uninterested is down and will soon be counted out. Just like that date.

intense/intensive/intent

If your teacher offered you a choice between an intense course or an intensive one, which one would you choose? And would you wonder what his intent was? Intense means of severe strength or force; having strong feelings. An intense course, then, would be an extremely tough course, such as advanced nuclear science. Intensive means focused on one subject or area for a short time; extremely thorough. So an intensive course would be very focused on one topic and would last short time, as with summer courses. The teacher's intent, his purpose or intention, might be to guide you to the best course for you. Or it might be to fill his summer course. Searching online, you'll find that in particular intensive is used instead of intense : Michigan Solar Panel Factory's Labor-Intensive Assembly Tasks These hiking-intensive trips can, of course, be strenuous. Implementation can be a time-intensive process in terms of training, data input, data conversion, and down time. Some dictionaries point out that intense is usually connected with a subjective response, while intensive is generally connected to an objective description. Here are a few examples that get it right: Intense heat sears Southern California for 4th day Seaton's intent to lie, cheat is as serious as a felony Professional mountain bike rider in intensive care after hit-and-run

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 . To imply is to suggest something indirectly. If you hand your friend a stack of napkins during dinner, you imply that she needs them. Things can imply , too, like a chimney that implies a fireplace. Check out these examples: By their very definition, flea markets imply cheap prices for used and unwanted items, as is still the case in most other places. ( New York Times ) Stern also implied the entire season might be at risk. ( Seattle Times ) It isn't fair to imply that cardiovascular disease is going away. ( Nature ) Infer is on the receiving end of imply, yet infer is often used to mean imply . To infer is to gather, deduce, or figure out.Writers tend to know how to use infer correctly: He talks about having led in the private sector but voters have to infer too much about what that means. ( Slate ) They were also better at inferring feelings from images of just the eyes. ( Scientific American ) Yet it must not be inferred that farming women are without mental ability or common sense. (Sidney Lewis Gulick) Like baseball? Theodore Bernstein, in his classic The Careful Writer , gives us a way to keep imply and infer straight: "The implier is the pitcher; the inferrer is the catcher."

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. If you pay attention to advertising, we live in an incredible world: Your local team had an incredible comeback. The latest movie is an incredible adventure. Wash your hair with this new shampoo and get incredible shine. It's enough to make you incredulous , or skeptical. Incredible isn't just an empty modifier for some new product. The adjective means that what it describes is hard to believe. People use it to mean it's so awesome you can't even believe it. It's usually something good, but bad stuff, like earthquakes, can be hard to believe, too: He is an incredible player: Hall of Fame talent combined with world-class relentlessness. ( New York Times ) Japanese earthquake, tsunami causes incredible damage; effects felt in U.S. ( North Jefferson News ) The brain drain out of rural America has been incredible . ( Reuters ) Incredulous describes someone unable to believe something, someone being super skeptical. Put your fists on your hips and say "no way!"when you're incredulous. It comes from the Latin incredulous , meaning not believing. Incredulous describes people, and their reactions to things they can't believe: Asked whether writing the book forced him to seize on moments that he might otherwise have passed over he looked incredulous . ( New York Times ) "Do you mean," he began, and paused, scrutinizing her tortured face with disconcerted, incredulous eyes. ( F.E. Mills Young ) Something incredible is not credible; it's unbelievable.People, rainbows, and other things can be described as incredible (just check that shampoo label), but only people can feel incredulous , or unbelieving and a little irked .

inflammable/inflammatory

Inflammable and inflammatory can be confused with one another, but they also offer their own source of confusion with the prefix in-. Inflammable refers to something that is easy to set on fire; something flammable. How can inflammable mean the same as flammable ? True the prefix in- can mean not, as in inaccurate. But it can also be used as intensifier meaning in or into. It's that second prefix at work here. Something inflammable is something that's capable of not just being lit on fire but being easily lit on fire. The fire created panic in the area as the spot is surrounded by dying units that produce highly inflammable chemicals. However, we suspect that a spark in inflammable material or gas leakage might have caused the incident. You can improvise your own personal ashtray by using an old tin of breath mints, or something similarly inflammable. Inflammatory is also related to fire, although figuratively, and makes use of intensifier in-. Used literally, inflammatory describes something that is inflamed, that is, red, swollen, and hot. Muscle and tissue often become inflamed, and an inflammatory disease, such as arthritis, cause parts of the body to become so inflamed. A novel treatment option for inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis seems to be underway. Used figuratively, inflammatory describes something that incites anger or violence. It inflames people's emotions or responses. This is false, inflammatory rhetoric. The protestors have been known for their inflammatory remarks and signs. The root of inflammable and inflammatory give you a clue to their meaning with the idea of fire. Inflammable is a literal fire: something that can be easily set on fire. Inflammable is a figurative fire, whether with swollen joints or angry words.

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 . Envy requires two parties, like you and that neighbor, when you want her new car and you wish you were the one riding around with the top down. You feel envy when you want something someone else has: Tall and lean, he is wearing blue jeans, tennis shoes, a dark blazer and red tie with hair every sports anchor would envy . ( Chicago Tribune ) "There be many, Judith," said he, "who might envy you your health and good spirits." ( William Black ) Jealousy requires three parties, like you, your neighbor, and your husband, when not only do you wish you had that cool car, but you're worried your husband is going to ride off into the sunset in it without you. Jealousy is exciting because it shows up in lovers' triangles and Shakespeare's plays: In Shakespeare, Othello is doomed by jealousy , Lear by pride. ( Slate ) The peasant, mad with jealousy , ended by driving an awl into his chest. ( Fyodor Dostoyevsky ) Professional jealousy, tortured artist blues, Spinal Tap-ish excess and other clichs abound, but nobody seems to notice. ( The Guardian ) You can feel envy about something you don't have but want, but you feel jealousy over something you already have but are afraid of losing, like that husband who's always hanging out next door.

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. A statue is a figure of a person, animal, or object that is carved or cast from some material, such as marble or iron. A statue is usually life-sized or larger. (If it's smaller than the real-life original, it's a statuette or a figurine ). Here are some examples of statue in the headlines: Bronze statue unveiled in tribute to Ronnie Barker ( Mirror UK ) Rosa Parks statue dedicated in downtown Grand Rapids ( Michigan Live) But a statute is a written law, such as that of a particular government or organization: Fifteen other states and the District of Columbia have since enacted similar statutes , though cannabis remains classified as an illegal narcotic under U.S. law. ( Reuters) All were also discharged within the past six years, putting them within the statute of limitations. ( New York Times) Both words come from the Latin word "to stand," but a statue literally stands, often on two legs, and a statute is a law that stands. So while you might find a statue in the park of, say, Jimi Hendrix, it's the statutes about that park that allow a monument to the rock star to be erected there.

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. Why do these words sound so similar? They're kissing cousins.They both come from the Latin stationarius, meaning "a seller in a fixed location." Our modern stationary means still, unmovable, like bad weather that lingers or a parked car: A disturbance in the southwestern Caribbean is expected to remain stationary for the next few days, the National Hurricane Center said. ( Sun Sentinel) Police confirmed an incident at 6.50pm on Sunday, October 17, when a blue Rover collided with a stationary vehicle. ( Chesterfield Post ) Stationery (with an "e") also comes from stationarius , but not as directly. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary , "Roving peddlers were more common in the Middle Ages; sellers with a fixed location were often bookshops licensed by universities," thus the connection between paper and staying still. Today, stationery is writing paper, the kind you put resumes and wedding invitations on: People sent me Hallmark cards, handwritten notes on lined paper, typed letters on formal stationery , even telegrams. ( Time Magazine ) Ms. Staller is the owner of Rosetta Papers, which offers a wide variety of customized invitations, stationery , holiday cards and announcements. (ad for Rosetta Papers) An easy way to keep stationary and stationery straight is to connect the er in station er y to the pap e r it's made from.

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. Marital comes from the word marriage. It means either related to marriage or to a husband and his role in a marriage (usually the first). It comes from the Latin martalis, used to describe something belonging to married people. Although it's not very romantic, being married is a legal status, so the word marital shows up in court all the time: New Hampshire's House plans to investigate whether grounds exist to impeach a marital master, a court officer that handles family court cases. ( Boston Globe ) Overall, the pre- marital contract can prevent a bad divorce experience. ( FiGuide.com ) On the other fist, martial is related to war; related to the profession of war; or the characteristics of a warrior. These meanings come from the Latin martialis , which is from Mars, the Roman god of war. Martial law is when the military takes over, and a martial art is something like karate or judo, as in these examples from the news: Last week Bahrain called in troops from its fellow Sunni-ruled neighbours, declared martial law and launched a crackdown that drove the protesters from the streets. ( Reuters ) An off-duty Houston police officer used a martial arts move to kill a man who had asked a bartender for her telephone number. ( Houston Chronicle ) With marital, remember the connection to marriage in sound and spelling: mari- and marri-. When looking at martial, think of Martians from Mars, the Roman god of war. People in divorce court like to move the "i" to the other side of the "t."

morbid/moribund

Morbid describes something gruesome, like smallpox or Frankenstein's monster. Moribund refers to the act of dying. Goths love both. What fun! Morbid and moribund are both dark and popular around Halloween, but if you dig up their graves, you'll find their Latin bones are different: Morbid comes from morbus, for disease, while moribund comes from mor, for dying. Morbid is a busy adjective, going from dark to darker describing terrible things such as anything related to disease -obesity, insanity, the plague - or unwholesome thoughts. Morbid pops up all over the place, such as in The Morbid Imagination, a Website about Gothic Horror and the Arts. Or in this quote from a book about country life: And the slender, undersized, morbid girl needed just such tonic. (Lillian Elizabeth Roy) You can be morbidly obese or morbidly thin, as long as you're sick in some way, even in the head, you're morbid . Appropriately, Morbid is the name of a Swedish death metal band. On the other hand, moribund means dying, literally or figuratively. It can refer to a person about to leave this world behind or to something that's almost obsolete. In both senses, moribund does not mean death but dying. It refers to the action, not the outcome, like in this example from an old medical book: This heart was taken from a man who came into the hospital in a moribund condition. The word also shows up in the news, all too often describing an economy: But the domestic economy remains moribund , while the fragile export recovery could be sabotaged by slowing in the global economy. ( New York Times ) The hermit crab that hasn't had water in three days is a moribund pet. The kid with the black lipstick who wants it to die is morbid .

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. Insidious didn't fall too far from the tree it comes directly from the Latin word insidiosus meaning "deceitful, cunning, artful," from insidiae "plot, snare, ambush." Something insidious can even be attractive while doing harm, like an insidious plot to befriend your crush's girlfriend, so you can break them up. But often it's not attractive, just sneaky: Storms like Agnes and Irene are insidious, often striking slowly over time in ways that can be unpredictable and far more damaging than anticipated. ( Salon ) An insidious new email virus infiltrated high-profile US companies Thursday. ( Toronto Star ) Rather, it is the insidious silence and insensitivity that surrounds so many of the most excruciating diseases of the mind that so often trigger suicide. ( CNN ) Invidious comes from the Latin for ill will or envy. Some bouncers probably love the invidious task of not letting good-looking people into their clubs. It's often paired with segregation, but other things can be invidious as well: Arnold is in an invidious position, and has tried to create a very different type of museum on the proverbial shoestring. ( New York Times) "After an old-fashioned, all-round team performance ... it might seem invidious to single out one player," admits the paper before singling out one player. ( Guardian ) The cheap shots against the Democrats and Obama at the beginning were unnecessary and invidious . ( Washington Post ) Joining the cheerleading squad so you can poison the football team is insidious . Yelling, "Teams like yours always lose!" at the game is invidious.

luxuriant/luxurious

No doubt advertising affects language. Where would we be without the free gift, new and improved, or supersize ? (Perhaps writing more grammatically and eating more healthily...) In yet another attempt to reduce English to features and selling points, advertisers often use luxuriant to describe their products or services: Luxuriant Cracked Heel Repair Luxuriant Christmas Tree Wallpaper Miralux Luxuriant Mattress Problem is luxuriant means lush growth; thick and rich. As in a luxuriant growth of leaves in the spring. What those advertisers really want is luxurious , as in self-indulgent; comfort, elegance, or enjoyment in the extreme: Mediterranea ... is a luxurious community situated adjacent to the sea, boasting stunning views of the Mediterranean. This luxurious penthouse at the One Hyde Park development in the Knightsbridge of London just sold for a record-breaking 140 million or $220 million. French President Nicolas Sarkozy orders brand new, luxurious presidential jet to rival Air Force One As a society, we tolerate a lot of bent or outright broken language rules in advertising. We tune a lot of it out, anyway. But the careful writer should not emulate advertising-speak and should be wary of copying its word usage. Using luxuriant for luxurious is very much considered an error and is to be avoided.

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. Someone who's eminent is totally rocking out. This eminent person is distinguished, grand, soaring high above the rest of us chumps. In legalize, eminent domain is when the government takes over private property for public use. Here are examples of both: Johnson, Dr. Samuel: An eminent English essayist, poet, and lexicographer. ( James Baldwin ) The eminent explorer had a bumper audience and a great reception, and was given an honorary degree by Convocation next day. ( David Hunder-Blair ) Eminent domain laws generally allow for the confiscation of private property if taking it is judged to serve a larger public good. ( New York Times ) Imminent describes something that's about to happen, and it's not always good. It can be positive, like a talented musician's imminent rise to stardom, but it's often bad, like a sick person's imminent death, or a city's imminent bankruptcy: One official said that unless the city "hit the jackpot," bankruptcy was imminent . ( New York Times ) Real Estate Alert reported last week that the deal was imminent. ( Business Week ) At one point, some 750,000 Somalis had faced imminent starvation. ( Scientific American ) To keep the two straight, remember that an eminent person is successful,like that rapper Eminem. Something imminent is going to happen in a minute.

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. Blink and you'll miss it: an allusion is a quick indirect mention of something. It's a literary device that stimulates ideas, associations, and extra information in the reader's mind with only a word or two: Littlemore was not quick at catching literary allusions . ( Henry James ) Thomas Paine's writings contain several affectionate allusions to his father, but none to his mother. ( Daniel Moncure Conway ) Magicians love to create illusions , or visual tricks, like making a tiger disappear or sawing a person in half. Your eye can be fooled by an optical illusion , and Dorothy and the gang get to the bottom of the Wizard's illusion and discover he's just a regular guy. Illusions aren't always glamorous; sometimes they're just hiding the man behind the curtain: "We have no illusion that these credits are going to create lots of new jobs," the editorial said. ( New York Times ) But while investing in your company's stock might feel safer than betting on the stock market as a whole, that is usually an illusion . ( Seattle Times ) Delusions are like illusions but they're meaner. A delusion is a belief in something despite the fact that it's completely untrue. Hence the phrase is delusions of grandeur . People with delusions often wind up on the shrink's couch. Whether you are trying to deceive yourself or someone is trying to deceive you, if you believe the false idea, you have a delusion about reality: Delusions are closely allied to hallucinations and generally accompany the latter. ( Samuel Henry Prince ) Two medical experts had concluded then that the accused gunman suffered from schizophrenia, disordered thinking and delusions . ( Reuters ) "Basically, I think he's suffering from delusions of grandeur," he said. ( Chicago Tribune ) An allusion shows up in a rt, while illusions love kids' parties. If you believe something de spite reality, you have a delusion.

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. A prostate (no r )is a gland in front of the bladder of male mammals. You often hear about men having enlarged prostates or prostate cancer: A longer index finger gives men a lower risk of prostate cancer. ( Reuters ) Prostate cancer begins in the walnut-sized prostate gland, an integral part of the male reproductive system. ( Science Magazine ) Until very recently, the American Cancer Society also urged men to get tested in order to avoid being killed by prostate cancer. ( Time ) Add that second "r" in there, and prostrate means to lie or bow down. You might prostrate yourself before royalty, or lie prostrate on the floor if you have the flu or if your best friend just died. Prostrate is to be flattened: I found myself prostrate , then crawling until my glasses broke. ( New York Times) When Lord Macartney came to China he refused to prostrate himself before the Emperor in the ritual kowtow out of respect to his own monarch. ( The Telegraph ) See the poor wretch, prostrate at the royal feet, imploring a little indulgence, and promising what is utterly beyond his power. ( Joseph Cross ) Men might have prostate cancer, which has nothing to do with what they ate , but remember the r in prostrate stands for relax or lie down.

prophecy/prophesy

One letter separates prophecy from prophesy, and the close relationship is derived from a shared word history. A prophecy is a prediction or an utterance from a prophet inspired by his god. It entered English before 1200 with two spellings: prophecie and prophesie. It was borrowed from the Old French prophetie / prophecie / prophesie , which originated in Late Latin and Greek. Some psychological professionals swear by the power of the self-fulfilling prophecy. What are your thoughts on how Egypt relates to biblical prophecy? To think that such a rodent has these abilities of prophecy! To prophesy is to predict something or to utter something inspired by one's god. It pops up in English in about 1350 as prophecien and prophesien, coming through the Old French prophecier. But we want to know why you do not prophesy like other prophets, especially on the political situation of Nigeria or at the beginning of the year? I prophesy that the GOP will lie right through its teeth in 50 years and take credit for the "Affordable Health Care" law. "Ryan Seacrest will be mine someday," prophesied 17-year-old Courtney Penry of Missouri City, Texas, when American Idol auditions touched down in Austin. Until 1700, the noun and the verb were spelled the same. However, the differentiated spelling may be disappearing already. Garner's Modern American Usage notes that prophesy for prophecy is at stage 3 of language change: it's common even among educated speakers and writers.

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. Parameter is the fancier math and science word. In mathematics, parameter is a measurable factor in a system. Outside of math, parameter is still a factor, property, or characteristic. It can also be a boundary or a limit. Here are some examples: That makes it the heaviest observed elementary particle yet discovered, but within the parameters set by the Standard Model. ( Scientific America ) "As hard as journalism is, at least you have parameters ," she said. ( New York Times ) Within those parameters , Ms. Gray played with color, creating an upbeat show reflecting London's mad, mad fashion world. ( New York Times) In mathematics, the perimeter is the boundary of a geometric figure. In mainstream language, it can be the limit of any physical area, often one protected by an armed force: secure the perimeter! Here are some examples from the news: Police set up a perimeter around the house and blocked off Avery Street for safety reasons, Sgt. Scott Custer said. ( Inquiring News ) Newest study finds fuel spill's  perimeter  expanding. ( KOB-TV ) Some linguistic snobs don't like parameter 's meaning of a boundary or limit when perimeter would do. But according to Garner's Modern American Usage , the use of parameter to mean boundary is "virtually universal" except by "die-hard snoots." Unless you are writing for such an audience (a math professor, perhaps), you can use parameter to mean boundary. Just remember: The parameters of playing hide-and-seek are not peeking while you count, and to stay within the perimeter of the yard when you hide.

unexceptional/unexceptionable

Pop quiz time! Choose the correct word for each sentence: Ricky Gervais' clever touch is muted in this unexceptional/unexceptionable film about young men navigating adulthood. Religious freedom in the U.S. Constitution is unexceptional/unexceptionable . The judge's ruling was unexceptional/unexceptionable . The first sentence discusses a film that was ho-hum, nothing exciting, nothing to write home about. Choose unexceptional, and you'll be saying it's plain or ordinary. The second sentence states that in the U.S., we have religious freedom, period. There are no exceptions, no loopholes. The proper word choice, then, is unexceptionable, meaning without exception or objections. But what about the third sentence? Was the judge's ruling ordinary or without objections? Interestingly, both Merriam-Webster Unabridged and Oxford Dictionaries Online say that either answer could mean one of two things. MWU gives a second definition of unexceptional as "allowing no exception; unalterable." If you choose unexceptional, then, MWU would allow for either meaning. ODO, on the other hand, notes that unexceptionable can mean "ordinary." It would allow you to use unexceptionable for either meaning. Clearly, past writers have confused the meanings of unexceptional and unexceptionable to an extent that meanings are expanding. What's a careful writer to do? To write and speak clearly, we must choose our words with care and be certain our audience understands us. Reserve unexceptional to mean ordinary and unexceptionable to mean without exception or objection.

turbid/turgid

Pop quiz time! Choose the correct word in each sentence: The rivers become so turbid/turgid that they turn a chocolate brown color. If the writing is turbid/turgid , the story and its characters will not be clearly seen. I just took my shoes off at midnight and found that I have little, turbid/turgid toes! Leo's turbid/turgid , overblown prose won over his professor in the end. In the first sentence, the rivers are so muddy, so opaque, that they are brown (makes you favor the environmentalists, doesn't it?). Turbid is the right choice here. It can refer to something thick with suspended matter, as with the rivers. The second sentence refers to writing that is confused or opaque. Again, the correct word is turbid. The rivers in the first sentence were so muddy that you couldn't see to the bottom. The writing referred to in the second sentence also prevents you from seeing to the bottom. Confused or opaque toes don't seem to work in the third sentence, so the answer must be turgid. Turgid means swollen or bombastic. One imagines the speaker of the third sentence taking her oh-so-fashionable shoes off after a long evening out and finding that her toes have become little sausages, thus the appropriateness of turgid. You've probably figured out by now that the fourth sentence requires turgid as well. The prose in that sentence is a different type of swollen, one hinted at with overblown . Here, the writing isn't unclear but bombastic, pompous, full of itself, which describes a lot of academic writing. To recap: turbid : muddy, opaque turgid : swollen, bombastic

ingenious/ingenuous

Quiz time! Which example uses ingenuous correctly? YouTube Marketing An Ingenuous Thing: What You Need To Know Indeed, even an ingenuous child cries out with remorse when caught. Joe Muench: Ingenuous plan for using those Asarco properties If you picked the second one, give yourself a gold star. Ingenuous means innocent, artless, simple. It could be a compliment or an insult, but it does not somehow mean clever or creative. Our second example explains that even a innocent child will feel remorse about a thing if he's caught doing it (though, if he's "caught," doesn't that imply wrongdoing?). The sad, ingenuous path of John Locke has been trumped by the machinations of Betty Draper. If you refuse to take part in a game of corruption that everyone around you is playing, you're taken for an ingenuous fool. Both the first and third examples wanted ingenious, meaning something original, creative, inventive. As in: Caffeinated Marshmallows?! Ingenious! YouTube marketing might be just thing clever thing to sell your product. And though you might have an innocent way of using those Asarco properties, it's not something worth bragging about. A creative use is another story. So are caffeinated marshmallows. Just don't give them to ingenuous kids.

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. Both words have the same root: regret, meaning to feel sadness, repentance, or disappointment, but they each have their own way of dealing with it. Regrettably describes something that deserves regret, and is used like the word "unfortunately." Regrettably is like bad luck, and it often kicks off a sentence: Regrettably , Mr. Gao and Dr. Liu's imprisonment reflect the increased assaults on the rule of law and the repression faced by human rights advocates in China. ( Council for a Community of Democracies ) Regrettably, some consumer advocates have joined in that chorus. ( New York Times ) " Regrettably , few weapons in the history of warfare, once created, have gone unused," Lynn said. ( Forbes) But regretfully is more like a polite way to say sadly , like if you must regretfully decline an invitation to the garden party. Or if you're full of regret, like if you regretfully stayed in on Saturday night because you thought the party would be boring. Regretfully can begin a sentence, but it usually doesn't: "I am half sorry we spared him after all," Leonidas said regretfully . ( Robert H. Fuller ) The man looked down at his boy sadly, sorrowfully, regretfully . ( Maurice Thompson ) People have confused them so often, by using regretfully as a sentence adverb to mean unfortunately, that it's kind of okay to do it now. Both words look behind them and wish something else had happened, but regrettably is when it's not your fault, and regretfully is when you're full of it. (Regret, that is.)

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. Dual, which dates from the early 1600s, is borrowed from the Latin dualis, from duo, for two. Dual still means double or two similar parts: The ego becomes dual , one part active, the other watching and judging. ( Max Simon Nordau ) Last night's game had kind of a dual purpose playing Oregon and sending out this version of Husky Stadium. ( Seattle Times ) Duel once referred to an arranged, formal contest to the death between two people, preferably men with handlebar mustaches. These formal contests are no longer practiced, so duel has broadened to mean any contest between two people, teams, or even ideas: In early days a properly regulated duel was an ordeal showing the judgment of heaven. ( Max Simon Nordau ) In a savage duel between the regime and Islamist guerrillas, entire villages were wiped out. ( Business Week ) There are dueling pension propositions on Tuesday's ballot. ( Washington Post ) Save dual for double, for things that come in pairs, like your hot/cold friend with the dual personality. Use duel for an old timey sword fight, or any modern version of it. Handlebar mustache not required.

simple/simplistic

Simple has a rich etymology and has kept most of its meanings throughout the centuries. It began life in the early 1200s as meaning humble or ignorant: They were simple, ignorant, harmless children of Nature; with no knowledge of soul, mind, God or heaven. By the late 1200s, simple also meant low-ranking: This language, in spite of the complex influences which went to the making of the nationality of France, was of a simple origin. About 1300, it had add pure to its list of meanings, and in the early 1400s, it also meant made of just one thing, the opposite of composite. By 1550, simple could also be used to mean not complicated. Sometime during all this, simple was also used as a noun to mean a plant or an herb used for medicine. To simple was to collect such a plant, and a simplist was someone who did the collecting. If a given plant had simplistic virtues, it had the virtues of a simple. If your cousin had simplistic talents, she was good at making use of simples. The medicinal simple has long since disappeared from everyday English, but simplistic has survived. By 1881, it had come into its modern meaning of trying to explain something complicated as being simpler than it is; that is, oversimplifying: Joe Ollinger offers simplistic answers to the complex issues we face. What simplistic does not mean, however, is simple or easy: The game offers simplistic controls for the entire family to enjoy. Don't be fooled by salesmen pitching simplistic products. Unless he's selling medieval medicine, he's probably too simple to know what he is selling.

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. Both words turn contempt into an adjective. Contempt is a noun that describes the feeling that someone is beneath you or the state of being despised. (There's a legal meaning of contempt , but that's a question for another day!) The -ible ending means "able to." Contemptible, then, means "able to be scorned, worthy of contempt." It refers to the person or thing the contempt is aimed at: The contemptible crime of stealing a charity box resulted in a man being remanded in custody at Lerwick Sheriff Court today. ( Shetland Times ) If familiarity truly breeds contempt, then money is the most contemptible thing in our lives. ( Hamptons.com ) The educated classes are being swept along in the contemptible struggle for wealth. ( Friedrich Nietzsche ) The ous ending means "full of," so contemptuous means "full of contempt, showing scorn." It refers to the person or thing showing the scorn, like that contemptuous glare you gave that mean kid who dumped your sister, or in these examples: Mr. Beck is, of course, free to be as contemptuous towards the president as he wants to be, but officers in the United States military are not. ( Huffington Post ) Both men are now dismissive, even contemptuous , of each other's competence. ( New York Times ) The reporter, gathering his wits, gave a contemptuous laugh. ( Herman Landon ) Remember, then, if something is able to be scorned, it is contempt ible. If someone or something is f u ll of contempt, it is contempt uous . That contemptible thug made you feel contemptuous.

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 voting booth because you know didn't do the right thing. Expedient describes a politically advantageous choice. Expedient also describes something that's good for you or something that's useful. It dates back to the 1400s and has its roots in Old French ( expedient ) and Latin ( expedientem ). Here are some expedient examples: Should the government, which promised to protect airline passengers last year, do the expedient thing or the right thing? ( Seattle Times ) But Mr. Kim's defiance, at times unshakeable, has been known to soften when politically expedient. ( New York Times ) On the other hand, expeditious isn't up to anything, it just means speedy or prompt. Expeditious entered English in the late 1400s via expedition, which also has roots in Old French and Latin. If you want to speed things up, use expeditious : Mr. Fine remains hopeful of a credible and expeditious review of the relevant issues by law enforcement authorities. ( Seattle Times ) The bill was given an expeditious passage as the Senate suspended order 79 of its standing rules to amend the National Minimum Wage Act. ( All Africa ) Although expedient and expeditious come from the same Latin root word for "to make ready or to prompt," they parted ways by the 1600s, when expedient became self-serving. Use expedient for "advantageous" and expeditious for "speedy," like how fast you plan for an expedition to Antarctica, or across the street.

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. Historic describes something huge that happened in the past, something that affected human history . Historic things can be important figures, like Abraham Lincoln, or pivotal events, like the invention of the printing press. Historic lows are the lowest in history. Here are some historic examples from the news: The last one closed in October as the museum moves historic objects out of its west wing for a major renovation beginning early next year. ( Washington Post ) A private funeral for the rap legend will be held at the historic Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, just north of New York City. ( Seattle Times ) Germans have little incentive to save, with interest rates at historic lows. ( Business Week ) Something historical , like an event or an object, doesn't have to concern all of human history or be of worldwide importance, it's just something connected to the past, like these examples: Other blow-by-blow historical Twitter efforts have run aground. ( New York Times ) Kugel regularly furnished historical information that other Madoff employees used to fabricate trades, the government charged. ( Washington Post ) Our package also included photos, video, story, historical timeline, readers' memories and polls. ( Seattle Times ) The Battle for Bunker Hill was an important battle in the Revolutionary War, making it historic . While the battle for the last piece of your mom's chocolate cake might live in your family history as huge event, it's historical . And by the way, if you pronounce the h- in either historic or historical, you should use a rather than an before it.

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. A pedal is a lever controlled with the foot, such as found on a piano or a bicycle. To pedal is to use such a lever to control something. It descends from the Late Latin pedale, for a thing of the foot, which descends ultimately from the Latin ps , for foot. The city is expected to finalize this week a five-year contract to bring pedal boats back to Wesley Lake this summer. Bicycle riders will be pedaling over hills and through pastures Saturday near Stonewall. To peddle can mean to travel around selling items (think door-to-door salesmen). It can also mean to sell illicit drugs or, informally, to give out or spread, as with information or lies. A former Alaska lawmaker has pleaded guilty to a state count of letting unregistered lobbyists peddle their ideas to him. The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has warned the public against taking black pills peddled in unlabelled bottles. Finally, a petal is a flower's brightly colored leaf that joins with other petals to form the flower's corolla. You will start with a great big rose complete with curly petals and shiny leaves painted from reference. Spread generously or pipe over the cooled cupcakes and top each with a rose petal. Remember that pedal is related to foot through the Latin ps and that someone who pe dd les goods goes from d oor to d oor. If you don't want either of those, then you can choose the flower's petal.

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. Continual things come and go, like arguments or rain. If your parents' continual arguing drives you crazy, just be glad they stop sometimes! With continual rain, you'll get some sunny breaks, as Ireland's forecasters like to say. Or in this bit about the birth of Lynyrd Skynyrd: There were continual battles between authority figures like Skinner and the free spirits who formed the band. ( herald-review.com ) Continuous , on the other hand, is nonstop. If the young Skynyrds had a continuous argument with authority, they'd never stop, not even to sing "Free Bird." With continuous rain, you'll never see the sun. A flight or a wire can be continuous : Jongeward and Woodhouse ended up breaking the record for continuous flight. They stayed in the air for 1,124 hours. ( Yuma Sun ) A telegraphic signal would go more than seven times around the earth in one second if it travelled on one continuous wire. ( Elmer Ellsworth Burns ) Continual is chronic, like a cough that comes and goes, or a teenager's sporadic fights with The Man. Continuous is like a circle, or a nightmare carousel that never ever stops. Neither one is the evil twin; they're both moody.

especially/specially

The words especially and specially , have just a hair's breadth of difference between them. Both can be used to mean "particularly." Especially tends to be more formal, while specially tends to be more informal: Barney Frank can be ruthless in debate, especially when laying into opponents who try to evade the historical record. This season, Essie Cosmetics is commemorating 2010 Breast Cancer Awareness month with specially created We Can Do It Pink! But our words have finer points to them that are worthy of being understood. Especially carries with it a sense of something exceptional, implying that there is something else that is of lesser quality: We came to win the game and I thought we played especially well in the first half. Charlotte Daw Paulsen, a mezzo-soprano, as Jephtha's wife, was especially fine in her harrowing "Scenes of horror, scenes of woe." Specially can refer to something with a distinct purpose, someone who stands apart from the rest, without insinuating that there is something or someone who is lesser: Specially trained dogs may be useful in helping to calm autistic children. Value Village's specially trained costume consultants will showcase the hottest costumes. Now that you know the finer points, you can choose your words particularly/especially/specially carefully.

sensual/sensuous

The words sensual and sensuous are often used interchangeably, but careful writers would do well to think before using one or the other. The terms share the root sens-, which means to arouse the senses. Sensual has referred to gratifying carnal, especially sexual, senses since before 1425. Sensuous is believed to have been created by John Milton in 1641 to mean relating to the senses instead of the intellect without the sexual connotation. Let's look at some examples that use our pair strictly: Designer Zac Posen sent out sensual cancan girls straight out of a vintage Paris revue. Every once in awhile Pauline will recreate one of the sensuous feasts she and Luciano used to serve to guests seated around a shared table. Today, though, many writers will use the words interchangeably: Heat and dust Delhi's sensual overload tests tourists, athletes The way she gazes into his face, we are privileged to get a glimpse of a subtle and sensuous erotica. It's a shame to lose these shades of meaning. When you use sensuous, do you mean to include sexual undertones? Are those undertones absent when you use sensual ? Your readers will only know if you choose your words wisely.

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. The older unconscionable, dating back to the 1560s, is the absence of reason or right; having no idea between right and wrong: She said she finds WWE's simulated rape scenes "unconscionable.'' It is unconscionable that the Obama Administration is gambling with American lives. Attempting to fence them out of their home is unconscionable. Relative newcomer unconscious originated in 1712, meaning unaware. In the 1860s, it picked up the meaning to lose consciousness, to not be awake: Fidgeting and Doodling Could Be Unconscious Focus Tools Woman attacked and left unconscious under bridge in Edinburgh Zsa Zsa Gabor is unconscious as she's been fitted with a feeding tube in the hospital. Both words descend from the Old French conscience (inner knowledge), which in turn comes from the Latin conscientia, which means both inner knowledge and a knowledge of right and wrong. How can you tell these cousins apart? Unconscionable' s opposite would be the obsolete conscionable ,and it sometimes seems right behavior is also obsolete in our societyjust look at our example sentences! If that's not the word you're after, it must be unconscious.

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. Scrimp is the saving side of the coin. As an adjective, it means meager, scanty. To scrimp is to be sparing with or thrifty; to save slowly and with difficulty. Many arts and physical education programs landed on the chopping block, while schools often were forced to scrimp and improvise in bizarre ways. And the university has been scrimping even on bare necessities--like vacuuming the floors. Skimp, which most likely derives from scrimp, is the spending-less side of the coin. As an adjective, it also means meager or barely enough. To skimp is to give barely enough or to save by getting barely enough. One came out just last week showing that people who skimp on sleep seem to have higher blood cholesterol than people who sleep more. Although this should be a standard part of everyone's holiday preparation, too many people skimp on having time for themselves. Yet the idiom is to scrimp and save. But, then, idioms do not necessarily mean the same as the sum of their parts: But many indigent parents still scrimp and save just to send their children to school, hoping that their kids will have shot at success. The difference between scrimp and skimp is slight, and if the news media is any indication, even that is disappearing quickly.

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. Extant is something that's still around you're surprised it's not extinct. It's more than just existing but also surviving when others have not. Here are some extant examples (yes, they're still here): The roots, stumps, trunks, and foliage found in bogs are recognized as belonging to still extant species. ( George P. Marsh ) He wrote in Latin an incorrect history of England, which is still extant. ( Thomas Cantrell Dugdale ) Extent (with an e ) means the range of something. Extent can also refer to a degree of something, such as goal achievement. Extent is also the space something covers or takes up. You might see the phrase to a lesser extent (not as much), or greater extent (more). Two is the extent of the examples below: One's tongue slips in a longer speech to such an extent that the last word of the intended speech is said too soon. ( Sigmund Freud ) He says he even sympathizes, at least to some extent , with the Occupy Wall Street protesters. ( New York Times ) A helpful hint: something extant is still in existence , but the extent of something is just the range or limit, like the size, or extent , of your tent.

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: lead (to go in front of)/ lead (a metal) wind (to follow a course that is not straight)/ wind (a gust of air) bass (low, deep sound)/ bass (a type of fish) A homophone is a word that has the same sound as another word but is spelled differently and has a different meaning: to/two/too there/their/they're pray/prey Not so bad, right? The ending graph means drawn or written, so a homograph has the same spelling. The phone ending means sound or voice, so a homophone has the same pronunciation. But here's where it gets tricky. Depending on whom you talk to, homonym means either: A word that is spelled like another but has a different sound and meaning (homograph); a word that sounds like another but has a different spelling and meaning (homophone) OR A word that is spelled and pronounced like another but has a different meaning (homograph and homophone) So does a homonym have to be both a homograph and a homophone, or can it be just one or the other? As with most things in life, it depends on whom you ask. In the strictest sense, a homonym must be both a homograph and a homophone. So say many dictionaries. However, other dictionaries allow that a homonym can be a homograph or a homophone. With so many notable resources pointing to the contrary, are we losing this strict meaning? What then will we call a word that is spelled and pronounced the same as another but has a different meaning? If homonym retains all these meanings, how will readers know what is actually meant? The careful writer would do well to follow the strict sense, ensuring his meaning is understood immediately.

palate/palette/pallet

Time for a pop quiz! Choose your words... When they get back, they should try to incorporate some of that raw beauty into the Rockies' color palate/palette/pallet . The students gather palates/palettes/pallets during the week and stockpile them for sledding. Reports are that the company will search out favorite regional foods to pepper the palate/palette/pallet for fans in Baltimore. The first sentence refers to the range of colors the Rocky Mountains offer. The correct choice is palette. It can also refer to the board an artist uses to mix paints or the range of tone in music: A dark chocolate in the shape of an artist's palette, with a relief of paint brushes and paints, is filled with a liquor-flavored butter cream. Engineer and producer Butler brings a rich palette of sounds and styles, often trading in unabashed synth-based tracks. The second sentence refers to a platform used for moving things: a pallet. The term can also mean a straw mattress or a small bed: Paper-based honeycomb pallets extend branding surface on displays They would be cutting demos and doing sessions until one in the morning, so I'd make a little pallet on the couch and crash and stay there all week. Our final sentence describes Baltimoreans' preference of flavors in food, their palate. Palate can also mean the roof of one's mouth or the taste of something, such as wine: They had assumed the receptors would be restricted to the tongue, soft palate, upper oesophagus and epiglottis. The palate has plum, smoke, a surprising taste of apricot, but it is all wrapped in burnt rubber.

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. To accept is to receive something like tea, an idea, or a student into your college: He accepted tea from Annette without looking at her. ( Mary Cholmondeley ) Comments are accepted for a month before guidance is adopted. ( Seattle Times ) Mary J. Blige Says She's Been Accepted To Howard University, Howard Disagrees ( Huffington Post ) It's difficult to find accept used incorrectly. Score one for English speakers! It's accept 's nemesis, except, that poses problems. Except usually means "unless" or "excluding," but it's sometimes used as verb "to leave out." Read all the examples below except the ones you don't like: He defined solitary confinement as an inmate being held in isolation from all except guards for at least 22 hours a day. ( Reuters) Quiet, benign, his gestures small but eloquent, he barely talks except about the music. ( New York Times ) But thickness excepted , he made about the same figure in the street next day. (Bjrnstjerne Bjrnson) It's the verb form that confuses, and it's usually except when accept is wanted. So remember: to accept is to receive or believe something, but to except is to leave out. Accept something by giving it an A, or exclude it with a big fat X for except .

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 . Alternate can act a noun, verb, or an adjective, that nut. As a noun, it's a substitute, like the alternate who takes over for you in a game or in a jury: Several, including alternates , have taken notes and kept lists of evidence. ( Washington Post ) As a verb it refers to the act of something going back and forth: So it went on all dayheavy showers that lasted for a few minutes alternating with brief, bright intervals. ( Mrs. Herbert Strang ) As an adjective, it describes two options taken in turns: The alternate jersey will have an interlocking SD on the left chest. ( Washington Post ) Alternative can be an adjective or noun, too. As an adjective it describes something available as another choice, including alternative lifestyles. As a noun, it means one of two or more choices. Here are some alternative sentences: Some harriers have evolved an alternative lifestyle cross-dressing. ( New York Times) Diaspora, an alternative to Facebook, was founded by four New York University students in 2010. ( Washington Post ) People often say alternate when they mean alternative , maybe because it's shorter . No one's going to freak out if you mix them up, but use alternate for what those checkerboard squares do on your rock star blazer, and save alternative to describe the music it makes you want to crank up.

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. Appraise sounds like "a praise," which is what you hope for when someone appraises you or your three-story colonial. The crystal ball is cloudy, but appraise probably comes from Middle French ( apreis- ) and Late Latin ( appretiare ), meaning to estimate the value or quality of something, such as a house, an employee's performance, or your grandmother's owl pin. Here are some appraises from the world: The cancelations reflected mortgage applications that were refused or because appraised home values were coming in below the sales price, the group said. ( Business Week ) Treasure Hunters Roadshow is visiting El Paso this week appraising all kinds of collectibles. ( Treasure Hunters Roadshow ) You can see an etching of the event: King Kalakaua in white tie and tails, appraising a long banquet table. ( Washington Post ) Apprise comes from the French apprendre, to learn or inform via the Latin apprendere, to learn. These days apprise means to inform or tell. These examples will apprise you of how to use it: When asked whether transit officials were apprised of complaints made via 311, the city's help line, Mr. Prendergast struggled to answer. ( New York Times ) He took responsibility for not keeping Mr. Bloomberg sufficiently apprised of the cleanup effort. ( New York Times ) To keep it straight, if your boss appraises you, you hope for praise! If you apprise someone of a situation, you might also have to advise her on what to do. Apprise sounds like "a prize" has another meaning, too, which is to gain in value.

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. Demur is usually a verb, but it can also act as a noun meaning the act of hesitating or objecting, or indecision. It's like saying "no thanks" by ducking your head and walking away: "There isn't any too much room in this bungalow as it is," demurred Mr. Pottle. ( Richard Connell ) But strangely, when given an opportunity to be influential, many demur , backing away from the conversations that result in the making of decisions. ( Computer World ) Not surprisingly, perhaps, Tett stepped out of her chair role's impartiality momentarily to demur at that. (Guardian ) Add an e to make demure , which describes a shy, polite, legs-crossed, hands-in-lap kinda gal: Demure ? I think you need to read the definition of that word, because no one in hot pink shorts and red manic panic hair is demure . ( x17 ) Canada, represented as a demure little maiden, stands just behind Hawaii, an interested spectator, apparently more than half inclined to follow his example. ( Frederic Taber Cooper ) Demur when a cute trucker invites you to an all-night rave if you want to be considered demure . Ladies love an e . Demur sounds like dee-mur , while demure sounds like a baby kitten: de-myure . Mew.

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. Discomfit is a verb that began as "to defeat in battle," but now it means to rattle or embarrass someone. It's so embarrassing to lose! This "newer" definition (it's been in action since about 1400, says The Oxford English Dictionary ) came to be when people got it confused with discomfort . How embarrassing! Here are some discomfit s undoing folks in the news: But today even the best zoos discomfit many parents, this one included. ( Time ) At the same time, the Obama administration is pressing for changes that could discomfit the king and his aides. ( Los Angeles Times ) Discomfort is a noun meaning physical or mental distress. That's how it stays away from its sound-alike; it's rarely used as a verb anymore. Like all nouns, you can put an a , an , or the in front of it an it makes sense: Yoga can help alleviate some of the discomforts of pregnancy and keep mothers-to-be fit. ( Fit Pregnancy ) Nabokov said he sustained an injury during the first period, played through the discomfort, but "Jack pulled the trigger" to substitute DiPietro. ( New York Times ) Use discomfit to embarrass; use discomfort for embarrassment. Taste that tea before you serve it if you want to avoid both.

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. What about that song is it entitled or titled "Free Ice Cream at Lunch"? There's the rub. The short answer: use either one! Entitle 's main job is to give you a right, like when you're entitled to free snacks because you've done something to deserve it. If you seem to have to right to everything, you're just entitled . It also means to give something a title : Your song is entitled "Free Ice Cream at Lunch." Check it out: As all art collectors may, Mr. Lauder is entitled to deduct the full market value of artworks donated to museums. ( New York Times ) Marjorie Ingall is worried about raising " entitled , bratty, ungrateful little weasels." ( New York Times ) A title is a noun it's the name of a book, a movie, or your new hit single about frozen treats. To name such a thing, is to title it, so yes it can also be a verb (hence the confusion). Here are some: Their report was titled : "Euro zone: Thinking the unthinkable?" ( Business Week ) The distributor gave him idiot-proof instructions, such as making sure pages had numbers and the title was on the spine. ( Washington Post ) Sticklers want entitle tobe used only in the sense of giving someone a right, not for giving something a name. Bah! As for your song, if you jazz up the title , it might be entitled "Punk Rock Pickle Pink Ice Cream." Or not. You can get rid of the entitled/titled problem by dropping both and letting the title speak for itself.

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. Envelop means to wrap around something completely, to surround, either literally or figuratively. Fog can envelop a city, but love might also envelop a person's mind. Here are some envelops in the wild: Gradually this veil spread inland and quietly enveloped all things on shore. ( Lillian Elizabeth Roy ) Kenya had been enveloped in violence following the contested presidential elections in December 2007. ( Forbes ) An envelope is a flat piece of paper used to enclose or envelop documents. To push the envelope means to approach the limits of something. You might hear the envelope, please when you're waiting to find out who won an Oscar . Here are some envelopes waiting to be opened: Related links in NPG Funding models can push the envelope , but at what cost? ( Nature ) Mr. Warner drew the letter from its envelope , began casually running through it. ( Inez Haynes Gillmore ) When love envelops your brain, you might forget to seal the envelope for your mushy letter. If it falls out for all to see, embarrassment might envelop you!

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. Exalt is a transitive verb, so it needs a direct object: you have to exalt something. If we glorify God, we exalt him. It can also mean to heighten something, to increase its effects. You can exalt , or raise, the Virgin Mary, or a level, like in these examples: His devotional writings, which exalt Mary by superstitious tales of miracles, were extremely popular in all Catholic countries. ( J.H. Kurtz ) At a less exalted level, we buy and sell attention all the time, usually as part of some other transaction. ( Slate ) I'm afraid, though, that very few people walk on that exalted plane. ( New York Times ) To exult (with a "u") is to whoop it up, celebrate, to be happy. If you rejoice at your team's big win, you exult in it. It's an intransitive verb, so it doesn't need an object you exult all by yourself, any way you want: Little wonder Ferry's fans were out in force Tuesday, but they had little reason to exult as the show opened in subdued style. ( Chicago Tribune ) We do have our problems and we worry and whine and complain, but we also have to celebrate and exult . ( Associated Press ) Coffers will bulge, fans will exult , civilization will fail to collapse. ( New York Times ) If you think something is the best thing ever and you practically worship it, you exalt it. You have to exalt something. If you're just thrilled, and your sentence doesn't require a direct object, choose exult instead.

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. Faze entered English around 1830 through American English as a variant of feeze, to mean "frighten." It's often in the negative, like when your mellow brother is unfazed by your crazy Cinderella costumes. Don't let these examples faze you: Gasser didn't seem fazed by his teammates' early shooting woes. ( Seattle Times ) Morgan doesn't seem fazed by Google overwhelming influence in the tech world. ( Forbes ) A phase is a stage, like the phases of the moon or the awkward phase of teenage rebellion. As a verb, it means to do something in stages, like to phase something in or out: Education officials are now considering phasing out the middle school grades and possibly housing a new district or charter middle school in the same building. ( New York Times ) We will finish Phase One, and then we will look at Phase Two," says Peter Voser, Shell's chief executive officer. ( Business Week ) I never know if musicians see bands going through all these different phases the way outsiders or music critics do. ( Time ) Confusing phase for faze is an error that usage guru Bryan Garner notes as being at stage 2 of language change: having spread to a "significant fraction of the language community" but remaining "unacceptable in standard usage." So don't get them mixed up. To keep them straight: something that fazes or bothers you might make you want to f ight, but p lease pass through your p rincess phase as soon as p ossible.

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. A flounder is a fish, but as a verb, it means to blunder about, to be in serious trouble. In the following examples, something is struggling but hasn't completely failed: He set out for it, limping, while the sharp gravel rolled under his bleeding feet as he floundered up the climbing trail. ( Harold Bindloss ) It is a war that has floundered for nine years without a rational strategy and may endure for another decade. ( Sydney Morning Herald ) Just as he turned around that floundering business, he suggests, so too could he reverse the country's sagging fortunes as its chief executive. ( Washington Post ) A founder is someone who starts something, but as a verb, founder literally means "to sink." Figuratively, it's "to collapse or fail completely." Here are some examples of sinking and failing: Pratt resisted the impulse of most Mormons to head back to the foundering ship. ( Salt Lake Tribune ) Xinhua, in an English-language commentary, said China could not stand by while its largest trading partner foundered. ( Reuters ) Yet negotiations over new gas contracts have foundered. ( Economist ) Flounder and founder are happy little nouns that don't get mixed up. But it all falls apart when they're verbs if you're floundering , you're struggling. If you're foundering , you're failing completely. You're sunk! You can't even hold onto the letter l.

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. A gibe is a pointy comment, an insult, a verbal thump on the forehead. Despite being taunted, gibe hasn't changed in years since the 1500s it's been a verb meaning, "to make a remark that is taunting or sarcastic." Soon after, gibe was used as a noun referring to the remark. The etymology is uncertain, though it could be borrowed from the Middle French giber, meaning to handle roughly. Here are some gibes in context: The last sentence was spoken in taunting tones, and Slade's face showed that the gibe had gone home. ( Herman Landon ) Dr. Prince walked off very triumphantly after this parting gibe . ( E.M. Delafield ) Jibe is a two-headed verb:it means to agree, but it's also a nautical term meaning to shift a sail on a ship. (This nautical jibe is spelled gybe in British English). Here are some jibes agreeably appearing in sentences: "We thought about getting married in Massachusetts, but it just didn't seem to jibe right," said Dorr. ( Salon ) The drop in jobless rate doesn't jibe with recent job gains. ( Wall Street Journal ) With a bit of practice, you can steer, turn, tack, and jibe a boat with just her sails. ( John Jamieson ) Should you use jibe as an alternate spelling of gibe ? No. Just don't gibe , or pick on,people who do, instead just jibe with them and admit it's accepted in some dictionaries.

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. If you gather all the info you can about hoard , and store it away for later, you'll find it comes from the word for "hidden treasure." When you hoard something, you are collecting lots of material, usually of value, in secret. You store these things in case you need them later. It's a noun and a verb. Hoarding canned goods and batteries before a hurricane is smart. Not throwing out that hoard of old playground equipment in your yard, not so smart. Here's some hoarding from the news: American firms continue to hoard cash and overall bank deposits soar despite rock-bottom interest rates. ( New York Times ) Clippings and advertisements for free samples were hoarded and quickly posted. ( Lauren Ann Isaacson ) Every one is given at least one talent for use; not to hide and hoard away. (Louise Vescelius-Sheldon ) A horde , on the other hand, is a busy mob, like the one that chases Frankenstein's monster with torches. Hordes are often roving and mad. Horde is usually derogatory and should be use with care. Here are some hordes from the news: In China, it means angry hordes parading victims wearing dunce caps through the streets before stringing them up in public squares. ( Time ) As darkness fell, women illuminated by wood fires stirred vats of couscous and beef stew for the hordes of visitors. ( New York Times ) The only reason people get these words confused is that they sound. Remember, there's an "a" in hoard and "g a ther." Horde is just a wild bunch of letters holding pitchforks.

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. Hone in or hone in on, is an eggcorn for home in on . (An eggcorn is a word accidently used for another word that sounds similar, like saying eggcorn instead of acorn. ) Home in on (with an "m") means to move toward an object or goal, like a missile zooming towards a target. Or as a homing pigeon does, which is where the term comes from. Here are some examples: Another international e-commerce site that has homed in on the Brazilian market is farfetch.com. ( New York Times ) Bedbugs are active at night, leaving their hiding places to home in on body warmth or carbon dioxide to reach their victims. ( Monsters and Critics ) Hone is to sharpen something, like a blade or your attention in math class. The only reason people get it confused with home is when hone horns in on home in . Although you can make something pointy by honing , when you try to hit a target, you home in on it, like going home after a long day.

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. The prefix in- in this case means not. Both ate and able create adjectives, -ate meaning having the characteristics of and able meaning to be able. Indeterminate, then, means not ( in- ) having the characteristics of ( -ate ) being fixed ( determine ): not fixed. Indefinite. Not determined. As in: Prisoners on indeterminate sentences 'left in limbo' over parole dates A man of indeterminate age peeks out of a cut-glass window. For no discernibly good reason, I am back on Twitter for an indeterminate period of time. Indeterminable means not ( in- ) able to ( -able ) establish (determine): incapable of being fixed or determined. Such as: This equated to 1082 votes for and 102 against, with two ballots indeterminable. However, there are those movies that fall into that rare category of indeterminable. I said before how if B existed inside of the mold by itself, B's size would be indeterminable because it rests inside of infinity, which it can't be compared to. Remember: if something isn't fixed, it's indeterminate. If it can't be fixed, it's indeterminable.

pitiable/pitiful/piteous/pitiless

We don't often look at four words that can be easily confused for each other, but this pack is an exception. Let's start with our base word: pity. Pity is to feel sorrow or compassion for someone's misfortunes or sorrows. It can also be something that causes sorrow or disappointment: Pity the misunderstood conifer: Evergreens' many benefits overlooked Pitiless, then, is without (-less) pity, lacking compassion. Pitiless can be cruel or merciless: Hell, on the other hand, will be like having to read an unauthorised biography of yourself written by a pitiless researcher who has exposed your secrets. Pitiable, piteous, and pitiful all mean some shade of deserving pity. Let's see if we can untangle the differences. Piteous and pitiable both mean being deserving of pity: A single drought could spell the end of a society and doom its inhabitants to piteous deaths. Barb tried to comfort me as Rusty looked on, giving me a pitiable shake of the head. Pitiable is found 10 times as often, however, as piteous in Google News search results. Because of this difference, piteous has become a more archaic, poetic word, while pitiable remains more common. The latter also means scornfully small or poor: All of these foods proffer very pitiable nutritional value, and it consequently makes no sense at all to carry on eating them. Which brings us to pitiful. It, too, means deserving of pity and carries that second meaning of scornfully small or poor. It's used, though, in a much more negative sense, giving rise to feelings of contempt rather than compassion: They are asking what is this pitiful circus financed with millions of their tax dollars. Maine Gubernatorial Coverage: Sloppy, Pointless, Pitiful Union chief endorses 'pitiful' bonus deal for Palm Beach County If you want to say, then, that something deserves pity, pitiable is your best choice. If you're looking for a more poetic phrasing, go with piteous. A contemptuous meaning wants pitiful. And if you're all out of pity, go with pitiless.

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. Exercise usually refers to working out: Mrs. Obama has said she wants to help today's youngsters become adults at a healthy weight by eating better and getting more exercise . Many studies have linked exercise with improved brain health later in life. It also means to use something, like restraint, or you might even have warm-up exercises in music class. On the other hand, if you went to see The Exorcist and expected a sports flick, you were in for a big surprise. You'll have to trade in your sneakers for some holy water if you are going to exorcise , orcast out the devil, like in these examples: Any lingering Hampden Park ghosts were exorcised by within 34 ruthless minutes. Mr. and Mrs. Metzler, who are devout Catholics, had Father Brown come to the house to exorcise the spirits that were tormenting them. Although exorcise usually refers to a religious ritual to get rid of actual demons, people often use it to refer to emotions they'd like to purge: In his view, acting has lent Ms. Schnabel "a vehicle to both exercise, and exorcise , these kinds of complicated demons." In a way, she figured, she'd get two things done at once advocate for kids and exorcise her own demons. The "o" in exorcise is like the "o" in the oath when you vow to rid someone of evil. Don't get the two words mixed up, most demons don't respond to jazzercise.

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. Let's say we have a set of numbers: 11 23 30 47 56 The mean, sometimes called the arithmetic mean, of this set is 33. The mean is the sum of all the numbers in the set (167) divided by the amount of numbers in the set (5). The median is the middle point of a number set, in which half the numbers are above the median and half are below. In our set above, the median is 30. But what if your number set has an even number of, er, numbers: 11 23 30 47 52 56 To calculate the median here, add the two middle numbers (30 + 47) and divide by 2. The median for our new list is 38.5. So far, so good. But what about average ? The average of a set of numbers is the same as its mean; they're synonyms. Let's see our terms in action: Performance is calculated by the arithmetic mean of the returns in an equally weighted portfolio of individual stocks, on a quarterly basis. The median single-family homeowner in town will pay $175 more in property taxes this year. Average retail gas prices in California fell 1.3 cents in the last week, putting the average tank of gas at $3.13 per gallon. While we wordy types may still struggle to understand what an "equally weighted portfolio" is, wonder whether we are median single-family homeowners, or continue to look for lower-than-average gas prices, at least we know how the mean, median, and average were calculated.