Most Commonly Confused Words in English

Take a look at the two sentences below – one of them contains a mistake:

I accept you the way you are.

I except you the way you are.

Are you uncertain which one is right?

There are a lot of words in English that look or sound or even spell alike but have very different meanings, like altar and alter or canvas and canvass. It’s easy to get them confused and trust me, confused words do no sound good at all and often make you look like a wannabe.

So, here’s a quick-reference list of pairs of words that regularly cause people problems.

Word 1	Meaning	Word 2	Meaning
accept	to agree to receive or do	except	not including
adverse	unfavorable, harmful	averse	strongly disliking; opposed
advice	recommendations about what to do	advise	to recommend something
affect	to change or make a difference to	effect	a result; to bring about a result
aisle	a passage between rows of seats	isle	an island
all together	all in one place, all at once	altogether	completely; on the whole
along	moving or extending horizontally on	a long	referring to something of great length
aloud	out loud	allowed	permitted
altar	a sacred table in a church	alter	to change
aural	relating to the ears or hearing	oral	relating to the mouth; spoken
bare	naked; to uncover	bear	to carry; to put up with
bazaar	a market	bizarre	strange
berth	a bunk in a ship, train, etc.	birth	the emergence of a baby from the womb
born	having started life	borne	carried
brake	a device for stopping a vehicle; to stop a vehicle	break	to separate into pieces; a pause
canvas	a type of strong cloth	canvass	to seek people’s votes
censure	to criticize strongly	censor	to ban parts of a book or film; a person who does this
cereal	a breakfast food made from grains	serial	happening in a series
chord	a group of musical notes	cord	a length of string; a cord-like body part
climactic	forming a climax	climatic	relating to climate
coarse	Rough	course	a direction; a school subject; part of a meal
complement	an addition that improves something	compliment	an admiring remark
council	a group of people who manage or advise	counsel	advice; to advise
cue	a signal for action; a wooden rod	queue	a line of people
currant	a dried grape (as in black currant)	current	happening now; a flow of water, air, or electricity
desert	a waterless, empty area; to abandon someone	dessert	the sweet course of a meal
discreet	careful not to attract attention	discrete	separate and distinct
disinterested	impartial	uninterested	not interested
draw	an even score at the end of a game	drawer	a sliding storage compartment
dual	having two parts, double	duel	a fight or contest between two people
elicit	to draw out a reply or reaction	illicit	not allowed by law or rules
ensure	to make certain that something will happen	insure	to provide compensation if a person dies or property is damaged
envelop	to cover or surround	envelope	a paper container for a letter
exercise	physical activity; to do physical activity	exorcise	to drive out an evil spirit
foreword	an introduction to a book	forward	onwards, ahead
freeze	to turn to ice	frieze	a decoration along a wall
grisly	gruesome, revolting	grizzly	a type of bear
hoard	a store	horde	a large crowd of people
imply	to suggest indirectly	infer	to draw a conclusion
heroin	An illicit drug	heroine	A female hero in real life or story
loath	reluctant, unwilling	loathe	to hate
loose	to unfasten; to set free	lose	to be deprived of; to be unable to find
meter	a measuring device	metre	a metric unit; rhythm in verse
palate	the roof of the mouth	palette	a board for mixing colours
pedal	a foot-operated lever	peddle	to sell goods
pole	a long, slender piece of wood	poll	voting in an election
pour	to flow or cause to flow	pore	a tiny opening
practice	the use of an idea or method (noun)	practise	to do something regularly (verb)
principal	most important; the head of a school	principle	a fundamental rule or belief
sceptic	a person inclined to doubt	septic	infected with bacteria
sight	the ability to see	site	a location
stationary	not moving	stationery	writing materials
storey	a level of a building	story	a tale or account
wreath	a ring-shaped arrangement of flowers etc.	wreathe	to surround or encircle
Wave	to move back and forth	Waive	to give up
tortuous	full of twists; complex	torturous	full  of pain or suffering
weather	climate	Whether	used to introduce doubt regarding two equal possibilities
Weak	not strong	Week	names of the seven days, from Sunday to Saturday

Wear is a verb (wear, wore, worn) meaning to have clothing on

Ware is an article of merchandise, a product (usually used in the plural)

Were is past tense of are

We're is a contraction for we are