CONQUERING
CONFUSING WORDS
by Visiting Professor Darlene Bishop
The misuse of similar sounding words with totally different meanings has often been
referred to as a "Bunkerism," from the old "All In The Family" sitcom
character, Archie Bunker.
You may remember Archie. He was a common man with delusions of grandeur, who tossed around
ten-dollar words like he knew what they meant while everyone around him cringed at his
mistakes. We all laughed at Archie, but sadly, there are many writers who unsuspectingly
use the wrong word in their writing, just as Archie did in his speech. And just as Archie
was unaware of his blunders, so are these poor writers. Fortunately, with some study and a
good dictionary, these same writers don't have to share Archie's misfortune of appearing
ignorant.
Read and study the list of words below with their meanings. Although certainly not all
inclusive, this list will provide a good beginning in your continuing education of proper
word usage and meaning.
accept - to receive
except - other than
adapt - to adjust
adept - skilled
adopt - to take as one's own
affect - to have influence on
effect - result
all ready - prepared
already - by this time
all right - satisfactory, very well
alright - grammatically incorrect
all together - everyone in a group
altogether - wholly
allude - to refer to
elude - to evade or escape
allusion - indirect reference
illusion - erroneous belief or perception
all ways - by all methods
always - at all times, forever
annual - yearly
annul - to void
any one - any one person, followed by "of"
anyone - anybody, any person at all
any way - any method
anyway - in any case
anyways - grammatically incorrect
appraise - to estimate
apprise - to tell or to inform
ascent - a movement up
assent - agreement
assistance - aid
assistants - helpers
assure - to guarantee
ensure - to make sure
insure - to protect against loss
bare - unclothed
bear - to carry, or an animal
beside - by the side of
besides - in addition to
biannual - occurring twice a year
biennial - occurring once every two years
biweekly - occurring once every two weeks
semiweekly - occurring twice a week
board - a plane of wood
bored - uninterested
born - brought into life
borne - carried
brake - stop
break - smash
buy - purchase
by - next to
bye - good-bye
capital - the seat of government
capitol - the building where a legislature meets
cite - to quote an authority
sight - the ability to see
site - a place
continual - occurring regularly
continuos - without interruption
cooperation - working together
corporation - a type of business organization
correspondence - written communications
correspondents - people who write
credible - believable
creditable - worthy of praise
desert - to abandon
dessert - after-dinner course
device - an invention
devise - to invent or plot
discreet - reserved; respectful
discrete - individual or distinct
elicit - to bring out
illicit - illegal
every one - each person; always followed by "of"
everyone - everybody; every person in a group
fair - average; lovely
fare - a fee for transportation
farther - actual or literal distance
further - additional
forth - forward
fourth - after "third"
forward - toward the front; ahead
foreword - preface
gorilla - a large primate
guerrilla - a kind of soldier
hear - to perceive by ear
here - in this place
heard - past tense of "hear"
herd - a group of animals
hole - an opening
whole - complete
its - possessive of "it"
it's - contraction of "it is"
later - after the usual or proper time
latter - more recent
lead - heavy metal
led - past tense of "lead"
lessen - to make less
lesson - something learned
loan - (noun) a transaction involving the temporary transfer of something
lend - (verb) to temporarily transfer something
may be - verb form
maybe - perhaps
meat - flesh
meet - encounter
mete - to allot; distribute
no - the opposite of "yes"
know - to be certain
overdo - to carry too far
overdue - past due
passed - past tense of "pass"
past - after; a time gone by
patience - forbearance
patients - persons under medical care
peace - the absence of war
piece - a portion of something
plain - clear
plane - a carpenter's tool; or an airborne vehicle
presence - the state of being at hand
presents - gifts
principal - most important; the head of a school; the amount borrowed in a loan
principle - basic truth or law
quiet - no noise
quite - entirely or actually
rain - precipitation
reign - to rule
rein - strap for controlling an animal
raise - to build up
raze - to tear down
reality - that which exists
realty - real estate
reign - to rule
rein - strap for controlling an animal
And the phrase is "free rein," not "free reign."
residence - a house
residents - people who reside in a residence
respectfully - in a courteous manner
respectively - in the order mentioned
right - correct
rite - a religious ceremony
write - to make letters
road - surface for driving
rode - past tense of "ride"
sale - with "for," offering products for purchase; with "on," special
pricing
sail - part of a ship or boat
sell - to exchange for money
cell - a small room
scene - where an action occurs
seen - past participle of "see"
sight - something seen
site - a place, including a location in cyberspace
someone - somebody
some one - some person; always followed by "of"
some time - a period of time
sometime - at some unspecified time
stationary - unmoving
stationery - writing paper
statue - a carved or molded figure
stature - height; status
statute - law
straight - unbending
strait - water passageway
tenant - one who rents property
tenet - a principle; a belief
their - possessive of "they"
there - opposite of "here"
they're - contraction of "they" and "are"
to - toward
too - also
two - the number that follows one
waist - the middle of the body
waste - discarded material
waiver - the giving up of a right or claim
waver - to show indecision
weak - not strong
week - Sunday through Saturday
which - one of a group
witch - a sorcerer
who's - contraction of "who" and "is"
whose - possessive of "who"
your - possessive form of "you"
you're - contraction of "you are"
Good luck and good learning! If you have suggestions for additional words to be added to a
possible later edition of "Conquering Confusing Words," please email me at
mailto:dbishop@copelandlane.com.
All rules of grammar are taken from The Little, Brown Handbook, Fourth Edition, by
H. Ramsey Fowler and Jane E. Aaron, ©1989, Harper Collins Publishers, Inc., USA.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Darlene Bishop has over 15 years writing, editing, desktop publishing and newsletter
production experience and is the author of numerous articles on these and many other
topics.
She can be reached at:
http://www.copelandlane.com
mailto:dbishop@copelandlane.com
Copyright ©1999 Darlene Bishop. All
Rights Reserved. Contact the author for reprint permission.
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