Navigating English can be puzzling for ESL learners. This blog post simplifies the meanings of tricky words. No need for fancy phrases, just clear explanations. Plus, you can grab a PDF to keep it handy. Let’s make English easier!
Confusing Words in English with Meaning
Here are commonly confused words in English and their meanings.
| Part
Portion |
a section or a division
share giving when something is distributed |
| Pair
Couple |
a set of two persons or things
two persons of different sexes bound to each other |
| Shade
Shadow |
a spot sheltered from the sun
patch of shade projection by a body |
| Scenery
Sight |
a view of a landscape
a thing seen |
| Further
Farther |
Abstract idea
Physical distance |
| Complete
Finish |
accomplish
to end |
| Deliverance
Delivery |
act of delivering from evil or fear
the act of speaking |
| Good
Well |
Adjective
Adverb |
| Beneficial
Beneficent |
advantageous, useful
kind |
| Compliment
Complement |
an expression to regard or praise
that which completes |
| Statue
Statute |
an image
size |
| Event
Accident |
An occurrence of some importance not necessarily unexpected
unexpected happening |
| Practical
Practicable |
applying knowledge to some useful end and opposed to theoretical
capable of being performed |
| Pray
Prey |
Asking God
An animal that is hunted |
| Then
Than |
At that time
Comparison |
| Conscious
Conscientious |
aware of
one who acts according to the dictates of one’s conscience |
| Accident
Incident |
Bad event
Any event |
| Transpire
Happen |
become known
occur |
| Corporal
Corporeal |
bodily
having a body or substance |
| Capitol
Capital |
Building
City, wealth |
| House
Home |
building intended for habitation
the residence of family |
| Principal
Principle |
Chief person, Head person
Rule, law |
| Collision
Collusion |
clash
a secret agreement to deceive |
| Healthful
Healthy |
conducive to health
possessing or enjoying health |
| Boldness
Courage |
courage of transient nature
the quality that enable men to meet danger without fear |
| Polite
Politic |
courteous
well devised |
| Averse
Adverse |
Describes a situation
Goes against what you want |
| Greed
Avarice |
desire for more than one needs
love for money for its own sake |
| Goal
Gaol |
destination
jail |
| Willing
Willful |
disposed
obstinate |
| All ready
Already |
Everything is ready
Happened earlier |
| Timid
Cowardly |
fearful, wanting courage
mean, base |
| Last
Latest |
Final
Most recent |
| Plane
Plain |
Flat surface
Simple |
| Virtual
Virtuous |
for practical purposes
having model goodness |
| Lonely
Solitary |
forsaken
alone |
| Forth
Fourth |
Forward
The number comes after three |
| Loose
Lose |
Free
Misplace |
| Tenor
Tenure |
general run or currency
term |
| Flagrant
Fragrant |
glaring
sweet |
| Ensure
Insure |
Guarantee
Financial liability |
| Poor
Pore |
Have no money
Putting |
| Capable
Capacious |
having ability or skill to do
roomy |
| Spacious
Specious |
having ample room.
seeming right or true, but not really so |
| Poison
Venom |
If we inhale
Is injected |
| Whether
Weather |
If, in case
Atmosphere |
| Insight
Incite |
In depth
Provoke to action |
| To
Too |
In the direction of something
Also |
| Here
Hear |
In this place
Perceive, listening |
| Stimulant
Stimulus |
increasing or existing vital action
that which urge a man on |
| Respectful | indicating respect |
| Honorary
Honorable |
intended merely to confer honor
worthy of Honor |
| House
Home |
Is still a house even if no one living inside it
Is a place where you live or the location |
| Temporary
Temporal |
lasting for a time only
worldly |
| Momentary
Momentous |
lasting only for a moment
of great importance |
| Emigrate
Immigrate |
Leave your own country
Come and live in a country |
| Allude
Elude |
Make indirect reference
Escape from something |
| Cloth
Clothes |
Material cotton, wool
Items that we wear |
| Resources
Recourse |
means of raising money
a going to for aid or protection |
| Temperance
Temperament |
moderation
disposition |
| Wages
Fee |
money way to workmen
some paid to a professional man |
Must Learn: Most Used Words in English
| Farther
Further |
more far or distant
additional |
| Wave
Waive |
move
relinquish or forego |
| Beside
Besides |
Next to
In addition to |
| Immunity
Impunity |
not liable to infection
freedom from punishment or law |
| Stationary
Stationery |
Not moving
Writing paper etc. |
| Advice
Advise |
Noun |
| Whom
Who |
Object
Subject |
| Trifling
Trivial |
of small importance
a thing which is small in itself |
| Ugly
Awkward |
offensive to the eye
ungraceful |
| Sensual
Sensuous |
one who indulges in animal appetites
pertaining to senses |
| Confidant
Confident |
one who is entrusted with secrets
fully assured |
| Verbal
Verbose |
oral
wordy |
| Testimony
Evidence |
oral or written statement
information tending to establish fast |
| Bring up
Grow up |
Parents bring up children
Children grow up |
| Piece
Peace |
Part, portion
Absence of war |
| Observance
Observation |
performance
act of recognizing and nothing |
| Allowed
Aloud |
Permitted
Clearly heard |
| Freedom
Liberty |
personal and private liberty
public freedom |
| Official
Officious |
pertaining to an office
too forward in offering services |
| Altar
Alter |
Place of religious ceremonies
Change |
| Complacent
Complaisant |
pleased, satisfied
obliging |
| Popular
Populous |
pleasing to the people
full of people |
| Gentle
Genteel |
polite
well-bred |
| Compliment
Complement |
Positive comment
Two things that go together |
| Good
Goodly |
possessing desirable qualities
large; graceful |
| Buy
By |
Purchase
Preposition |
| Genius
Talent |
rare natural gifts
high mental ability or extraordinary capacity that is acquired |
| Guarantee
Warranty |
Refers to promise
Used for products |
| Assure
Insure |
Removing doubts or anxiety
Pay for any damage or loss |
| Sequel
Sequence |
result
order of succession |
| Compensation
Remuneration |
reward for service
reward |
| Luxuriant
Luxurious |
rich in growth
given to luxury |
| Ascendant
Ascendancy |
rising
controlling influence |
| Coarse
Course |
Rough
Way or path |
| Wreck
Wreak |
ruin
take vengeance upon enemy |
| See
Witness |
see is used for persons or things
witness is used for events or incidents |
| Confidant
Confident |
Self-trust
Feel about good outcome |
| Week
Weak |
Seven days
Feeble |
| Quiet
Quite |
Silent
Really, positively |
| Witch
Which |
Sorceress
What one |
| Suspense
Suspension |
state of indecision b
withholding |
Must Learn: 1000 Examples of Compound Word
| Morale
Moral |
State of spirit
Lesson |
| Brake
Break |
Stopping device
Split, smash |
| Avocation
Vocation |
subordinate occupation generally pursued for pleasure
occupation, career |
| Effectual
Effective |
successful in producing the desired effect
having power to effect |
| Probable
Possible |
that which is expected to happen
that which can happen |
| recollect
remember |
that which we have difficulty in recalling
keep in mind |
| Quantity
Number |
the amount that can be measured
the amount that can be counted |
| Salary
Income |
the money paid at regular intervals to officials, clerk, soldier
total money earned or received |
| Ate
Eight |
The past tense of eat
The number |
| Union
Unity |
the stoke of different things being combined into one
oneness |
| Remember
Reminder |
Think of a memory
Notes, Cell alerts |
| Accede
Concede |
to agree
to admit |
| Hope
Expect |
to cherish pleasurable wishes
to look forward to as something about to happen |
| Decry
Descry |
to condemn
to discover by the eye |
| Hate
Dislike |
to dislike intensely
to be displeased with |
| Appraise
Apprise |
To elevate
To inform or notify |
| Review
Revise |
To examine
Correction of errors |
| Fetch
Bring |
to go and get
taking something with one |
| regret
Sorrow |
to grieve at
pain of mind caused by a sense of loss |
| Persecute
Prosecute |
to harass
to bring before a court |
| Deduce
Deduct |
to infer a truth or opinion from what precedes
to subtract |
| Depreciate
Deprecate |
to low in value
to express disapproval of some |
| Mitigate
Alleviate |
to make the burden mild punishment
to light the burden |
| Attenuate
Extenuate |
to make thin or lean
mitigate; to lessen the gravity of an act |
| Hasten
Hurry |
to move with speed
to act with haste |
| Simulate
Dissimulate |
to pretend to be what one is not
to hide what one is |
| Flee
Fly |
to run away
to move through the air on wings or in an aircraft |
| Excite
Incite |
to stir up
to move the mind to action |
| Take
Receive |
to take hold of thing ourselves
to accept delivery of a thing |
| Scatter
Spread |
to throw things in different directions
to cover a certain area with something |
| Exceptionable
Exceptional |
to which exception can be taken
extraordinary |
| Peak
Pique |
Top
Provoke, Arouse |
| Factious
Facetious |
turbulent
joking |
| Clumsy
Veracity |
ungainly
greed |
| Imaginary
Imaginative |
unreal
given to imagining |
| Sell
Sale |
Verb
Noun |
| Literally
Actually |
whatever I say is literally true
he actually told a lie |
| Neglect
Negligence |
willful omission of duty
habitual omission of duty |
| Hardly
Scarcely |
with difficulty
hardly |
| Gone to
Been to |
You’ve traveled and not returned yet
You’ve traveled and have already returned |
Infographics (List of Confusing Words)
Download the List of Confusing Words in English in PDF (Download Here)
