A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
- Saccharin vs. saccharineSaccharin (n): a white crystal powder used as a calorie-free sweetener. Saccharine (adj): 1. sweet; 2. cloyingly sweet; 3. excessively sentimental.
- Sacrilege, sacrilegiousSacrilege: the misuse or desecration of something sacred. Sacrilegious: of or relating to sacrilege.
- Safe-deposit boxnot safety-deposit box.
- Saidaforementioned.
- Saltwater vs. salt water
- Sang froidthe ability to be calm in difficult or dangerous situations.
- Sanitise vs sanitizesanitize in North America; sanitise everywhere else.
- Sank vs. sunkSank is the past tense. Sunk is the past participle.
- Sanswithout.
- Savanna vs. savannahsavanna in the U.S.; savannah everywhere else.
- Savior vs. savioursavior in the U.S.; saviour everywhere else.
- Savoir fairethe ability to do the right or appropriate thing in any situation.
- Scarfs vs. scarvesScarfs is the older plural, but scarves is more common in today's English.
- Sceptic vs. skepticskeptic in North America; sceptic everywhere else.
- Schadenfreude pleasure in another's misfortune.
- ScissorsIt is usually treated as plural, but making it singular is not wrong.
- Scot-freeunpunished or unharmed.
- Scuttlebuttrumors or gossip.
- Sear vs. seer vs. sereSear: burn with something hot. Seer: one that sees. Sere: withered.
- Seasons (capitalization)They are usually uncapitalized.
- Secede vs. succeedSecede: to withdraw formally. Succeed: 1. follow or replace; 2. accomplish something desired.
- Secret vs. secretiveSecret: hidden. Secretive: tending toward secrecy.
- Seldomly an unnecessary variant of seldom, which is an adverb.
- Semicolon
- Sensual vs. sensuousSensuous: 1. of or relating to the senses; 2. appealing to the senses. Sensual is mostly synonymous with sensuous, but it often bears erotic connotations.
- Sentence-ending prepositions
- Sentences
- Sentienthaving sensations and perceptions.
- SeriesThe plural is uninflected.
- Service (as a verb)When it's a verb, watch out for unintended sexual connotations.
- Set up vs. setupSetup is a noun and an adjective, and it doesn't function as a verb. Set up is a phrasal verb.
- Sew vs. sowSewing involves needle and thread or a sewing machine. To sow is to scatter seed or implant.
- Shanghai (as a verb)1. to kidnap; 2. to use fraud to compel someone to to do something.
- Shat vs. shittedShat is more common.
- Shaved vs. shaven
- Shear vs. sheerShear: to clip or cut fleece or hair. Sheer: 1. fine or transparent; 2. almost perpendicular; 3. to swerve.
- Sheath vs. sheatheSheath (n): a close-fitting dress or a case for a blade. Sheathe (v): to insert into a sheath.
- Shed vs. sheddedShed is unchanged in the past tense and as a past participle.
- Shelf vs. shelveShelf is a noun. Shelve is a verb.
- Shell outto pay, especially reluctantly.
- Sherbert vs. sherbetSherbet is the standard spelling.
- Shined vs. shoneShine makes shone when it means to emit light, and shined when it means to cause to gleam by polishing.
- Shoo-ina sure winner.
- Short shriftbrief and unsympathetic treatment.
- Showrunnera person who both runs the day-to-day operations of a television show and guides the show creatively.
- Shticka performer's characteristic style or gimmick.
- Sicused in quotations to indicate that the quoted text is reproduced exactly, with errors intact.
- Sic vs. sickThe verb meaning to set upon is spelled sic.
- Sight vs. siteSite: where something is located. Sight: something seen or worth seeing.
- Silicon vs. siliconeSilicon: a nonmetallic element found in the earth's crust. Silicone: one of a class of silicon-based chemical compounds used in various applications.
- Simpatico1. likeable; 2. having an affinity; 3. tending to get along with others; 4. closely associated.
- Sine qua non an indispensable element.
- Skilful vs. skillfulskillful in the U.S.; skilful everywhere else.
- Slam dunka maneuver or plan certain to succeed.
- Sleight of handcunning trickery or craftiness.
- Smack ofresemble, evoke, or be reminiscent of.
- Smelled vs. smeltSmelled is preferred in North America. It and smelt are both common outside North America.
- Smite, smote, smittenPast tense: smote. Past participle: smitten.
- Smoothe, smoothenBoth can give way to the more common smooth, which is both an adjective and a verb.
- Smorgasbord1. a meal featuring a variety of dishes; 2. a varied collection, especially an abundant one.
- Snake oil, snake-oil salesmanIn modern figurative use, snake oil refers to a fraudulent remedy, especially one promoted and sold by a quack. The quacks who push these products are snake-oil salesmen.
- Sneaked vs. snuckSnuck is fairly new, but it became standard remarkably fast, and it now faces little objection.
- So to speakIt often adds nothing.
- Soldiers, marines, airmen, sailorsIn the U.S military, Marines are in the Marines, soldiers are in the army, airmen are in the Air Force, and sailors are in the Navy.
- Somber vs. sombreSomber in the U.S.; sombre everywhere else.
- Some odd1. approximately: 2. (in "some odd reason") some unknown or mysterious.
- Some way vs. somewayThe one-word form is yet to gain acceptance.
- Somebody vs. someoneThey are interchangeable.
- Someday vs. some daySomeday: at an indefinite future time. Some day: a certain day (specified or unspecified).
- Someplace vs. some placeThe two-word form is standard. The one-word form is considered colloquial.
- Somersaultthe standard spelling.
- Sometime vs. some timeSometime: a vague, unspecified time. Some time: quite a while.
- Sooner rather than laterThere are good alternatives to this wordy and illogical phrase.
- Sort ofIt is often unnecessary.
- Soup upto modify something to increase its power, efficiency, or impressiveness.
- Sow wild oatsto indulge in adventure or promiscuity during youth.
- Spaces between sentencesOne space is the standard style preference throughout all types of 21st-century writing, with rare exceptions.
- Spatter vs. splatterSpatter: to scatter or dash in small drops. Splatter: to splash, spill, or dash a substantial amount of liquid, usually messily.
- Speak toIt is widely used to mean show, demonstrate, express, relate to, address, or speak about. These sense are new.
- Speciality vs. specialtyThey are generally interchangeable.
- SpeciesIt is both singular and plural.
- Specter vs. spectrespecter in the U.S.; spectre everywhere else.
- Spectra vs. spectrumsThe Latin form, spectra prevails, but the English plural is not incorrect and is slowly gaining ground.
- Sped vs. speededBoth are common, and there is no widely observed difference between them.
- Spelled vs. speltspelled in the U.S; everywhere else, spelled and spelt about equally often.
- Spendthriftsomeone who spends money recklessly or wastefully. It also works as an adjective.
- Spilled vs. spiltSpilled is generally more common, especially in North America, where the older spilt is now rare.
- Spit and image vs. spitting imagean exact likeness. Spit and image is the original form, but spitting image is now far more common.
- Split infinitives
- Spoiled vs. spoiltIn North America, spoiled is both the past tense and the past participle, and spoilt is rare. Outside North America, the latter often appears as an adjective.
- SpreadedSpread is usually uninflected.
- Spur vs. spurnSpur: to incite. Spurn: to reject.
- Stadia vs. stadiumsStadiums is far more common in 21st-century usage.
- Stained glass not stain glass.
- Stalactite, stalagmiteStalactites hang from above, and stalagmites grow up from the floor.
- Stanch vs. staunchStanch: stop the flow of, check, allay. Staunch: firm and steadfast.
- Standby vs. stand byStandby is a noun, adjective, and adverb. Stand by is the verb.
- Stank, stunkStank is the past tense; stunk is the past participle.
- Star-crossedopposed by fate.
- State of the artthe current highest level of development in a field.
- Stationary vs. stationeryStationary: not moving or incapable of being moved: Stationery: writing paper and envelopes.
- Status quothe existing condition or state of affairs.
- Statute of limitationsa law setting a time limit on legal cases.
- Sticktoitivenessdogged perseverance.
- Stock, sharesShares are units of stock.
- Storey vs. storyThe word for a building level is spelled story in the U.S. and storeys everywhere else.
- Straight vs. straitStraight: not curving. Strait: a narrow channel joining two larger bodies of water.
- Strait-lacedstrict in behavior or morality.
- Straitjacketnot straight jacket.
- Stratagem vs. strategyStratagem: a plan or maneuver involving subterfuge or unconventional tactics. Strategy: 1. a plan of action; 2. the art of using plans.
- Straw man fallacy
- Strived, striven, stroveStrived and strove are both common as the past tense. Strived and striven are both common as the past participle.
- Subconscious vs. unconsciousUnconscious is the more scientific term.
- Subjects and predicates
- Subjunctive mood
- Substantial vs. substantiveSubstantial: large or important. Substantive: meaningful.
- Subtle vs. subtilSubtle is the standard spelling today's English.
- Suffice it to say1. let us just say; 2. I shall just say.
- Suffixes
- Sui generisunique.
- Sulfur vs. sulphursulfur in the U.S. and in most scientific publications internationally; usually sulphur in nonscientific writing outside the U.S.
- Summary vs. summerySummary: a short description of something. Summery: of, relating to, or evocative of summer.
- Summons and summonses
- SupposablyIt is usually a colloquial variant of supposedly, though it is a word in its right, albeit a very rare one.
- Supposed toSuppose to is common, but perhaps out of place in serious writing.
- Surveilto engage in surveillance.
- Svengali(n., pl. svengalis) a person who controls another’s mind or has the ability to control others, usually with sinister intent.
- Swan song= the last work of someone's career before death or retirement.
- Swath vs. swatheSwath (n): 1. the width of a scythe stroke; 2. a path made by mowing; 3. something like a path made by mowing. Swathe: to wrap or bind with or as with a bandage.
- Sweat vs. sweatedBoth forms are common and accepted.
- Sword of Damocles= a looming threat.
- Synecdoche
- Synonyms
- Systematic vs. systemicSystematic: carried out using step-by-step procedures. Systemic: deeply engrained in the system.
