30+ Commonly Confused Words with Meanings and Examples

Accept means to consent to or give an affirmative answer to an offer. 

Except means not including. 

I accepted the gift willingly. 

I like all vegetables except for brinjal. 

Affect and Effect 

Affect means to make a difference to. 

Effect means a change which is a consequence of an action. 

The terrible news of my brother’s accident started to affect me deeply. 

The life changing incident had a huge effect on her life. 

Excess is an amount of something that is more than what is required. 

Only the top executives have access to the confidential files.

For a healthy body and life, one should never eat in excess. 

Allusion and Illusion

Allusion is an indirect reference. 

Illusion means a deceptive impression/appearance.

The plot of the novel is an allusion to the author’s sad childhood.

 John was under the illusion that the job would be easy. 

Lose means to be deprived of. 

Loose means not tightly fixed in place.

He put a belt to fix his loose pants. 

Complement and Compliment 

Complement means to add extra features to something to improve the quality. 

Compliment is a polite expression of praise. 

The students used figures and graphs to complement the school project. 

A teacher compliments students to boost their confidence. 

Farther and Further

Farther is the extent to which one thing is distant from another.

Further means to a greater distance. 

The grocery store is located farther down the road. 

She was too tired to go further. 

Desert and Dessert

Desert is a dry area of land with no vegetation. 

Dessert is something sweet consumed at the end of a meal.

The Sahara Desert is the hottest desert on Earth. 

A rich chocolate pastry as dessert really rounded up the meal. 

Eminent and Imminent

Eminent means a well known and respected person. 

Imminent means likely to happen soon.

Albert Einstein was a distinguished and eminent physicist. 

Looking at the weather, one could guess that a storm was imminent. 

Moral and Morale

Moral is concerned with the principles of right and wrong. 

Morale means the enthusiasm and confidence of someone at a particular time. 

Students can always rely on their parents’ moral judgment to tell them what is the right thing to do. 

The high morale of the team helped them to complete the work before time. 

Peace and Piece

Peace means tranquility or freedom from disturbance. 

Piece means fragment or portion of something. 

 Peace and harmony must prevail over hostility. 

May I have a piece of that delicious looking cake?

Personal and Personnel 

Personal means relating to a particular person. 

Personnel means a group of people employed at an organization.

 Nobody knows much about his personal life. 

The company has asked all the personnel to follow the new timings. 

Quiet is absence of noise. 

Quite means wholly, completely. 

As the lights dimmed, the theater became completely quiet. 

It's quite out of the question. 

Stationary and Stationery

Stationary means having a fixed position. 

Stationery means materials used for writing and other. 

The traffic was slow at first and then became stationary. 

His uncle bought him all the stationery he needed for school. 

Elicit and Illicit 

Elicit means to produce a response or information. 

Illicit means something that is illegal and forbidden by law. 

 I haven’t managed to elicit a response from them yet. 

Poaching of animals is illicit. 

Fair and Fare

Fare means the money paid for a journey.

There is fair representation of all genders in the company.

They could not afford the air fare so they came by train.

Lie and Lay

Lay means to put something down. 

He lies down to take a nap every day at 4 pm.

The time has come to lay the fire. 

Compose and Comprise 

Comprise means to consist of.

The teacher asked them to compose their own poems.

The hotel comprises a total of 100 rooms. 

Device and Devise 

Device is a tool designed to perform a task.

Devise means to plan by careful thought. 

You need to just connect your device to the WIFI. 

They were left to devise their own plans with little help from the leader. 

Envelop and Envelope

Envelop means to cover something completely. 

Envelope means a paper container. 

I expect the play to envelop the audience in a whirlwind of emotions.

George wrote the letter and put it in an envelope. 

Formally and Formerly

Formerly means in earlier times.

The bill must be formally approved by the president before it can become a law.

Formerly, they used to travel frequently, but now they seldom do.

Hoard and Horde

Horde means a large group of people. 

There is a hoard of munchable treats stocked in his room.

A horde of tourists entered the museum as soon as the gates opened. 

Incredible and Incredulous 

Incredible means impossible to believe. 

Incredulous means someone who is unwilling to believe something. 

He told us an incredible story of adventure. 

Simran gave me an incredulous look when I told her that I was engaged. 

Pore and Pour

Pore means a small opening on the surface of the skin. 

Pour means to flow rapidly in a steady stream.

We learnt that sweat passes through the pores and cools the body down. 

May I pour more coffee in your cup?

Pray and Prey

Prey means an animal that is hunted by another. 

In war-like conditions, the citizens came together to pray for peace. 

The tiger pounced on its prey, a tiny deer. 

Preposition and Proposition

Preposition is a word used before a noun/pronoun to show time, place, direction, location etc. 

Proposition is a scheme or plan of action. 

He eats lunch at noon. Can you point out the preposition in this sentence?

He submitted a detailed investment proposition today and is waiting for a response. 

Wander and Wonder

Wander means to walk in an aimless way.

Wonder is a feeling of amazement/admiration. 

The teacher warned the student not to wander in the corridor again.

The little girl’s eyes were filled with wonder during the visit to the circus.

Waste and Waist

Waist means the middle part of the body between the hips and chest.

We should not waste water at all cost if we want to preserve it for future generations.

 Due to strenuous exercise, his waist has reduced from 45 to 36 inches. 

Addition and Edition

Addition means the action of adding something to something else.

Edition means a particular version of a published text.

With winter coming, the coat seemed a valuable addition to my wardrobe. 

The novel was not available in paperback edition so I had to buy the hardcover one. 

Statue and Statute 

Statue means a large carved figure of a person or animal. 

Statute means a written law/rule. 

I am supposed to meet him by the statue of the activist in the evening.

The legislature passed the statute by a huge margin. 

Allude and Elude

Elude means to escape from or avoid. 

His mother alluded to some health problems without going in detail. 

The thief tried to elude by sneaking through the back door.