Take a
look at these two sentences – one of them contains a mistake:
I poured over book after book.
We pored over the catalogues.
Are you uncertain which one is right? There are a lot of words
in English that look or sound alike but have very different meanings, such as pore and pour or flaunt and flout.
It’s easy to get them confused and most electronic spellcheckers won’t be much
help in this type of situation: they can tell you if a word has been spelled
wrongly but they can’t generally flag up the misuse of a correctly spelled
word.
Here’s a quick-reference list of pairs of words that regularly
cause people problems. The words follow the accepted British English spelling.
Some of them do have alternative American spellings and you will find these at
the main dictionary entry on this website.
|
Word 1
|
Meaning
|
Word 2
|
Meaning
|
|
accept
|
to agree to
receive or do
|
except
|
not including
|
|
adverse
|
unfavourable,
harmful
|
averse
|
strongly
disliking; opposed
|
|
advice
|
recommendations
about what to do
|
advise
|
to recommend
something
|
|
affect
|
to change or make
a difference to
|
effect
|
a result; to
bring about a result
|
|
aisle
|
a passage between
rows of seats
|
isle
|
an island
|
|
all together
|
all in one place,
all at once
|
altogether
|
completely; on
the whole
|
|
along
|
moving or
extending horizontally on
|
a long
|
referring to
something of great length
|
|
aloud
|
out loud
|
allowed
|
permitted
|
|
altar
|
a sacred table in
a church
|
alter
|
to change
|
|
amoral
|
not concerned
with right or wrong
|
immoral
|
not following
accepted moral standards
|
|
appraise
|
to assess
|
apprise
|
to inform someone
|
|
assent
|
agreement,
approval
|
ascent
|
the action of
rising or climbing up
|
|
aural
|
relating to the
ears or hearing
|
oral
|
relating to the
mouth; spoken
|
|
balmy
|
pleasantly warm
|
barmy
|
foolish, crazy
|
|
bare
|
naked; to uncover
|
bear
|
to carry; to put
up with
|
|
bated
|
in phrase 'with batedbreath',
i.e. in great suspense
|
baited
|
with bait
attached or inserted
|
|
bazaar
|
a Middle Eastern
market
|
bizarre
|
strange
|
|
berth
|
a bunk in a ship,
train, etc.
|
birth
|
the emergence of
a baby from the womb
|
|
born
|
having started
life
|
borne
|
carried
|
|
bough
|
a branch of a
tree
|
bow
|
to bend the head;
the front of a ship
|
|
brake
|
a device for
stopping a vehicle; to stop a vehicle
|
break
|
to separate into
pieces; a pause
|
|
breach
|
to break through,
or break a rule; a gap
|
breech
|
the back part of
a gun barrel
|
|
broach
|
to raise a
subject for discussion
|
brooch
|
a piece of
jewellery
|
|
canvas
|
a type of strong
cloth
|
canvass
|
to seek people’s
votes
|
|
censure
|
to criticize
strongly
|
censor
|
to ban parts of a
book or film; a person who does this
|
|
cereal
|
a grass producing
an edible grain; a breakfast food made from grains
|
serial
|
happening in a
series
|
|
chord
|
a group of
musical notes
|
cord
|
a length of
string; a cord-like body part
|
|
climactic
|
forming a climax
|
climatic
|
relating to
climate
|
|
coarse
|
rough
|
course
|
a direction; a
school subject; part of a meal
|
|
complacent
|
smug and
self-satisfied
|
complaisant
|
willing to please
|
|
complement
|
to add to so as
to improve; an addition that improves something
|
compliment
|
to praise or
express approval; an admiring remark
|
|
council
|
a group of people
who manage or advise
|
counsel
|
advice; to advise
|
|
cue
|
a signal for
action; a wooden rod
|
queue
|
a line of people
or vehicles
|
|
curb
|
to keep something
in check; a control or limit
|
kerb
|
(in British
English) the stone edge of a pavement
|
|
currant
|
a dried grape
|
current
|
happening now; a
flow of water, air, or electricity
|
|
defuse
|
to make a
situation less tense
|
diffuse
|
to spread over a
wide area
|
|
desert
|
a waterless,
empty area; to abandon someone
|
dessert
|
the sweet course
of a meal
|
|
discreet
|
careful not to
attract attention
|
discrete
|
separate and
distinct
|
|
disinterested
|
impartial
|
uninterested
|
not interested
|
|
draught
|
a current of air
|
draft
|
a first version
of a piece of writing
|
|
draw
|
an even score at
the end of a game
|
drawer
|
a sliding storage
compartment
|
|
dual
|
having two parts
|
duel
|
a fight or
contest between two people
|
|
to draw out a
reply or reaction
|
illicit
|
not allowed by
law or rules
|
|
|
ensure
|
to make certain
that something will happen
|
insure
|
to provide
compensation if a person dies or property is damaged
|
|
envelop
|
to cover or
surround
|
envelope
|
a paper container
for a letter
|
|
exercise
|
physical
activity; to do physical activity
|
exorcise
|
to drive out an
evil spirit
|
|
fawn
|
a young deer;
light brown
|
faun
|
a mythical being,
part man, part goat
|
|
to display
ostentatiously
|
flout
|
to disregard a
rule
|
|
|
flounder
|
to move clumsily;
to have difficulty doing something
|
founder
|
to fail
|
|
forbear
|
to refrain
|
forebear
|
an ancestor
|
|
foreword
|
an introduction
to a book
|
forward
|
onwards, ahead
|
|
freeze
|
to turn to ice
|
frieze
|
a decoration
along a wall
|
|
grisly
|
gruesome,
revolting
|
grizzly
|
a type of bear
|
|
hoard
|
a store
|
horde
|
a large crowd of
people
|
|
imply
|
to suggest
indirectly
|
infer
|
to draw a
conclusion
|
|
loath
|
reluctant,
unwilling
|
loathe
|
to hate
|
|
loose
|
to unfasten; to
set free
|
lose
|
to be deprived
of; to be unable to find
|
|
meter
|
a measuring
device
|
metre
|
a metric unit;
rhythm in verse
|
|
militate
|
to be a powerful
factor against
|
mitigate
|
to make less
severe
|
|
palate
|
the roof of the
mouth
|
palette
|
a board for
mixing colours
|
|
pedal
|
a foot-operated
lever
|
peddle
|
to sell goods
|
|
pole
|
a long, slender
piece of wood
|
poll
|
voting in an
election
|
|
pour
|
to flow or cause
to flow
|
pore
|
a tiny opening;
to study something closely
|
|
practice
|
the use of an
idea or method; the work or business of a doctor, dentist, etc.
|
practise
|
to do something
repeatedly to gain skill; to do something regularly
|
|
prescribe
|
to authorize use
of medicine; to order authoritatively
|
proscribe
|
to officially
forbid something
|
|
principal
|
most important;
the head of a school
|
principle
|
a fundamental
rule or belief
|
|
sceptic
|
a person inclined
to doubt
|
septic
|
infected with
bacteria
|
|
sight
|
the ability to
see
|
site
|
a location
|
|
stationary
|
not moving
|
stationery
|
writing materials
|
|
storey
|
a level of a
building
|
story
|
a tale or account
|
|
titillate
|
to arouse
interest
|
titivate
|
to make more
attractive
|
|
tortuous
|
full of twists;
complex
|
torturous
|
full of pain or
suffering
|
|
wreath
|
a ring-shaped
arrangement of flowers etc.
|
wreathe
|
to surround or
encircle
|
