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
- Allusive, elusive or illusive
- Carnation vs incarnation
- Choate or inchoate
- Embed vs imbed
- Erupt vs irrupt
- Evade vs invade
- Expatriate vs immigrant
- Explicit vs implicit
- Eyelet vs islet
- Famous, infamous and notorious
- Fluorescent vs incandescent
- Ibid vs idem
- Ice tea vs. iced teaIced tea remains the more common form, but ice tea is gaining ground.
- Icing on the cake
- Iconoclast vs heretic
- Idea vs. idealAn ideal is (1) a conception of something in its absolute perfection, or (2) an honorable or worthy principle or aim. The word is not synonymous with idea.
- Ideation vs idea
- Ideogram
- Ideologue
- Ides of March
- Idiom vs colloquialism
- Idiot savant or savant syndrome
- Idle, idol, idyllIdol: an object of worship. Idle: inactive. Idyll: a tranquil natural scene.
- If it ain't broke don't fix it
- If need be or if needs be
- If the shoe fits and if the cap fits
- If you can't beat them, join them
- If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen
- If you will: an often unnecessary hedge phrase meaning if you will allow me to use this phrase.
- Ignominious vs ignoble
- Ignoramus
- IlkIt now has negative connotations.
- Illegible vs. unreadableIllegible: difficult to decipher because of bad handwriting or physical deterioration. Unreadable: difficult, dull, or nonsensical.
- Imaginary or imaginative
- Imagism
- Imbibe vs imbue
- Imbroglio
- IMHO
- Imitate vs emulate
- Imitate vs intimate
- Imitate vs intimidate
- Immaculate Conception vs. virgin birthImmaculate Conception: the conception of Jesus' mother. Virgin birth: a birth of a child to a mother who is a virgin.
- Immolate vs emulate
- Immunity vs. impunityImmunity: 1. resistance to a disease; 2. exemption from obligation; 3. legally granted freedom from prosecution; 4. unresponsiveness to influence. Impunity: the ability to act without negative consequences.
- Impactful: having impact. Its use is a common language peeve, but the word is not going away.
- Impair vs impede
- Impassable vs. impassibleImpassible: impossible to pass. Impassible: not subject to suffering, pain, or harm.
- Impassive vs. passiveImpassive: not showing emotion. Passive: not acting.
- Impecunious and pecunious
- Impending vs. pendingPending: awaiting conclusion or in the process of being completed. Impending: soon to occur.
- Impends vs impinge
- Imperial vs empirical
- Imperial vs empyreal
- Imperious vs. imperviousImperious: 1. arrogantly domineering; 2. regal. Impervious: 1. impenetrable; 2. unaffected.
- Impinge vs. infringeImpinge: 1. collide or strike; 2. encroach (on or upon). Infringe: 1. violate or break; 2. encroach (on or upon).
- Implosion vs explosion
- Imply vs. inferImply: state indirectly. Infer: conclude based on indirect evidence.
- Imposter vs. impostorImpostor is the more common spelling.
- Impractical vs impracticable
- Imprecation vs implication
- Impromptu or improvised
- Improvise vs. improvize
- Impudent vs imprudent
- Impugn vs. imputeImpugn: to attack something as false or questionable. Impute: to ascribe or attribute.
- In a New York Minute
- In a nutshell
- In a pickle
- In due course or in due time
- In excess of: wordy for more than, over, or exceeding.
- In kind: 1. in goods rather than in money; 2. repaid in the same manner.
- In loco parentis
- In medias res
- In over one's head or over one's head
- In point of fact or in fact or as a matter of fact
- In situ
- In terms of: wordy for in or for.
- In the affirmative: wordy for yes.
- In the ballpark and hit one out of the ballpark
- In the cards and on the cards
- In the course of: wordy for during, in, over, or while.
- In the doldrums
- In the hopper
- In the midst of: wordy for amid, among, during, or in.
- In the offing: likely to happen soon.
- In the pink
- In the process of: often wordy for currently.
- In the red and in the black
- In the throes of: in the midst of (something painful or difficult).
- In toto
- In vitro
- Inalienable vs. unalienableInalienable is the preferred form in modern English.
- Incarnation vs incarceration
- Incase or encase
- Incentivize, incentBoth mean to provide incentive. Many people find both of these business buzzwords distasteful, but incentivize continues to grow more common and now appears outside business writing. Incent remains rare.
- Incidence vs. incidentsThey can be used to express the same things, but incidence is usually a singular mass noun, and incidents is plural.
- Incipient or inchoate
- Incipient vs. insipient (vs. insipid)Incipient: beginning to exist or just starting to happen. Insipient: wanting wisdom, stupid, or foolish. Insipid: lacking flavor, dull.
- Incite vs insight
- Inclement vs. inclimateInclement is the word for stormy or tempestuous. Inclimate is a misspelling.
- Include, exclude or occlude
- Incommunicado
- Incomparable vs. uncomparableIncomparable: beyond comparison. Uncomparable: (of two or more things) not able to be compared.
- Incomprehensive or incomprehensible
- Incredible vs. incredulousIncredible: not believable. Incredulous: not able to believe.
- Incubus, succubusAn incubus is a male evil spirit that has sex with sleeping women. A succubus is a female evil spirit that has sex with sleeping men.
- Inculcate
- Indefatigable and defatigable
- Indefinite articles
- Indemnity and contribution
- Indeterminate vs indeterminable
- Indexes vs. indicesBoth are common throughout the English-speaking world.
- Indian corn
- Indian giver
- Indian summer
- Indict vs indite
- Indiscriminate vs undiscriminating
- Indolence vs insolence
- Inequality vs. inequityInequity: injustice or unfairness. Inequality: the condition of being unequal.
- Inequity vs. iniquityInequity: injustice or unfairness. Iniquity: extreme injustice or gross immorality.
- Inexplicable vs. unexplainableThey are mostly interchangeable.
- Infect vs. infestTo be infected is to have viruses or germs in the body. To be infested is to have pests or parasites in a place.
- Infectious vs contagious
- Inference vs interference
- Inflict vs inflect
- Infomercial
- Infuse vs suffuse
- Ingenious vs. ingenuous
- Ingrate vs ingratiate
- Inhabit vs habituate
- Inherent vs inherit
- Innate vs enate
- Innocuous vs inoculate
- Inpatient or outpatient
- Inroad vs inroads
- Inside baseball: appreciated by only a small group of insiders or aficionados.
- Insidious vs invidious
- Insofar (in so far): to such an extent. It is usually one word in North America, and usually three words outside North America---though the one-word form is gaining ground everywhere.
- Insolent vs insolvent
- Installation vs. installmentInstallation: 1. the act of installing something, 2. something that has been installed, 3. a military base, 4. an art exhibit meant to be appreciated in its setting. Installment (instalment outside North America): 1. in a series of payments; 2. a portion of a serially released literary work.
- Installment vs. instalmentInstallment in the U.S.; instalment everywhere else.
- Instantly vs. instantaneouslyInstantly: very quickly. Instantaneously: happening with no perceptible delay in relation to something else.
- Instigate vs incite
- Instigate vs investigate
- Instill vs install
- Instinctive vs. instinctualThere are many claims about how they differ, but none are consistently borne out in real-world usage, except in psychology, where instinctual things arise out of complex human drives.
- IntactIt is one word.
- Intellectual property
- Inter-, intra-Inter-: between or among. Intra-: within.
- IntercourseIt is difficult to use without connoting sexual intercourse.
- Interjections
- Interment vs. internmentInternment: the detaining of people perceived to be a threat. Interment: burial.
- Intermural, intramural and extramural
- Intern vs inter
- Internal vs eternal
- Internal vs infernal
- Internet (capitalization)The first letter is usually capitalized in edited U.S. and Canadian writing (though not in informal writing). It is uncapitalized outside the U.S.
- Internet of things
- Interpretative vs. interpretiveThe longer form has the edge in British publications. The shorter, newer form now prevails everywhere else.
- Interrobang and interabang
- Inure vs enure
- Invaluable vs. valuableValuable: of considerable value. Invaluable: can't be valued in monetary terms.
- Inveigh vs inveigle
- Invention vs intervention
- Inveterate vs invertebrate
- Inviolable vs inviolate
- Invite (as a noun)It is old, yet many people dislike it, partially based on the false assumption that it is new.
- Ipso factoby that very fact.
- Irish twins
- Irk
- Ironic1. using words to express the opposite of their literal meaning; 2. markedly different from what was expected.
- IronicalIt is a less common variant of ironic.
- IrregardlessPeople despise it, but it's part of the language, and it confuses no one.
- Irregular plural nouns
- Isometric(in poetry) composed of lines of uniform length.
- It ain't over till the fat lady sings
- It's Greek to me and it's all Greek to me
- Italics (when to italicize)
- Itchy feet
- Iterationan act or instance of saying, doing, or performing something again. The first instance of something can't be an iteration.
- Its vs. it'sIt's: a contraction of it is. Its: the possessive of it.
- Ivory tower
- Ivy LeagueBrown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University
- Noble vs ignoble
- Pediment vs impediment
- Petulant vs impetuous
- Probity vs improbity
- Query vs inquiry
- Refugee vs immigrant
- Retrospect vs introspect
- Royal "we"
- Sub vs infra
- Unfamous or infamous
- When push comes to shove