Monday, April 18, 2011

Confusion. Confusion.

I was writing a blog some other day. I was trying to say something was stationary (i.e. not in motion), but I suddenly forgot whether it should be spelled as 'stationary' or 'stationery'. I knew they are both pronounced the same but their meanings are entirely different. To ensure the correctness of my writing, I had to look up the dictionary to find the right word to use.
After the writing, my mind wandered along similar vein. A couple of other words came to my mind which I felt very easy to get confused and mistaken. Following are some examples but I'm sure there could be many more others. If you know which is which, good on you. If you are not that sure, it's better to consult the dictionary before putting them into writing. Good luck!

aides/aids
aisle/isle
ascent/assent
born/borne
breath/breadth
canon/cannon
complement/compliment
complementary/complimentary
capital/capitol
cast/caste
counselor/councilor
cubical/cubicle
decent/descent
discreet/discrete
ensure/insure
fiance/fiancee
hail/hale
heroin/heroine
immerge/emerge
insolate/insulate
incidence/incidents
instance/instants
kerb/curb
loath/loathe
marshal/martial
principal/principle
recount/re-count
rein/reign
rhyme/rhythm
sensor/censor
stationary/stationery
storey/story
vain/vein
wean/ween
wreath/wreathe

Finally, don't confuse 'we' with 'wee' as we wee.

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