commonly confused words

abhorrent

something truly horrible

abberant

abnormal

adverse

harmful

affect

have an effect on; make a difference to

aural

pertaining to the ear and hearing

oral

pertaining to the mouth and speaking

verbal

pertaining to words either spoken or written

bare

naked

bear

carry

broach

to bring up a subject for discussion

brooch

a large

censor

hides information

censure

harsh criticism

cite

citation

site

location

sight

the ability to see

complement

to complete something

compliment

to flatter

compose

to make up a whole

comprise

to contain parts

concurrent

at the same time

consecutive

one after the other in a series

connotation

feeling that a word invokes

denotation

the literal meaning of a word

decent

proper

descent

a movement downward

dissent

to disagree

definitely

without any doubt

definitively

final say

desert

hot and dry place

dessert

sweet treat to eat

discreet

on the down low

discrete

individual

economic

having to do with money

economical

good deal

envelop

to surround something completely

envelope

outer covering for a letter

especially

to a distinctly greater extent or degree than is common

specially

in a particular way

extant

still existing

extent

the range of something

facetious

something you don't take seriously

factious

dissenting group

fatuous

dumb

farther

physical distance

further

additional abstractions

fictional

literary fiction

fictive

specific fictional

fictitious

fake

figuratively

metaphorically

literally

actually; in fact; true in reality

historic

great importance to human hisotry

historical

referring to the past

homonym

a word that is spelled or pronounced like another word but is different in meaning

homophone

a word that is pronounced the same as another word but is different in meaning or spelling

homograph

a word written the same way as another word but having a different meaning and sound

imply

to suggest

infer

to make an educated guess

ingenious

smart and clever

ingenuous

innocent and naive

it's

short for "it is"

its

possessive form of it

lay

to put or place

lie

to tell an untruth

lose

something you don't have anymore

loose

not attached

moral

lesson of a story

morale

spirit of a group

personal

About a person

personnel

staff

quotation

a passage or expression that is quoted or cited

quote

to repeat exactly what someone else has said or written

rebut

try to prove something isn't true

refute

disprove

regrettably

unfortunately

regretfully

full of regret

respectfully

full of respect or admiration

respectively

in the order given

simple

one layer

simplistic

oversimplified

stationary

not moving; not changing

stationery

writing materials

statue

a sculpture representing a human or animal

statute

law

their

possessive form of they

there

direction

they're

short for "they are"

who

subject

whom

object

whose

possessive form of who

who's

contraction of "who is"

averse

strong feeling of dislike

effect

a result or consequence

afflict

to cause suffering or unhappiness

inflict

force pain or suffering

allude

to refer to something indirectly

elude

to evade

amicable

friendliness or goodwill between people or groups

amiable

one person's friendly disposition

amoral

lacking a sense of right and wrong