Words

Amends vs amends

One form of amends is the third person present tense of the verb amend, which means to alter or improve something, especially a formal document. It is often used when people are speaking to say that they corrected previously given information, or changes something they said earlier. Another form of amends is a plural …

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Steal vs steel

To steal something is to take it without permission or not having ownership. The past tense is stole, the progressive is stealing, and the adjective form is stolen. A steal, as a noun, is something that is on sale or thought of as a bargain. A commonly confused homonym for steal is steel.  Steel is a man-made material, a …

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Amative or amatory

Amative is an adjective whose complete definition one dictionary is ‘synonym of amorous’. It is used to describe something or someone has feeling or pertaining to love or lust. However, amorous may be used to describe someone or something as in love, which amative does not do. The adverb form is amatively. The noun form is amativeness. …

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Dogged vs dogged

When pronounced as two syllables (dog ged), dogged is an adjective to describe something or someone as unstoppable or persistent. He, she, or it will do whatever it takes to get want they want and nothing will get in their way. The adverb form is doggedly, while the noun form is doggedness. When dogged is pronounced …

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Pulling one’s leg

To pull one’s leg means to tease or lie to someone as a joke. This is commonly heard as a question (e.g., Are you pulling my leg?). Or it is also said as a statement when the joker wants to end the joke (e.g., I’m just pulling your leg.) The verb pull may be …

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Constant vs consistent

Constant is an adjective that describes something or someone as unchanging, loyal, or happening all the time. The adverb form is constantly. The noun form is constancy. It comes from the Latin constare, which means to stand. Consistent is also an adjective. It describes something or someone as continuing to happen, continuing to behave in the …

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Dissatisfied or unsatisfied

To satisfy means to create or cause happiness or pleasure. It may also speak of fulfilling requirements or meeting obligations. It may be used with or without an object. The noun form is satisfaction and an adjective form is satisfactory. The prefixes un- and dis- may be added to the noun, adjective, and all conjugations of the verb form. …

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Bogeyman

A bogeyman is an imaginary beast, man, or monster used to frighten children. Sometimes this is used to describe a topic or object that elicits fear or caution. It is a synonym for bugbear, along with bugaboo.  The first vowel sound in this word can be pronounced several different ways (boo or boh being …

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Analyses vs analyzes

Analyze, which is analyse outside the US, means to intently inspect an object or person. This inspection can be with the intent to discover, explain, quantify, or reveal. One can analyze a person, grammar, or any number of fields of study. When someone, outside of the US, inspects something, he or she analyses it. The final …

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Bugbear or bugaboo

A bugbear is something that elicits fear or annoyance from someone. Common synonyms are problem or annoyance. It is spelled as one word. Bugbear is commonly pluralized by adding an s. It was originally an imaginary creature used to make little children afraid. It may be a variant of the word bogey, which does not …

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