"Advice" or "advise"? "Farther" or "further"? "Principal" or "principle"? It's easy to confuse words that are similar in sound, spelling, or meaning. But with a bit of review it's also easy to clear up such confusions.
Here in our Glossary of Usage you will find some commonly confused words--with links to definitions, examples, and practice exercises that should help you to keep these words straight. You can test your understanding of these words at our Review Quiz: Commonly Confused Words.
A
- A, An, & And
- Accept, Except, & Expect
- Adapt & Adopt
- Advice & Advise
- Affect & Effect
- Aggravate & Irritate
- All Ready & Already
- All Together & Altogether
- Allude & Elude
- Allusion & Illusion
- Allusive & Elusive
- A Lot (Much, Many)
- Amount & Number
- Anyone & Any One
- Assure, Ensure, & Insure
B
C
- Capital & Capitol
- Choose, Chose, & Chosen
- Cite & Site
- Clothes & Cloths
- Complement & Compliment
- Conscience & Conscious
- Continual & Continuous
D
E
F
H
I
L
- Later & Latter
- Lay & Lie
- Lead & Led
- Leave & Let
- Lightening & Lightning
- Literally & Figuratively
- Loose & Lose
M
O
P
- Passed & Past
- Persecute & Prosecute
- Personal & Personnel
- Precede & Proceed
- Prescribe & Proscribe
- Principal & Principle
Q
R
S
T
V
W
Y
Review:
Test your understanding of these words at our Review Quiz: Commonly Confused Words.

