In our Glossary of Usage you'll find more than 150 sets of commonly confused words. To test your familiarity with 20 of these often puzzling word pairs, take a few minutes to do the following quiz. Select the word in each set that completes the sentence accurately and appropriately. (If you're not sure of the correct answer, follow the links for explanations and examples.) You'll find the correct answers on page two.
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- Adverse or Averse
A recent study found that many air fresheners are high in chemicals that have been linked to _____ health effects in high doses. - Allude or Elude
The young hockey star was dubbed "the phantom" for his ability to _____ defenders. - Complement or Compliment
The malty flavor of buckwheat honey makes it a nice _____ to blue cheese. - Device or Devise
Amazon unveiled the Kindle, its digital-book reading _____, at the end of 2007. - Discreet or Discrete
The genes, _____ bits of DNA on the chromosomes in each cell, control all body activities by directing the production of essential chemicals. - Floundered or Foundered
When his ship _____ on the coast of Scotland in 1883, the Danish captain thought he saw a seven-pointed star in the sky. - Historic or Historical
In 1958, a Spanish photographer accompanied Fidel Castro and his band of revolutionaries during their ____ push to Havana. - Imply or Infer
"The fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not _____ that all who are laughed at are geniuses." (Carl Sagan) - Incredible or Incredulous
All births are _____ moments, but some are more momentous than others. - Later or Latter
Facebook has about 300 million users and Twitter a tenth of that number, but the _____ has been winning the headline battle in recent months. - Pored or Poured
Night after night, the president _____ over memos arguing for and against the choice that confronted him. - Principal or Principle
A higher salary was Sol's _____ reason for accepting the job offer. - Racked or Wracked
He _____ his brains to remember, but he could not call to mind a single thing! - Sensual or Sensuous
"The beauty of Moroccan palaces is made up of details of ornament and refinements of _____ delight too numerous to record." (Edith Wharton) - Shear or Sheer
"English usage is sometimes more than mere taste, judgment, and education--sometimes it's _____ luck, like getting across a street." (E.B. White) - Simple or Simplistic
Much of what we thought we knew about the evolution of dinosaurs turns out to be _____ or out-and-out wrong. - Stationary or Stationery
The train passengers spent the night in the makeshift hotels of ____ carriages parked on railway sidings. - Temerity or Timidity
Jay-Z always sounds bold and confident, but then of course _____ is rarely a character trait in the world of hip-hop. - Veracious or Voracious
Be it a Jeep Cherokee or a Ford Explorer or supersized to a Humvee, the SUV soon became the _____ and luxurious symbol of boomer excess throughout the 1990s. - Who or Whom
"_____ the gods wish to destroy they first call promising." (Cyril Connolly)
Answers are on page two.
