A Few More Commonly Confused Words

a few more commonly confused words

Afflict - to cause suffering or unhappiness (something a disease does) Inflict - to force pain or suffering (like if you smack someone) (Both cause pain)

Allude - to refer to something in an indirect manner Elude - to evade

Alone - no other person is with you Lonely - you are alone, and sad as a result

Amicable - a friendliness or goodwill between people or groups Amiable - friendly disposition

Arise - happen or occur Rise - to go up

Assent - refers to agreement Ascent - a climb

Aver - to affirm Avow - to openly declare

Correlation - a relationship Corollary - more like a consequence

Disassemble - to take something apart Dissemble - to hide your true self

Discreet - under the radar, careful Discrete - individual or detached

Disinterested - unbiased; out of the loop Uninterested - don't give a hoot; bored

Disperse - to scatter Disburse - to pay

Eminent - famous Imminent - refers to something about to happen Immanent - inherent

Exalt - to glorify or elevate something Exult - to rejoice

Expedient - something helpful Expeditious - speedy

Extant - still here Extent - the range of something

Faze - to disturb, bother, or embarrass Phase - a stage or step

Fictional - literary Fictive - specific Fictitious - just plain fake

Imply - to hint at something Infer - to make an educated guess

Ingenious - smart and clever Ingenuous - innocent and naive

Insidious - something that lies in wait to get you Invidious - something offensive or defamatory

Loath - unwilling or reluctant Loathe - to hate

Morbid - describes something gruesome Moribund - the act of dying

Paradox - a logical puzzle that seems to contradict itself Oxymoron - a figure of speech—words that seem to cancel each other out (e.g., instant classic)

Parameter - a limit that affects how something can be done Perimeter - the outline of a physical area

Practical - sensible Practicable - possible

Pragmatic - you're practical Dogmatic - you follow the rules

Premiere - the first public performance of something Premier - the very best

Prescribe - to recommend Proscribe - to forbid

Rebut - to try to prove something isn’t true Refute - to actually prove it isn’t

Reluctant - resisting or unwilling Reticent - quiet, restrained, or unwilling to communicate

Sources: 1 2 ⚜ More: Writing Basics ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs ⚜ Part 1