-
- -able and -ible
- -esque
A
- A la (à la)
- A leg up
- A priori
- A whole nother
- Abandon vs. abandonment
- Abdicate, abnegate, abrogate
- Abided vs. abode
- Ability vs. capability vs. capacity
- Abjure vs. adjure
- Abolishment vs. abolition
- Aborted vs. abortive
- Abstruse vs. obtuse
- Acclimate, acclimatise, acclimatize
- Accord vs. accordance
- Achilles' heel
- Acquaintanceship
- Ad hoc
- Ad hominem (usage)
- Ad infinitum
- Ad nauseam
- Adaption vs. adaptation
- Addicting vs. addictive
- Addiction vs. dependence
- Addition vs. edition
- Administrate
- Admission vs. admittance
- Adopted vs. adoptive
- Advance vs. advanced
- Adverse vs. averse
- Advert vs. avert
- Advice vs. advise
- Aegis
- Aeroplane vs. airplane
- Aesthetic vs. ascetic
- Affect vs. effect
- Affective vs. effective
- Afflict vs. inflict
- African-American vs. black
- Afterward vs. afterwards
- Afterward vs. afterword
- Aggravate
- Aggression vs. aggressiveness
- Agnostic vs. atheist
- Agree
- Ahold
- Ain't
- Alas
- Albeit
- All but
- All right vs. alright
- All that
- All-around, all-round
- Alligator vs. crocodile
- Allude vs. elude
- Allusion vs. elusion vs. illusion
- Alphabetic vs. alphabetical
- Alter ego
- Alternate vs. alternative
- Although vs. though
- Alumna, alumnae, alumni, alumnus
- Amalgam vs. amalgamation
- Amend vs. emend
- American
- Amiable vs. amicable
- Among vs. amongst
- Among vs. between
- Amoral vs. immoral
- Amount vs. number
- Amuse vs. bemuse
- An historic
- Analogue vs. analogy
- Anathema
- And yet
- Animal adjectives
- Another think coming
- Antennae vs. antennas
- Anyplace
- Anyway vs. anyways
- Ape vs. monkey
- Apotheosis
- Appraise vs. apprise
- Appropriate vs. expropriate
- Apropos
- Argumentative vs. argumentive
- Around the clock, round the clock
- Around vs. round
- Arouse vs. rouse
- Arrant vs. errant
- Arse vs. ass
- As far as
- As per
- As yet, as of yet
- Ascared
- Ascent vs. assent
- Ascent, ascendance, ascendancy, etc.
- Asphalt, cement, concrete, pavement
- Assail vs. assault
- Assent vs. consent
- Assume vs. presume
- Assure, ensure, insure
- At loggerheads
- Attain vs. obtain
- Attend to vs. tend to
- Au contraire
- Aught
- Authoritative vs. authoritive
- Autumn vs. fall
- Avail
- Avant-garde
- Avenge vs. revenge
- Avocation vs. vocation
B
- Back in the day
- Back up vs. backup
- Bad rap vs. bad wrap
- Bald-faced vs. boldface
- Balmy vs. barmy
- Baloney vs. bologna
- Ban vs. bar
- Band (together) vs. bandy (about)
- Bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah
- Basis (on a daily basis, on a regular basis, etc.)
- Batten the hatches
- Bawl out
- Bazaar vs. bizarre
- Bear market, bull market, bearish, bullish
- Beeline
- Beg the question (usage)
- Beggar belief
- Belated
- Belie
- Bellwether
- Bereaved vs. bereft
- Betwixt
- Beyond the pale
- Biannual vs. biennial
- Biceps and triceps
- Bid, bade, bidden
- Big-ups
- Binded vs. bound
- Bit vs. bitten
- Blatant vs. flagrant
- Blather vs. blither
- Blond vs. blonde
- Blue collar, white collar
- Bona fide, bona fides
- Botanic vs. botanical
- Boughten
- Bound vs. bounded
- Bourgeois, bourgeoisie
- Brainchild
- Breach, breech, broach
- Breath vs. breadth (vs. width)
- Bridle vs. bridal
- Briton
- Broach vs. brooch
- Brung, brang
- Buck naked, butt naked
- Buffer vs. buffet
- Build up vs. buildup
- Bully pulpit
- Bunk, bunkum, buncombe
- Burgle vs. burglarize
- Burned vs. burnt
- Burnout vs. burn out
- Bursted
- Burthen
- But vs. yet
- By and by vs. by the by
- By dint of
- Bête noire
C
- C'est la vie
- Cacao vs. cocoa
- Cache vs. cachet
- Cacti vs. cactuses
- Callous vs. callus
- Calvary vs. cavalry
- Calves vs. calfs
- Canard
- Canary in the coalmine
- Canvas vs. canvass
- Capital vs. capitol
- Card shark vs. card sharp
- Careen vs. career
- Carrot, carat, karat, caret
- Carte blanche
- Casted
- Catch-22
- Catty-corner, kitty-corner
- Caveat
- Cede vs. concede
- Centrifugal vs. centripetal
- Centrifuge vs. subterfuge
- Centuries
- Certainty vs. certitude
- Chafe vs. chaff
- Champing at the bit vs. chomping at the bit
- Chasten vs. chastise
- Cheek by jowl
- Childish vs. childlike
- Chink vs. kink
- Chock-full
- Chopper vs. copter
- Classic vs. classical
- Clean vs. cleanse
- Cleanup vs. clean up
- Clench vs. clinch
- Client vs. customer
- Cliffs Notes
- Climactic vs. climatic
- Co-op vs. co-opt
- College vs. university
- Collegial vs. collegiate
- Comedienne
- Comic vs. comical
- Commentator vs. commenter
- Compel vs. impel
- Complacent vs. complaisant
- Complement vs. compliment
- Compose vs. comprise
- Concave vs. convex
- Conceive vs. perceive
- Concerning
- Concerted
- Conches vs. conchs
- Condemn vs. condone
- Confidant vs. confidante
- Connote vs. denote
- Contemporaneous vs. contemporary
- Contemptible vs. contemptuous
- Continual vs. continuous
- Conversate
- Copyright vs. copywrite
- Cornet vs. coronet
- Corollary vs. correlation
- Cosmetology vs. cosmology
- Costed
- Could care less
- Coup de grace
- Cover all the bases
- Crapshoot
- Crayfish, crawfish, crawdad, etc.
- Cream of the crop
- Credible vs. credulous
- Creeped vs. crept
- Crevasse vs. crevice
- Crick (variant of creek)
- Criteria, criterion
- Cue vs. queue
- Cum
- Currently
- Cut and dried
- Cut to the chase
- Cyclist vs. biker
D
- D'oh
- Dampen, damper, dampener
- Daresay
- Data
- Davy Jones's locker
- Day in age (day and age)
- De facto
- De rigueur
- Dealt vs. dealed
- Dearth
- Deceptively
- Decidedly
- Decimate
- Deconstruction
- Decry vs. descry
- Deduce vs. induce
- Deep-seeded vs. deep-seated
- Defuse vs. diffuse
- Deign
- Demur vs. demure
- Denounce vs. renounce
- Depository vs. repository
- Deprecate vs. depreciate
- Descendant vs. descendent
- Despite vs. in spite of
- Destroy vs. destruct
- Detract vs. distract
- Device vs. devise
- Dialectal vs. dialectical
- Dice vs. die
- Different from, different than, different to
- Dilemma
- Directional words
- Disassemble vs. dissemble
- Disburse vs. disperse
- Discomfit vs. discomfort
- Disconnect
- Discrete vs. discreet
- Disenfranchise vs. disfranchise
- Disillusion vs. dissolution
- Disinterested vs. uninterested
- Dispense with vs. dispose of
- Disposed vs. predisposed
- Dissociate vs. disassociate
- Distinct vs. distinctive
- Distrust vs. mistrust
- Divers vs. diverse
- Divorcée, divorcé, divorcee
- Do apologize
- Dog days
- Doppelgänger
- Double entendre
- Double vs. redouble
- Double-edged sword
- Doubtlessly
- Dove vs. dived
- Down the pike vs. down the pipe
- Downfall vs. downside
- Dragged vs. drug
- Dreamed vs. dreamt
- Dribble vs. drivel
- Dribs and drabs
- Drier vs. dryer
- Drink the Kool-Aid
- Droll
- Du jour
- Duly noted
- During the course of
- Dwarfs vs. dwarves
- Dwelled vs. dwelt
- Dyed in the wool
E
- E.g. vs. i.e.
- Each other vs. one another
- Earthy vs. earthly
- Economic vs. economical
- Economics vs. finance
- Elder, eldest
- Electric, electrical, electronic
- Elegy vs. eulogy
- Elfs vs. elves
- Elocution vs. locution
- Emigrate vs. immigrate
- Eminent vs. immanent vs. imminent
- Empathetic vs. empathic
- Empathy vs. sympathy
- En route
- En vogue, in vogue
- Endear
- Endeavor vs. endeavour
- Endemic vs. epidemic
- Enervate vs. innervate
- England, Great Britain, United Kingdom
- Enormity vs. enormousness
- Enthuse
- Entitled vs. titled
- Entomology vs. etymology
- Envision vs. envisage
- Epicenter
- Epigram vs. epigraph
- Eponymous
- Equable, equatable, equitable
- Equivalence vs. equivalency
- Ergo
- Ersatz
- Espresso vs. expresso
- Estimate vs. estimation
- Et al.
- Et cetera (etc.)
- Ethics vs. morals
- Ethnicity vs. race
- Evacuate
- Everyday vs. every day
- Evoke vs. invoke
- Ex post facto
- Exalt vs. exult
- Exercise vs. exorcise
- Exhibit vs. exhibition
- Existent vs. extant
- Existential
- Expectant vs. expecting
F
- Factoid
- Fain vs. feign
- Fair vs. fare
- Fait accompli
- Falsehood, falsity, falseness
- Far East, Middle East, Near East
- Farther vs. further
- Fastly
- Faux
- Faux pas
- Fay, fey
- Faze vs. phase
- Fearful vs. fearsome
- Feminity vs. femininity
- Ferret out
- Fervent vs. fervid
- Fewer vs. less
- Fiancé and fiancée
- Fiction vs. nonfiction
- Fictional vs. fictitious
- Figurehead
- Filet vs. fillet
- Financer vs. financier
- Firefight
- Firing line vs. line of fire
- First floor
- First-world, third-world
- Firstly, secondly, thirdly, etc.
- Fish vs. fishes
- Fit vs. fitted
- Flair vs. flare
- Flammable vs. inflammable
- Flash in the pan
- Flaunt vs. flout
- Flautist vs. flutist
- Flesh out vs. flush out
- Fleshly vs. fleshy
- Flied
- Flora and fauna
- Flotsam and jetsam
- Flounder vs. founder
- Fly-by-night
- Follow up, follow-up, followup
- Foolproof vs. full-proof
- Football fields
- For heaven's sake
- For the purpose of
- Fora vs. forums
- Forbear vs. forebear
- Forbidding vs. foreboding
- Force majeure
- Forecast vs. forecasted
- Forego vs. forgo
- Former, latter
- Fortuitous vs. fortunate
- Frankenstein's monster
- Fraught
- Fritter away
- Frivolity vs. frivolousness
- Full stop vs. period
- Full-fledged, fully fledged
- Fulsome
- Funereal
- Funner, funnest
- Furor vs. furore
G
- Gaff vs. gaffe
- Gambit
- Gantlet vs. gauntlet
- Gargle vs. gurgle
- Gases vs. gasses
- Gay
- Gender vs. sex
- Get down to brass tacks
- Get religion
- Gibe, jibe, jive
- Gift (as a verb)
- Glom onto
- Gobsmacked
- Godspeed
- Goes without saying
- Gonna
- Goodly
- Got vs. gotten
- Governance vs. government
- Grammar vs. usage
- Grandfather (as a verb)
- Grateful vs. gratified
- Grill vs. grille
- Grinded
- Ground zero
- Gymnasia vs. gymnasiums
H
- Habeas corpus
- Hail vs. hale
- Half-mast vs. half-staff
- Halve
- Handful, handfuls
- Handicap vs. handicapped
- Hands down
- Hangar vs. hanger
- Hanged vs. hung
- Happenstance
- Hardy vs. hearty
- Hare vs. rabbit
- Hash out, thrash out
- Hawk vs. hock
- Healthful vs. healthy
- Hence
- Heroin vs. heroine
- Heterogeneous vs. heterogenous
- Hew vs. hue
- Hie
- Hippopotami, hippopotamuses, hippos
- Historic vs. historical
- Histrionic, histrionics
- Homely vs. homey
- Homo sapiens
- Homogenous vs. homogeneous
- Hoover vs. vacuum
- Humorousness
- Hunter-gatherer
- Hurrah, hooray, hurray
I
- Idea vs. ideal
- If you will
- Illegible vs. unreadable
- Immaculate Conception vs. virgin birth
- Immunity vs. impunity
- Impassable vs. impassible
- Impassive vs. passive
- Impending vs. pending
- Imperious vs. impervious
- Impinge vs. infringe
- Imply vs. infer
- Impugn vs. impute
- In excess of
- In kind
- In terms of
- In the affirmative
- In the course of
- In the midst of
- In the offing
- In the process of
- In the throes of
- Inalienable vs. unalienable
- Incentivize, incent
- Incipient vs. insipient (vs. insipid)
- Incomparable vs. uncomparable
- Incredible vs. incredulous
- Incubus, succubus
- Indexes vs. indices
- Inequality vs. inequity
- Inequity vs. iniquity
- Inexplicable vs. unexplainable
- Infect vs. infest
- Ingenious vs. ingenuous
- Inside baseball
- Instantly vs. instantaneously
- Instinctive vs. instinctual
- Inter-, intra-
- Interment vs. internment
- Interpretative vs. interpretive
- Invaluable vs. valuable
- Invite (as a noun)
- Ipso facto
- Ironic
- Ironical
- Irregardless
- Iteration
- Ivy League
J
- Jam vs. jamb
- Je ne sais quoi
- Judicial vs. judicious
- Junction vs. juncture
- Jury-rig, jerry-rig, jerry-built
K
- Kibosh
- Kick the can down the road
- Knee-jerk, kneejerk
- Knit vs. knitted
- Kowtow
L
- Laissez-faire
- Laudable vs. laudatory
- Lay vs. lie
- Lead vs. lede
- Lend vs. loan
- Lended vs. lent
- Lest
- Libel vs. slander
- Lighted vs. lit
- Like gangbusters
- Literally vs. figuratively
- Litmus test
- Lo, lo and behold
- Log in vs. log on
- Lonely vs. lonesome
- Longetivity vs. longevity
- Loose vs. lose
- Lowlife
- Lustful vs. lusty
- Luxuriant vs. luxurious
M
- Macaron vs. macaroon
- Maddening vs. madding
- Magnate vs. magnet
- Magnum opus
- Make do vs. make due
- Make hay
- Maleficent vs. malevolent
- Many vs. much
- Marinade vs. marinate
- Masterful vs. masterly
- Materiel vs. material
- Maul vs. mull
- Maxima vs. maximums
- Mea culpa
- Mealy-mouthed
- Means
- Media vs. mediums
- Mediator vs. moderator
- Melted vs. molten
- Memento mori
- Meta
- Meteoroid, meteor, meteorite (and meteoric)
- Methinks
- Mice vs. mouses
- Milieu
- Minima vs. minimums
- Minutia, minutiae
- Misinformed vs. uninformed
- Modern
- Modus operandi (m.o, MO)
- Momentarily
- Money-grabbing vs. money-grubbing
- Moot vs. mute
- Morays vs. mores
- Moreso
- Mowed vs. mown
- Muchly
- Murderers' row
- Myriad
N
- Namesake
- Nary a
- Naught vs. nought
- Nauseating vs. nauseous
- Naval vs. navel
- Neck and neck
- Negative prefixes
- Nip in the bud
- Non sequitur
- Nonplussed
- Nonprofit vs. not-for-profit (vs. non-profit)
- Normalcy vs. normality
- Not hardly
- Not un-
- Notwithstanding
- Nunchucks
O
- O vs. oh
- Object lesson
- Observance vs. observation
- Obsolescent vs. obsolete
- Octopi vs. octopuses
- Off of
- Off the cuff
- Offhand
- Oftentimes
- Oh well
- Olive branch
- On steroids
- On tenterhooks
- On the fritz
- On the lam
- On the up and up
- On the wagon, off the wagon
- Onboard vs. on board
- One and the same, one in the same
- One fell swoop
- Oppress, repress, suppress
- Oral vs. verbal
- Ordinance vs. ordnance
- Orientate
- Ouster
- Out and out
- Out of pocket
- Outside of
- Overly
- Overnight vs. over night
- Overtones vs. undertones
- Oxymorons
P
- Paddy wagon
- Paean, paeon, peon
- Pall vs. pallor
- Par excellence
- Paramount vs. tantamount
- Parlay vs. parley
- Parricide vs. patricide
- Part and parcel
- Pass the buck, the buck stops
- Passed vs. past
- Payback vs. pay back
- Peace of mind, piece of (one's) mind
- Peaceable vs. peaceful
- Pecking order
- Pedal vs. peddle vs. petal
- Penal vs. penile
- Pendant vs. pendent
- People vs. persons
- Per diem
- Per se
- Perchance
- Perfect storm
- Periodic vs. periodical
- Pernickety vs. persnickety
- Perquisite vs. prerequisite (vs. requisite)
- Persecute vs. prosecute
- Persona non grata
- Perspective vs. prospective
- Peruse
- Pet vs. petted
- Petrifaction vs. petrification
- Phenomena, phenomenon
- Phial vs. vial (vs. vile)
- Phony vs. phoney
- Picaresque vs. picturesque
- Pincer vs. pincher
- Plain vs. plane
- Plainclothes
- Play by ear
- Pleaded vs. pled
- Plenitude vs. plentitude
- Plethora
- Point in time
- Point of view, standpoint, viewpoint
- Polemic vs. polemical
- Politics
- Polygamy vs. polygyny vs. polyandry
- Ponderous
- Poo vs. pooh
- Port vs. starboard
- Portend vs. portent
- Poster child
- Potentiality
- Practicable vs. practical
- Precede vs. proceed
- Premier vs. premiere
- Preposition vs. proposition
- Prescribe vs. proscribe
- Presumptive vs. presumptuous
- Previous vs. prior
- Proactive
- Problematic vs. problematical
- Procrastinate
- Prodigal son
- Prone, prostrate, supine
- Prophecy vs. prophesy
- Proportional vs. proportionate
- Prostate vs. prostrate
- Protagonist, antagonist
- Protégé
- Proved vs. proven
- Psych vs. psyche
- Psychiatry vs. psychology
- Pull the rug out from under
- Pullout, pull-out, pull out
- Purposely vs. purposefully
Q
- Qualitative vs. qualitive
- Qualitative, quantitative
- Quantitative vs. quantitive
- Quash vs. squash
- Quasi
- Quelch vs. squelch
- Quid pro quo
R
- Rack vs. wrack
- Radical
- Raison d'etre
- Rapt vs. wrapt
- Raring to
- Ravaging vs. ravishing
- Reactionary vs. reactive
- Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic
- Recur vs. reoccur
- Red herring
- Red tape
- Regard vs. regards
- Regime vs. regimen
- Regrettable vs. regretful
- Relevance vs. relevancy
- Repel vs. repulse
- Resilience vs. resiliency
- Respective, respectively
- Retard
- Ridded
- Rife vs. ripe
- Riff vs. rift
- Riffraff
- Right-of-way
- Righten
- Rollout vs. roll out
- Rollover vs. roll over
- Roofs vs. rooves
- Root vs. route vs. rout
- Rule of thumb
- Runaway vs. run away
- Résumé
S
- Safe-deposit box
- Said
- Sang froid
- Sank vs. sunk
- Sans
- Scarfs vs. scarves
- Scavenger, scavenge
- Schadenfreude
- Scissors
- Secede vs. succeed
- Secret vs. secretive
- Seldomly
- Sensual vs. sensuous
- Series
- Service (as a verb)
- Shat vs. shitted
- Shaved vs. shaven
- Sheath vs. sheathe
- Shed vs. shedded
- Shelf vs. shelve
- Shell out
- Shined vs. shone
- Short shrift
- Shoveled/shoveling vs. shovelled/shovelling
- Sic
- Sic vs. sick
- Sine qua non
- Slam dunk
- Sleight of hand
- Smite, smote, smitten
- Smoothe, smoothen
- Smorgasbord
- Snake oil, snake-oil salesman
- Sneaked vs. snuck
- So to speak
- Soldiers, marines, airmen, sailors
- Some odd
- Some way vs. someway
- Somebody vs. someone
- Someday vs. some day
- Someplace vs. some place
- Sometime vs. some time
- Sooner rather than later
- Sort of
- Sow wild oats
- Spatter vs. splatter
- Speak to
- Speciality vs. specialty
- Species
- Spectra vs. spectrums
- Sped vs. speeded
- Spendthrift
- Spilled vs. spilt
- Spit and image vs. spitting image
- Spoiled vs. spoilt
- Spreaded
- Spur vs. spurn
- Stadia vs. stadiums
- Stalactite, stalagmite
- Stanch vs. staunch
- Standby vs. stand by
- Stank, stunk
- State of the art
- Stationary vs. stationery
- Status quo
- Statute of limitations
- Stock, shares
- Straight vs. strait
- Stratagem vs. strategy
- Strived, striven, strove
- Subconscious vs. unconscious
- Substantial vs. substantive
- Suffice it to say
- Sui generis
- Summons and summonses
- Supposably
- Swan song
- Swath vs. swathe
- Sweat vs. sweated
- Sword of Damocles
- Synonyms
- Systematic vs. systemic
T
- Tack vs. tact
- Takeaway and takeout
- Taken aback
- Teetotaler, teetotaller
- Telegram vs. telegraph
- Terminate
- Testament vs. testimony
- Tete-a-tete
- Than vs. then
- That vs. which
- That vs. who
- That which
- The $64,000 question
- The Bronx
- The die is cast
- The late
- The rub
- Their, them, themselves, they (as singular pronouns)
- Third rail
- Tho, altho
- Throw under the bus
- Thrust, thrusted
- Thusly
- Tic vs. tick
- Till, until, 'til
- To a T
- To boot
- To vs. too
- To wit
- Toe the line
- Toilette
- Tolerance vs. toleration
- Tongue-in-cheek
- Topography vs. typography
- Torturous vs. tortuous
- Touch and go
- Tough row to hoe
- Tour de force
- Toxicology vs. toxology
- Transgender, transsexual, transvestite
- Translucent vs. transparent
- Transpire
- Transport vs. transportation
- Trawl vs. troll
- Treble vs. triple
- Troop vs. troupe
- Truck with
- Trustee vs. trusty
- Tsk-tsk
- Turbid, turgid, torpid
- Turtle, tortoise, terrapin
U
- U.S. state demonyms
- Uber
- Unawares
- Uncomparable adjectives
- Undoubtably vs. undoubtedly
- Unique
- United States (plural or singular?)
- Unkempt, unkept
- Unknown quantity
- Up to date
- Upfront vs. up front
- Upmost vs. utmost
- Upshot
- Used to
- Usually always
V
- Vacuous vs. vapid
- Vagina vs. vulva
- Vamoose
- Veracity vs. voracity
- Verbiage
- Verses vs. versus
- Vertex vs. vortex
- Very
- Vice versa
- Vis-a-vis
- Viz.
- Vouchsafe
W
- Waddle vs. wattle
- Waive vs. wave
- Waiver vs. waver
- Wander vs. wonder
- Wane, wax
- Wanton vs. wonton
- Wary vs. weary
- Weaved, wove, woven
- Website vs. web page
- Well-heeled
- Welsh
- Wet vs. whet
- Whatnot
- Whence vs. from whence
- Whereas
- While away vs. wile away
- Whilst
- Whiny, whiney, whinny, Whinney
- Whiskey vs. whisky
- Who vs. whom
- Who's vs. whose
- Who's Who
- Whoever vs. whomever
- Whoop vs. whup
- Widow, widower
- Wit vs. whit
- Wither vs. whither
- Wont
- Workout vs. work out
- Worse comes to worst
- Wreak havoc (and wreaked vs. wrought)
- Wrong vs. wrongly
- Wunderkind
Y
- Y'all
- Yea, yeah, yay
- Yoke vs. yolk
Z
- Zee vs. zed
- Zeitgeist
- Zero-sum game
