Commonly Confused Words That Trip Up Even the Savviest Writers

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"Adverse" Or "Averse"?

 The two words adverse and averse are related in origin but they do not have the same meaning. Adverse means ‘unfavourable or harmful’ and is normally used of conditions and effects rather than people, as in adverse weather conditions. Averse, on the other hand is used of people, nearly always with to, and means ‘having a strong dislike or opposition to something’, as in: 

• I am not averse to helping out.

A common error is to use adverse  instead of averse, as in:

• He is not adverse to making a profit.

 

 "Affect" or "Effect"?

Affect and Effect are different in meaning, though frequently confused. Affect is chiefly used as a verb and its main meaning is ‘to influence or make a difference to’, as in the following example sentences:

• The pay increase will greatly affect their lifestyle.

• The dampness began to affect my health.

• The weather will affect my plans for the weekend.

Effect, on the other hand, is used both as a noun and a verb, although is more commonly used as a noun. As a noun, it means ‘a result or an influence’, as in:

Move the cursor until you get the effect you want. The beneficial effects of exercise are well documented.

• Over time the effect of loud music can damage your hearing.

When used as a verb,  effect  means 'to bring something about as a result’. It’s most often used in a formal context as opposed to everyday English:

• Growth in the economy can only be effected by stringent economic controls

• The new policies did little to effect change.

• The prime minister effected many policy changes.

The key thing to remember is that effect is most commonly used as a noun, whereas affect is typically used as a verb.

 

"All Right" Or "Alright"?

Is it acceptable to write alright as one word, rather than two separate ones? For example:

• She calls them whenever she is travelling to assure them she is alright.

Similar ‘merged’ words such as altogether and already have been accepted in standard English for a very long time, so there is no logical reason to object to the one-word form alright. Nevertheless, many people dislike it and regard it as incorrect, so it’s best to avoid using alright in formal writing. Write it as two separate words instead:

• She calls them whenever she is travelling to assure them she is all right.

 

"Allude" or "Elude"?

 Although when spoken these two words sound somewhat similar, their meanings are quite different. Allude is to suggest or indirectly call attention to something, for example:

• She had a way of alluding to Jean but never saying her name.

Whereas elude means to escape from or avoid someone or something:

• The thief eluded the authorities for months.

Or the failure to achieve or attain something:

• After three years, the cup still eluded them.

 

"Enquire" or "Inquire"?

The traditional distinction between the verbs enquire and inquire is that enquire is to be used for general senses of ‘ask’, while inquire is reserved for uses meaning ‘make a formal investigation’.

In practice, however, enquire, and the associated noun enquiry, are more common in British English while inquire (and the noun inquiry) are more common in American English, but otherwise there is little discernible distinction in the way the words are used. Some style guides require that only inquire or only enquire be used.

• Could I enquire about your mother's health?

• She inquired about the library's rare books collection.

• Every enquiry is very welcome.

• Adam helped the police with their inquiries.

  

"Alternate" Or "Alternative"?

In both British and American English the adjective alternate means ‘every other or every second’, as in:

• They meet on alternate Sundays.

or ‘(of two things) each following and succeeded by the other in a regular pattern’, as in:

• Alternate layers of potato and sauce.

Alternative means ‘available as another possibility or choice’, as in:

• Some European countries follow an alternative approach.

In American usage, however, alternate can also be used to mean ‘available as another choice’, for example:

• An alternate plan called for construction to begin immediately rather than waiting for spring.

This American use of alternate is still regarded as incorrect by many people in Britain.

 

 "Flair" or "flare"?

Although pronounced identically, flair and flare have different meanings. So what is the difference? The following explanation and quiz should give you a flair for telling the difference between the two.  Flair is a noun and means 'a natural ability or talent', as in:

• She had a flair for languages.

• None of us had much artistic flair.

Flare however can appear as a noun and a verb. The noun can mean a number of things, in particular:

• A burst of light or flame – the flare of a match

• A device used to produce a flame – a distress flare

• A sudden burst of emotion – a flare of rage

• A sudden recurrence of an inflammation or other medical condition –a flare up of eczema

•  A sudden explosion in the chromosphere and corona of the sun or another star – a solar flare

• Illumination on film caused by internal reflection in a camera – a lens flare

•  Trousers whose legs get progressively wider from the knees down – a pair of flares

• An upward and outward curve of a ship's bows, designed to throw the water outwards when in motion

The verb flare  is used to describe some of the above scenarios:

• Burn with a sudden intensity - The bonfire crackled and flared up.

•  Become intense, violent, or angry – the supporter’s tempers flared

• Gradually become wider – the trousers flared at one end; his nostrils flared

But as the two words are pronounced identically, it is easy to see why these often become confused. Take our quiz to see if you can tell the difference between the two.

     

"Censure" Or "Censor"?

Censure and censor are frequently confused. Both words can function as verbs and nouns, but censure means "express severe disapproval of," for example:

• The man was censured for his crimes.

Or "the expression of severe disapproval":

• Two people were singled out for censure.

While censor means "to examine (a book, film, etc.) and suppress unacceptable parts of it":

• The letters she received were censored. 

     Or "an official who censors books, films, etc.":

• The censor had scenes removed from the film.

  

"Laid" Or "Lain"?

People are often perplexed about this group of words. The important thing to remember is that there are two quite separate verbs involved.

Lay is the present tense of a verb whose basic meaning is ‘place something in a more or less horizontal position’, with the past tense and participle laid.

Lay is also the past tense of the verb lie (‘assume a horizontal or resting position’), while lain is the past participle. So the proper use is:

	Lay	Lie
Present Tense	Please lay it on the floor.	Go and lie down.
Past Tense	She laid the book on the desk.	She went and lay down.
Past Participle	They had laid it on the floor.	The body had lain in the field for some time.

   

"Phenomenon" or "phenomena"?

The word phenomenon comes from Greek, and its plural form is phenomena, as in:

• These phenomena are not fully understood.

It is a mistake to treat phenomena as if it were a singular form, as in:

• This is a strange phenomena.

  

"Assume" Or "Presume"?

In common usage, both assume  and presume  can mean ‘suppose’ and are often interchangeable in this meaning. However, technically, there is a subtle difference between the two where presume  is to ‘suppose to be the case on the basis of probability’:

• Two of the journalists went missing and are presumed dead.

Assume on the other hand, to ‘suppose to be the case without proof’:

• I just assumed it to be the case.

Both words also share other meanings that can be summarised as ‘to take on oneself’. In this sense,  assume  is generally used to describe taking on a role:

• I assumed the role of the aggressor in the conversation.

Whereas presume  is generally used when taking on an attitude:

• He had presumed too great a level of familiarity.