Commonly Misused Words In English

Rather a long post today, but hopefully it is still informative and helpful.

English can be a tricky language, especially if it’s your second language. Even native English speakers have a hard time deciphering the difference between similar sounding words and it is a fairly common occurrence for words to be misused – you’ve probably seen a few examples of this in books or online. So, let’s look at some of the most commonly misused words in English:

Advice and Advise

Advice with a “c” is the noun (as in asking for a recommendation or guidance) whereas Advise with an “s” is the verb form (as in advice being given to someone). Some examples:

John was pleased to accept Jane’s advice
Jane advised John to accept the job offer.

Accept and Except

Accept is a verb and means to willingly receive, or admit or approve something whereas Except can be used as a conjunction in a sentence or a preposition and relates to the exclusion of something:

I am pleased to accept your job offer.
I like my job except for the long hours.

Adverse and Averse

Both are adjective but adverse means hostile to something whereas averse means holding a dislike to something:

John could not promote the assistant because of an adverse report from the manager.
Jane is averse to office politics.

Affect and Effect

Affect is to have an influence on something whereas Effect relates to a result, something that has been caused:

How do long working hours affect your social life?
The effects of long working hours are fatigue and stress.

Aid and Aide

Aid is help, to receive assistance in some way and Aide is a helper, a person who acts as an assistant or gives assistant:

The richer countries should give more aid to poorer nations.
He worked as an aide to the president.

All ready and already

All ready means someone or something is ready whereas Already means something that happened previously or at a specified time:

Are you all ready for your job interviews?
She was already at work by the time I arrived.

Allusion and Illusion

Both are nouns. Allusion means to hint at something and Illusion relates to a false idea about something:

John made no allusion to the result of the job interview.
It is an illusion to think long working hours are good for staff.

Apprehend and Comprehend

These are both verbs, but Apprehend means to grasp the meaning of something whereas Comprehend means to understand something fully:

John can just about apprehend the report’s findings.
Jane comprehended the report without any difficulty.

Amiable and amicable

Both are adjectives and Amiable means loveable or likeable and Amicable means friendly:

Jane has many amiable qualities that make her a popular employee.
John and the assistant reached an amicable agreement concerning the promotion.

Assent and Ascent

Both are nouns but Assent meant to agree to something and Ascent means to go upwards:

John gave his assent to the new proposal.
John’s house is on a hilltop and the ascent is quite steep.


Canvas and Canvass

Canvas is a noun and is a material whereas Canvass is a verb and means to request votes and support:

He likes to use oil paints on canvas
During the election campaign, she canvassed tirelessly for voters’ support.

Capture and Captivate

These are both verbs. Capture means to seize something whereas captivate means to fascinate:

He captured the wild tiger in a cage.
She was captivated by the beautiful paintings.

Complement and Compliment

Complement means to complete, to fill up or make perfect and Compliment means to flatter someone with a courteous remark:

I think the blue rug complements the grey floor tiles.
John complimented Jane on her new dress.

Comprehensive and Comprehensible

These are both adjectives but whereas Comprehensive means something is exhaustive, including all or everything, Comprehensible means something is understandable. Here are some examples:

The encyclopaedia gave a comprehensive description of ancient Egypt.
The description of ancient Egypt was written in a clear and comprehensible way.

Confirm and Conform

Confirm is a verb and means to affirm, ratify or substantiate something and Conform is an adjective which means to comply with, be similar and in line with something:

She confirmed her hotel booking one week before her holiday.
His dress sense does not conform to the rules laid down by the school.

Dependant and Dependent

Dependant is a noun and relates to somebody who depends upon someone else for a home and food etc. Dependent is an adjective and means depending on something or someone:

John has many dependants.
John’s children are dependent on him until they leave school.

Difference and Deference

Both are nouns and whereas Difference means to be unlike something or dissimilar, Deference means to show respect:

The differences between the siblings are very noticeable.
He showed a lot of deference when he first met the Head Master.

Elicit and Illicit

Elicit means to draw out something, such as information from a person and Illicit means something secretive, illegal or not permitted:

The teacher tried to elicit answers from the students.
The students were punished for taking illicit drugs.

Eligible and Legible

These are both adjectives. Eligible means qualified, worthy, desirable and Legible means readable and clear:

He was described as the country’s most eligible bachelor.
His writing is far from legible.

Eminent and Imminent

Both are adjectives but Eminent means distinguished, of a high rank or position whereas Imminent relates to something that is about to happen soon:

She holds an eminent position on the Board.
It looked like rain was imminent.

Every day and Everyday

Every day means each individual day whereas Everyday means something that is done habitually and frequently:

The office is open every day except Sundays.
Christmas is not an everyday occurrence.

Graceful and Gracious

Both are adjectives. Graceful means to be full of grace, elegant and Gracious is to be full of kindness and generosity of spirit. Here are some examples:

She always looked graceful when she danced.
He was very gracious despite losing the match.

Ingenuous and Ingenious

Both are adjectives. Whereas Ingenuous means to be open or frank about something, Ingenious is to be very clever.

Jane is too ingenuous sometimes.
It was an ingenuous idea that made the inventor a millionaire.

Licence and License

Licence is a noun and means to have the permission to do something. License is the verb and means to give permission to do something:

She passed the driving test and now has her driver’s licence.
The restaurant is not licensed to sell alcohol.

Loose and Lose

Loose is an adjective and means something is not securely attached or fastened whereas lose is a verb and means to fail to keep, maintain or cease to have:

The bolts holding the shelves together are loose.
If you lose too much weight you will start to look ill.

Maybe and May be

Maybe means possibly or perhaps and May be implies something can happen or has the ability to happen. Some examples:

Maybe she likes chocolate ice cream.
One day she may be a famous dancer.

President and Precedent

Both these words are nouns. President means to be the head or an organization or a state and Precedent means to use something as an example or as a rule for what will occur in the future:

She is the President of the company.
The incident in the court was a precedent for changing the law.

Principal and Principle

Both are nouns but Principal can also be used as an adjective and means to be the highest in rank, the main person, the main reason whereas Principle means a rule, method or standard or basic truth.

She was the Principal of St Mary’s School.
She hates any sort of violence on principle.

Prophesy and Prophecy

Prophesy is the verb and means to predict what will occur in the future and Prophecy is the noun and is the power of predicting the future. Here are examples:

I prophesy that the world will end in a hundred years from now.
His prophecy sent chills of fear down their spines.

Some time and Sometime

Some time means an unstated or indefinite period of time (here, “time” is the noun and “some” is the adjective) whereas Sometime relates to an unspecified point of time and is an adverb as well as an adjective:

Can you give me some time to discuss the report?
Come up and see me sometime.

Stationary and Stationery

Stationary is an adjective and means when something or someone is not moving or changing. Stationery is a noun and relates to writing materials and products:

The cars in the traffic jam were all stationary.
She was responsible for ordering the office’s supply of stationery.