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03/13/22 1 Commonly Confused Words ENG 101 Composition “Oh no! Is it affect or effect? I wish I’d paid attention in Prof. Christenson’s English class!

Commonly confused words of English

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04/15/23 1

Commonly Confused WordsENG 101 Composition

“Oh no! Is it affect or effect? I wish I’d paid attention in Prof. Christenson’s English class!

04/15/23 2

Affect/Effect

• The effect of the war was poverty for millions.

• How deeply will he be affected by the death of his brother?

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Allusion/Illusion

• Her allusion to the glories of motherhood made her friends wonder.

• A big car is an illusion of wealth.

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Appraise/Apprise

• The dealer appraised the old tractor very low.

• The dealer acted surprised when the buyer apprised him that the offer was too low.

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Casual/Causal

• Fridays are often casual days in offices now.

• Her childishness was the causal force behind their divorce.

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Censor/Censure

• The censor decided the book was completely without artistic merit.

• The president was censured by Congress.

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Close/Clothes/Cloths

• Please close your text before the test.

• His clothes were at the cleaners.

• The painter bought cloths by the bag to clean up the mess.

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Dyeing/Dying

• They were dyeing the rug a different color.

• The patient was dying when the doctor arrived.

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Envelop/Envelope

• The house was completely enveloped in flames when the firefighters arrived.

• Send your letter in a business size envelope.

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Forth/Fourth

• He went forth to seek his fortune.

• He was her fourth husband.

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Personal/Personnel

• She left work early to take care of personal business.

• The personnel office keeps records on each employee.

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Raise/Raze

• No one could raise his spirits lately.

• The demolition crew razed the old factory.

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Accept/Except

• Politicians should never accept gifts from constituents.

• Everyone can see the solution to the problem except the people involved.

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Adapt/Adopt

• Can a Corvette engine be adapted to fit a VW?

• They decided to adopt the child.

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Advice/Advise

• Her advice was to sell the stock now.

• She advised her client to sell his stock.

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Aisle/Isle/I’ll

• An aisle is a passageway.

• An isle is an island.

• I’ll is a contraction for “I will.”

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All ready/Already

• We are all ready to begin our next assignment.

• We’ve already completed four reports in class.

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All together/Altogether

• We were all together in the crowded office.

• He was not altogether sure if the solution would work.

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Aid/Aide

• Many students need financial aid.

• He worked as an aide to the CEO.

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Altar/Alter

• They knelt at the altar.

• He needed to alter his plans at the last minute.

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Born/Borne

• His idea was born of frustration.

• The lumber was borne by truck to the construction site.

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Capital/Capitol

• The capital of Illinois is Springfield.

• The building in which a legislature meets is called the capitol building.

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Cite/Sight/Site

• Cite sources in research papers.

• He lost sight of his original goal.

• The job site was hazardous.

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Moral/Morale

• His act was merely practical, not moral.

• Employers must seek ways to maintain employee morale.

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Insure/Ensure

• You must insure your car.

• To ensure good grades, one must study regularly.

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Compliment/Complement

• A compliment is praise.

• The painting complemented the décor of the room.

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Duel/Dual

• A duel is a fight between two people.

• The computer had dual floppy drives.

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Anecdote/Antidote

• An anecdote is an example told as a story.

• He called Poison Control for the antidote.

04/15/23 29

Eminent/Imminent

• The eminent physicist gave a lecture.

• The end of the semester is imminent.

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Imply/Infer

• Did you imply that you’re available?

• To infer means to assume meaning based on an indirect statement.

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Adherence/Adherents

• Your adherence to the policy is necessary.

• They were adherents of his philosophy.

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Climactic/Climatic

• The movie reached its climactic ending.

• The green house effect might bring about climatic changes.

04/15/23 33

Stationary/Stationery

• The bus remained stationary as passengers got off.

• Business stationery is appropriate for correspondence.

04/15/23 34

Credible/Creditable

• His excuse was credible.

• He did a creditable job on the project.

04/15/23 35

Defuse/Diffuse

• The manager tried to defuse the argument between the two workers.

• The grids over the ceiling lights diffuse, or scatter, the light evenly.

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Disinterested/Uninterested

• A disinterested party is needed in mediation.

• He was uninterested in the TV program.

04/15/23 37

Counsel/Council

• He offered his counsel for his friend’s problem.

• The city council is in session.

04/15/23 38

Commonly Confused Words 2

BUS 142 Report Writing

“Oh no! Am I ‘averse’ to learning more about commonly confused words, or ‘adverse’? I just don’t know!”

04/15/23 39

Accede/Exceed

The government acceded to the protesters demands.

Do not exceed the speed limit.

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Adverse/Averse

The sudden storm presented adverse conditions on the highway.

The workers were averse to following the new sick leave policy.

04/15/23 41

Ascent/Assent

The mountain climber’s ascent made national news.

His assent was welcomed by his colleagues.

04/15/23 42

Canvas/Canvass

The tent was made of a heavy canvas.

Campaign workers canvassed the community looking for votes.

04/15/23 43

Device/Devise

The device was manufactured by the electronics firm.

Who can devise a way to keep better track of employee sick time?

04/15/23 44

Desert/Dessert

A desert is a dry land area where limited vegetation grows.

The dinner was followed by a delicious dessert.

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Decent/Descent/Dissent

He was a decent man whom everyone liked.

The climber made a descent from the mountain peak.

Protesters screamed their dissent to the TV cameras.

04/15/23 46

Farther/Further

How much farther to the rest area?

Today the class went further in the study of diction.

04/15/23 47

Ingenious/Ingenuous

His solution to the problem was considered ingenious.

I enjoyed his ingenuous discussion.

04/15/23 48

Principal/Principle

The principal of the school was in the office.

Principles are the guidelines by which we live and work.

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Few/Less

There are few students who don’t have to study for tests.

I have less experience than she has.

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Continual/Continuous

There were continual interruptions to my sleep.

A continuous hum was heard from the computer.