Boar, Boor, and Bore

The are commonly confused words

Bore and Boor
 Kurt Vonnegut, <i>Deadeye Dick</i> (Delacorte Press, 1982)

The noun boar refers to an uncastrated pig. The noun boor refers to a rude or ill-mannered person.

As a verb, bore means to make a hole or passage or to become tiresome or dull. In addition, bore is the past tense of the irregular verb bear.​

As a noun, bore refers to a hole made by boring, the hollow part of a tube, or someone or something that is dull and tiresome.

See also:

Examples

  • My grandmother once stepped out onto the front porch and shot a boar that was attacking her dogs.
  • To avoid having to attend dinner parties, Jon played the part of a hopeless boor—an uncouth country bumpkin.
  • An engineer conceived a plan to bore a tunnel through the mountain ridge to speed upriver freight traffic.
  • The graduation speaker was a complete bore, and half the audience went to sleep.

Practice

(a) These creatures _____ into the limestone by dissolving it with an acidic chemical they excrete.

(b) It was a Norse tradition to eat wild _____ at Yuletide.

(c) If an Englishman settles in Australia, he is regarded as a _____ if he criticizes all things Australian and constantly harps on how much better the English are.

(d) Phil's friends say that he has become a total _____, talking about nothing but his children and his golf game.

Answers to Practice Exercises: Boar, Boor, and Bore

(a) These creatures bore into the limestone by dissolving it with an acidic chemical they excrete.

(b) It was a Norse tradition to eat wild boar at Yuletide.

(c) If an Englishman settles in Australia, he is regarded as a boor if he criticizes all things Australian and constantly harps on how much better the English are.

(d) Phil's friends say that he has become a total bore, talking about nothing but his children and his golf game.

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Your Citation
Nordquist, Richard. "Boar, Boor, and Bore." ThoughtCo, Feb. 16, 2021, thoughtco.com/boar-boor-and-bore-1689319. Nordquist, Richard. (2021, February 16). Boar, Boor, and Bore. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/boar-boor-and-bore-1689319 Nordquist, Richard. "Boar, Boor, and Bore." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/boar-boor-and-bore-1689319 (accessed March 29, 2024).