101 Misused Words!

Precede- to come before something

Proceed- to go on or continue

Tip- remember that the prefix pre- means to come before something

Peak- a real or metaphorical high point or pinnacle
Peek- Looking when you shouldn’t
Pique- (French) to prick

Tip- Peek two ee look like two eyes :)

Nauseated- To describe when you feel sick at your stomach.
Nauseous- To describe how something makes you feel sick.

Me- (pronoun) when you are the object of the sentence
Example- Sam sent the jelly beans to me.
Myself- (Reflexive Pronoun) Think of looking in the mirror, you see “myself”
Example- I made the jelly beans myself.:

Loath- (no e= Adjective) meaning to be reluctant
Loathe- (with e= verb) To hate or overlook something.

(Tip) Not being sure how to spell Loath or Loathe you are reluctant to add an e but would loathe getting it wrong.:

Loose- opposite of tight
Lose- opposite of win

(Tip) Loose as a goose!:

Momentarily- For a moment “to describe a period of time”
In a Moment- the amount of time until something happens:

Moral: is ethics
Morale: is a feeling of emotional confidence or lack thereof.

Lie: (Subject) Use when you or someone is doing the action
Lay: (Object) when one or something is being acted upon.

Lightening: To make something lighter.
Lightning: an electrical bolt from the sky.

Lend: (verb)
Loan: (noun)

Infamous: To have a bad reputation
Notorious: Can be positive or negative, but none for something.

Both mean the same thing, but inflammable can be confusing to many readers.
So use Flammable.

Invaluable: having worth beyond calculation.
Valuable: to have worth, but a worth that can be calculated.

Irregardless: DON’T USE
Regardless: means without any regard.

Home: to get closer to a hidden fact or item
Hone: To sharpen

I: use when you are the subject (the one taking the action)
Example: You and I have since gone back to work
Me: use when you are the object (receiving the action)
Example: Between you and me

Tip: Which one would you use if you were the only person in the sentence.

Imply: Is done by a writer or speaker
Infer: something you deduce

Hoard: To gather or congregate in a large group
Horde: to amass a large quantity of treasure or resource.

Tip: if your are part of a hoard your are board

Heroin: The Drug
Heroine: A female hero

Tip: Remember the spelling by think that the heroine has the extra something about her.

Hilarious: Super Funny
Hysterical: Means excited

Tip: Hysterical= Hysterectomy; A woman who needs a hysterectomy may be hysterical, and that’s not funny.

Gorilla: Is the primate (Monkey)
Guerrilla: (Spanish: means little war) targeted attack.

Hanger: To hang-up a picture or clothing.
Hangar: A place airplanes are parked or stored.

Tip: Hangar =Double a Airplane

Hanged: Is used only for people or animals, to end in death
Hung: is for everything else.

Foreword: (before the word) an introduction before the main works in a book.
Forward: to move

Flounder: To be confused or thrash around clumsily.
Founder: To fail completely or sink.

Flesh Out: To expand on something or build it up.
Flush Out: (Metaphor) to reveal things or to clear them out.

Faze: (American; 1920’s) “to disturb, daunt, or worry”
Phase: means a period of time

Both mean the same thing “made-up or invented”, but both are used differently.
Fictional: used to describe something in literature.
Fictitious: to describe a lie o an invention that happens in real life.

Flair: (French: scent) to describe style or talent
Flare: (O. Engl: to spread of burst) emergence flare, flaring of nostril, solar flares.

Flack: a publicity agent or press agent
Flak: type of cannon used to shot at WWII airplanes

Disinterested: impartial, unbiased, or has no stake in the outcome.
Uninterested: bored, unconcerned, or indifferent

Especially: means “particularly”
Specially: means “in a special or careful manner”

Explicit: leaves nothing to the imagination
Implicit: implied or isn’t said directly but is known through other actions.

Deep-Seated: (Correct Phrase)
Deep-Seeded: (Not an actual phrase)

Defuse: “To remove a fuse”
Diffuse: “To spread around” or “pour out”.

Desert: A sweet you eat. (or as an verb, to abandon or leave.)
Dessert: A dry arid place.

Tip: Desert, one=s, because you really only need one slice of pie.

Currant: Is a type of fruit. (similar to a raisin).
Tip: Currant, ants eat food.
Current:
As a noun- Means flow
As an Adjective- prevail time.

By Accident: (Correct phrase),

On Accident: (often used by younger speaker), note is does less of stigma to say “on accident” than to say “by accident”

Cannot: Is the more acceptable form
Can Not: Less common, but still correct.

Compose: “To arrange or put in order”
Comprise: “To included, contain, consist of, …)

Conscience: (internal guilt)
Conscious: (to be alert and awake)

Counsel: To give advice
Council: A group discussion

Titled: refers to a “name”
Entitle: has two possible meanings: 1. refers to a “name” or 2. Indicates that someone may have a right to something.

Cite: To attribute (think, thesis paper)
Sight: The ability to see (i.e. perceive light)
Site: A specific location.

Tip: ask the question “could who be replaced with him”
If so, use whom. (Him=Whom)

Who: Is the subject of a sentence doing the action
Whom: Is the object having the action done to it.

Less: used for “mass nouns” (i.e. when you are not individual items)
Fewer: used for “count nouns” (i.e when you can actual count a number)

Carat= the weight of a gem.
Caret= is a insertion mark ^
Carrot= is the vegetable
Rot is what a vegetable does.
Karat= IS the measure for the purity of gold.
Tip: Think $40K, gold=money

Some Time: refers to a quantity of time

Sometime: means “at some unspecified time”

Sometimes: means “Now an again” or “occurring periodically)

Farther= physical distance (Tip: Far Farther)
Further= metaphorical or figurative distance.

Cache: is a place to store or hide things
Also- used for refereeing to a type of computer memory.
Cachet: to have a type of importance, Prestige, or Status.
Also- used for refereeing to an Official Seal on a Document.

Note: both are past tense of “to bare”

Born: when someone or something enters into the world
Borne: To carry or to endure

Personnel: refers to staff members of employees
Personal: means private

Tip: Think of E-Commerce requires IT personnel

Quite: complete, considerable, actual
Quit: to give up, to stop

Historic: refers to anything in the past, whether important or not.
Historical: refers to something important or influential in history.

Note: different from is the preferred phase.
Trick: Different has 2 ff’s, so remember Different From

Correct phrase= “Beck and Call”
Meaning to: respond whether they beckon you or call you.

Chose is the past tense of choose. That’s all there is to it.

You choose the shirt you are going to wear. You chose the wear a white shirt.

Fell: Is the past tense of fall “He fell of the bed”
Feel: It to perceive or sense an emotion or one of the five senses”

Disc= CDs or medical terms
Disk= Other forms of data storage

I= Praise
E= To pair with something else

Because: Is the preferred choice
Due to: should be reserved for “ownership” or “expectation of a arrive

Example: “The money was due to the school, on Friday” and “She was due to arrive at noon”

A= proceeds a words being with a consonant “A Dog”
An= proceeds a words being with a vowel SOUND “An Elephant”

A Lot: A large number of something.
Alot: No a word
Allot: to parcel out

Adieu= (French” meaning goodbye or farewell
Ado= bustle, flurry, or fuss (Shakespeare “Much ado about nothing”)

Affect= To influence or To Change
Effect= A result or outcome

Although= in spite of a fact
While= happening at the same time

Aesthetics= relating to beauty
Ascetic= (monk) people who live a simple life

Supposedly= Assumed to be true
Supposable= Arguably

Assure= to reassure someone or to promise
Ensure= To make certain or guarantee
Insure= To cover financially (can be interchangeable with ensure, but to avoid confusion..)

If used as a verb both are interchangeable, BUT as an adjective only backward is proper
Tips: just use backward

Allude= to refer to indirectly
Elude= to avoid, evade, or escape

Altar= Is a place to make sacrifices
Alter= To change

Bad= emotion or perception of something
Badly= modifies a verb to indicate a deficiency

Ex: I smell bad= I think I stink
I smell badly= I have a poor sense of smell.

Between: refers to two (2) things
Among: refers to two or more things

Excpetion: Between can be used to refer to multiple things so long as they are “Distinct”
Ex: I had to choose between Harvard, Brown, and Yale
vs. I had to choose among the ivy league schools.

Blond= Generic adjective, also used for masculine pronoun.
EX:
Adjective: Do blonds have more fun?
M. Pronoun: Rick is the tall blonde standing at the door.
Blonde= Feminine pronoun.
EX: The blonde over there is hot! (referring to a female)

Note: depends on the speaker’s point of reference.

Bring= to having something come to the place you are or a place you anticipate being on the future.
Diagram: SP <---------------------Object
Take: to move the object and yourself together to a new location.
Diagram: SP + Object>---------------------> New Destination.

Note: both words anticipate, but each has a different connotation.

Anxious= Negative worry about a future event

Eager= Non-negative desire to complete something.

From the Greek to mean Ten Thousand
Def: An uncountable multitude
Or.. A very large quantity

Assume: to come to a conclusion based solely on your own thoughts or on no information at all.
Presume: to come to a conclusion based on evidence or fact.

Both words mean the same thing, but each places a different emphasis.
Each: emphasizes the individual item or person.

Every: emphasizes the group as a whole.

Example: Each car is handled with car
Every car should use hybrid technology.

No difference. Completely interchangeable.

Breath: Air that in exhaled or inhaled

Breathe: The action of taking in breath.

OL= state or federal BUILDING

AL= upper case letter, wealth, or a city that is a seat of government or important in some way.

Tip: OL is only for buildings O is round like the rotunda of a capitol building.

Baited: past tense of bait, which means to lure.

Bated: (a form of bate) which means to diminish, beat down, or to reduce.

Both past tense of the verb “sneak”

Sneak- (British and American use)
Snuck- (American only)

Skiddish- NOT A WORD

Skittish- (is a really word) meaning to be nervous or easily startled.

Simple- can be good or bad, it means “basic or easy”

Simplistic- is something that has been “overly” simplified. (Negative Connotation)

Tip- Think o the “ic” on the end of Simplistic, as meaning ICK something is missing!

Both are chemistry terms

Silicon: Is an element on the periodic table (element 14)
Note: it is used to make computer chips “Silicon Valley”

Silicone: is a rubbery material made by combining silicon with other elements.
Note: breast implants are made from “Silicone”

Set- (an action) requires an object to act
Example: I set the dog behind the couch.
Sit- (an action) does not require an object.
Example- I like to sit.

Tip- When you are training a dog you yell “sit” is an action.

Segue: (Italian) To make a smooth transition, especially used for music.

Segway: The name of an upright, two-wheel transport

Tip: Weird spelling Segue for transition, “that way” for personal transport.

Note: both mean to go through something, but each has a subtle difference.

Riffle- To hastily flip through something
Rifle- Type of gun and to steal or plunder

Tip- Rifle (1 f) guns can be used to commit a crime or to plunder!

Reluctant- unwilling or Reticent
Reticent- (Latin) Silent

Tip- Reticent and Silent both have an “I”

Quotation- (Noun)
Quote- (verb)

Purposely- Something done deliberately
Purposefully- the action of demeanor of a person who is determined

Tip- Think Purposefully= “Full of Purpose”

Prostrate- To lie facedown
Prostate- a male gland

Tip: Prostate, you stand during the prostate exam

Stationary- (Paper) for writing letter and notes
Stationery- (No movement)

Tip- Think of “E” e-mail is note writing!

Yay- an exclamation of excitement!

Yea- another way to say “yes” or “indeed”

Yeah- an informal way of saying “yes”

Wench v. Winch:

Wench- (old English slang) refers to a woman

Winch- (old English) “to pull” meaning to tighten

Tip- Think of wince “to strain” if you winch too hard you may wince

Vain- (French) meaning empty or worthless
Example- you are so vain!
Vane- used in “weather vane”

Vein- blood vessel.
Or channel. (include vein of gold)

‘Til- an acceptable shorted form of “Until”

Till- (Old English) describing a period of time that happens before an event.
ALSO the act of turing over earth for planting.

Until- (modern English) describing a period of time that happens before an event.

Trooper- police and military men
Trouper- a group of actors or singers

Tip- Troops has to wear goggles “OO”

Throe- (Old English) sharp spasm or pang of emotion”
Example- in the throes of passion!
Throw- To throw a baseball.

Taught- Verb “to teach”
Taut- strained or tense. (Taut rope)

Tact- (Latin) meaning touch, used for describing a person ability to do well in a difficult situations or being discrete.

Tack- (Old English) meaning to attach, used to describe a small sharp pin.

Supposably- (YES! It a word, but it does not mean what people think) meaning conceivable or arguably.

Supposedly- (this is the work you are looking for) meaning assumed to be true