English Words That Confuse

by Nosheen

A lot of people get confused with certain words in the English Language that are pronounced the same but have different spellings and meanings. ‘Accept’ and ‘except’ is a pair that often comes up in discussions like these but is soon dismissed because of the difference in the meanings of two words. However, there are other words that although mean different yet are used interchangeably many times.

Let’s see what are the ones that really take the lid off for many word fanatics around the world:

Starting with Loose/ Lose

Loosen your seat belt & lose your life! Next time the dilemma of putting a double ‘o’ appears, just remember, our advice.

There are more:
Words like ‘aisle’ and ‘isle’, ‘all together’ and altogether’, ‘appraise and apprise’, ‘currant’ and ‘current’, ‘tortuous’ and ‘torturous’ etc. are the ones that have been making people open up dictionaries on their devices! These words not only confuse but their wrong usage can change the sense of a sentence completely.

If you are a copywriter, you better save yourself from these words! A blog post that you’ve written staying awake night and day, baffling your mind over the ‘right’ words would all go to waste with that single inapt word. And trust me, if you are a beginner it will happen a lot of times.

To save yourself from the embarrassment, get back to the words that put you in a doubt while creating a post or article. Double check if you are not sure. Give a random reading to ‘words with same pronunciation but different meaning’ in your free time. Just like right now. 🙂

Because if they can’t censor your article with wrong words, they will definitely censure it!

Some more words are ‘wreath and wreathe’, ‘storey and story’, ‘sceptic and septic’, ‘pour and pore’, ‘pedal and peddle’ etc. These are simple but are among the most commonly mixed up words in speech and write-ups.

There are other such irrcorrigble words that tease and test the mettle of a Linguist: Find them at: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/page/266 and get ready to rule with words.

About the Author
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Nosheen

I am a writer, reader, and a part time adventure and travel enthusiast. The other three things that vie for my mind share are dark chocolate, coffee, and photography. I am highly motivated by user perspectives and addressing the common human experience when I write.