Commonly Confused Pair of Words in English Language

#1  

Hoard - The smuggler hoards his goods in a secret place.

Horde - Robin Hood belonged to a plundering horde.

#2

Eligible - Young, handsome and successful, I think at the age of 25, he is the most eligible bachelor.

Illegible - Her handwriting is so illegible that one can hardly make out a couple of lines. 

#3

Rite - His funeral rites would last a week.

Write - Please write your name and address on this paper.

Right - You have no right to interfere.

#4

Adapt - He has adapted himself wonderfully to the new environment.

Adopt - I have to adopt some stern measures to handle him.

Adept - Sanjeev Kapoor is adept in every type of cooking.

#5 

President - He was unanimously elected the president of the organisation.

Precedent - I am afraid this would create a bad precedent.

#6 

Idle - We should not sit idle when work is at hand.

Idol - The famous idol of Lord Shiva was stolen from the temple yesterday.

#7

Dissent - The chairman of the meeting dissented from the proposal and it was dropped.

Descent - He claims descent from an aristocratic family.

#8 

In - I was in the office at that time.

Inn - The weary traveller went to the nearest inn for a short stay.

#9

Dying - His dying words were "Hey Ram".

Dyeing - He is employed in the Capital Dyeing factory.

#10

Deny - He denied that he had copied.

Refuse - Why do you refuse to help me?

#11

Medal - P.T. Usha won 4 gold medals in the Xth Asiad at Seoul.

Meddle - She has no business to meddle with my personal life.

#12

Wet - She loves to get wet in the rain during the monsoons.

Whet - The sight of the juicy oranges seems to have whetted my appetite.

#13

Deadly - He got a deadly blow from his enemy.

Deathly - He became deathly pale.

#14

Rob - She was robbed of her gold bangles by a miscreant.

Steal - Those who steal are seldom caught easily.

#15

Martial - Martial law was enforced in the territory as a last resort.

Marshal - He was ranked Field Marshal in view of his outstanding achievements.

#16

License - This company has been licensed to deal in imported goods.

Licence - You will undergo a test before getting a licence.

#17 

Waste - You should not waste so much money on luxury items.

Waist - You will have to reduce a lot of fat from your waist line.

#18 

Cite - Our teacher always cites passages from Shakespeare.

Site - Everyone has agreed upon the site of our new house.

Sight - The sight is becoming lovelier day by day.

#19

Flour - There are not many flour mills in this city.

Flower - Of all the flowers, I like the daffodils.

Floor - The floor of the dining room is covered with carpets.

#20

Loath - He is loath to accompany me.

Loathe - I loathe hypocritical people.

#21

Patrol - The policemen are patrolling the riot-affected area.

Petrol - Petrol prices are rising almost every year.

#22

Pour - Pour my tea into this cup.

Pore - The human skin has many pores.

#23

Quite - I was quite happy to get a first division.

Quiet - The teacher asked the students to keep quiet.

#24

Pray - I will pray to God for your success.

Prey - The lion at last found its prey in a rabbit. 

#25

Cattle - The cattle are grazing at the field.

Kettle - The water is boiling in the kettle.

#26

Accept - The Prime Minister accepted the suggestion of the opposition parties.
Except- All ministers except the Railway Minister were present in the meeting.

#27

Envelope-The fire will envelop the whole village if not controlled now.
Envelope- Send this encelope by registered post.

#28.

Gate- The main gate of the school was closed today, so, I presented it was a holiday.
Gait- I can recognize him by his gate.

#29.

Fain- My friend would fain have helped me.
Feign- He feigned madness in order to escape.

#30.

Naughty- Your son is always upto some naughty tricks at school.
Knotty- A knotty problem that appeared in the Geometry paper puzzled me.

#31.

Yoke- Put the bullocks to the yoke.
The farmer yokes a pair of horses.
Yolk- Separate the yolk from the while of the egg.

#32.

Gamble- Recently, he has started gambling besides drinking.
Gambol- The rabbits are known for their gambol.

#33.

Latter- The shopkeeper showed a red sari and a pink sari, I preferred the latter.
Later- She came later than Sangeeta for the party.
Letter- It is a month since I received a letter from my sister.

#34.

Angle- All the angles of this triangle are equal.
Angel- A known devil is better than an unknown angel.

#35.

Deny- He denied that he had copied. 

Refuse- Why do you refuse to help me?

#36.

Alien- Their ideas are Quite alien to my way of thicking.
Align- We must align Ourselves with the nation-builders.

#37.

Eminent- Ravi Shanker is an eminent sitarist.
Imminent- A feud between the two brothers is imminent after their father’s death.

#38.

Team- The performance of our hockey team is getting better.
Teem- The book teams with beautiful illustrations.

#39.

Abstain- You will have to abstain from fatty foods till your liver starts functioning normally.
Refrain- I hope he will refrain from speaking ill of others.

#40.

Continual- I cannot do any work at home because of the continual disturbances.
Continuous- His name was struck off the rolls because of his continuous absence.

#41.

Recover- The patient will take some time to recover from this setback.
Re-cover- The dead body of the patriot was re-covered with the tri-coloured flag.

#42.

Sickness- Her sickness will not last long.
Sickliness- Her sickliness may prove to be a life-long malady.

#43.

Pair- I like this pair of trousers very much.
Pare- Will you kindly pare off the apple?

#44.

Stationary- The earth is not stationary. It moves round the sun.
Stationery – Children went to purchases their stationery at the beginning of the year.

#45.

Physics- He is doing his doctorate in Physics.
Physique- He maintains a strong physique.

#46.

Led- Pundit Nehru led the Indians during the freedom Struggle. 
Lead- Lead is a metal used for printing.

#47.

Disease- He is suffering from a chronic disease.
Decease- The child was rendered helpless on the decease of his parents.

#48.

Meet- Brahmins are not supposed to eat meat.
Mete- We were very unhappy about the treatment metal out to us at the wedding party.
Mete- We were very unhappy about the treatment meted out to us at the wedding party.

#49.

Quite- I was quite happy to get a first division.
Quiet-The teacher asked the students to keep quiet.

#50.

Obvious- It is obvious from his behavior that he is selfish.
Oblivious- The sitarist was so immersed In his sitar that he seemed oblivious of all the people watching him.

#51.

Dose-The doctor has asked me to take a dose of this medicine twice a day.
Doze-having sat late at night, he was dozing in the examination hall.

#52.

Story- The child wanted his mother to tell him a story.
Storey- On which storey of this building do you live?

#53.

Scene- Rakesh made quite a scene at the college today.
Seen- Have you seen the Ajanta and Ellora caves?

#54.

Alter- We make offerings to the Gods at the altar.
Alter- Once I take a decision. I am not likely to alter it.

#55.

Dear- She is very dear to me.
Petrol has becomes a dear commodity of life.
Deer- This jungle abounds in deer.

#56.

Former- Saurav Ganguly is the former capitan of the Indian Cricket team.
Farmer- Farmer is ploughing the field.

#57.

Mail- Will you mail this letter immediately?
I would be travelling by Frontier mail.
Male- No male member is allowed to stay with the patient.

#58.

Root- The root gives strength to the tree.
Rout- The Mughal army was badly routed.
Rcute – I took a different route to reach here today.

#59.

Fair- (i) The bride is of fair complecion.
(ii) We expect the Judge to be fair in his judgement.
Fare- The railway fares have gone up with effect from 1st of April.

#60.

Pain- It is easy to beat physical pain rather than mental agony.
Pane- The boys while playing cricket broke the window pane.

#61.

Main- What is the main cause for inflation?
Mane- The lion seemed to be proud of his mane.

#62.

Read- It is important to read one’s lesson many times.
Reed- He writes with a reed pen. 

#63.

Way- Can you tell me the way to the nearest petrol pump?
Weigh- The oranges weigh 4 kilograms.

#64.

Air- A ballon filled with hot air goes up the sky.
Heir- The king’s eldest son is heir to the throne. 

#65.

Corporal- I am against corporal punishment to children.
Corporeal- Heavenly beings are not corporeal.

#66.

Liar- Do not believe him, he is a liar.
Lawyer- My uncle is an eminent lawyer.

#67.

Metal- Silver is a precious metal.

Mettle- Gandhiji was a man of mettle and so was respected by everyone.

#68.

Sore- His eyes are sore.Sour- The grapes are sour.

#69.

Corps- My brother has joined in the National Cadet Corps.
Corpse- His corpse was carried to the cremation ground with military honours.

#70.

Differ- I have to differ with you on this matter.
Defer- he has deferred his decision to resign for some time.

#71.

Affect- Smoking affects the lungs badly.
              He affects to be innocent.
Effect- The old man’s advice had no effect on the boy.
             The convict effected his escape from jail at midnight.

#72.

Minor- He has no voting right because he is still a minor.
Miner- In the bomb explosion, at least twelve miners lost their lives.

#73.

Blue – Blue is his favourite colour.
Blew- The referee blew his whistle and the game was up.

#74.

Bore- The teacher bored the students.
Boar- A boar is a wild animal.

#75.

Moral- The moral of the story is --- Look before you leap.
Morale- His inspired performance boosted up the morale of the team.

#76.

Stairs- I fractured my leg when I slipped while climbing the stairs.
Stare- He has got a habit of staring a people.

#77.

Dual- There re forty dual in this classroom.
Duel- It was a matter of Prestige. So, they decided to settle it with a duel.

#78.

Check- You must check your expenses before it is too late.
Cheque- He signed a blank cheque and asked me to fill the amount.

#79.

Assay- This ore assays high in gold.
Essay- His essays on “ trends in Modern Society’ won the first prize.

#80.

Advice- I asked the doctor for his advice.
Advise- The doctor advised me to take proper rest.

#81.

Ail- What ails thee, gentle lord?
Ale- Ale houses have been closed in Pakistan.

#82.

Aspire- All aspire after wordly pleasure.
Expire- His father expired only last month.

#83.

Avocation - Writing articles for magazines is her avocation.
Vocation- His vocations is teachings.

#84.

Allay- Your present statement has allayed my fears.
Alley- There are many alleys in old Delhi.
Alloy- An alloy is a metal made by mixing two or more different metals.

#85.

Amiable- His amiable manners win him respect everywhere.
Amicable- India and Pakistan have been trying for an amicable settlement on the border issue.

#86.

Beneficial- His holiday has had a beneficial effect.
Beneficent-He is a beneficent patron of our organisation.

#87.

Childish- His childish behavior has annoyed many people.
Childlike- An honest man usually has a childlike qualities.

#88.

Complement- His honesty complements his simplicity.
Compliment- Mohan presented a book to his friend with compliments.

#89.

Official- According to official sources, there is am increase in this year’s food production.
Officious- His officious attitude towards his subordinates has made him unpopular.

#90.

Roll- Many years have rolled by since I joined the organization.
Role- She played the role of Maria in ‘Sound of Music’.

#91.

Sail- Let us go for a sail this afternoon.
Sell- Bad news sells newspaper.
Sale- Every company organizes an off-season sale in September and October.

#92.

Suite- Please reserve a suite for me in the Taj.
Suit- If you don’t make payment tomorrow, I will file a suit against you.
          The climate of India does not suit me.
          His woolen suit is imported from Canada.

#93.

Steal- One who steals my money steals a trash; one who steals my name steals everything.
Steel- steel is an alloy.
Still – The room was a still at the end of the speech. I have still to find out the truth.

#94.

Tenor- I understand the tenor of his speech but not the details.
Tenure- During his tenure, he introduced many reformative measures.

#95.

Tell- I will tell a tale about a tail.
Tale- Life is a tale told by an idiot.
Tail- The comet of 1841 A.D grew a tail which went 198,000,000 miles in space.

#96.

Umpire- The players refused to obey the umpire.
Empire- Mahatma Gandhi rang the death- knell of the British empire.

#97.

Veil- The thief escaped under the veil of the darkness.
Vale- The vale of Kashmir is a paradise on earth.

#98.

Access- Students need easy access to books.
Accession- His accessions to the throne, marked the beginnings of a new era.
Excess- Excess of anything is bad.

#99.

Accident- He met with a serious accident.
Incident- In a recent incident, two bombs exploded.

#100.

Addicted- he is addicted to grugs.
Devoted- She is devoted to her studies.

#101.

Allusion- her writhing is full of obscure literary allusions.
Illusion- Life is an illusion.

#102.

Artist- A painter is an artist.
Artisan- A carpenter is an artisan.
Artiste- She is being trained for singing by a professional srtiste.

#103.

Apposite- His remarks on that occasion were not very apposite.
Opposite- Black and white are opposites.

#104.

Battle- I can’t always white are opposites.
War- During World War II, many battles were fought.
Fight- One should always fight for one’s right.

#105.

Major- The play is a major success.
Measure- An hour is a measure of time.

#106.

Confess- I must confess , I hated their attitude.
Admit- The facts admit no other explanation.

#107.

Conscious – I am conscious of my weakness.
Conscientious- he is a conscientious worker.

#108.

Crime- It is the job of the police to prevent crime.
Vice- In spite of the presence of the police, there’s always a certain amount of vice in all big ities.

#109.

Discover- Columbus discovered America.
Invent- Watt invented the steam engine.

#110.

Disinterested- She seems completely disinterested in her work.
Uninterested- One should not be uninterested in one’s work.

#111.

Drown- He drowned himself in work.
Sink- His voice sank to a whisper.

#112.

Elicit- By cross- examination, he elicited the truth at last.
Illicit- He is involved in an illicit trade of drugs.

#113.

Eminent- He is an eminent scientist.
Imminent- War is imminent.

#114.

Eruption- That volcano is in a state of eruption.
Irruption- That violent irruption of soldiers into the building was condemned by all.

#115.

Fetch- Please, fetch me a clean handkerchief from my bedroom.
Bring- Please, bring me the book.

#116.

Formalism- I have no love for official formalism.
Formality- In Delhi, people are more after formality rather than developing genuine relationship.

#117.

Jealous- A jealous man can never be happy.
Zealous- He is a zealous intellectual.

#118.

Liberty- French revolution was for liberty, fraternity and equality of all people.
Freedom- In my bondage, is my freedom.

#119.

Loose- The animals broke loose and left the field.
Lose- He often loses his temper.

#120.

Lovable- He is a man of a lovable nature.
Lovely- Aishwarya Roy is a  lovely actress.

#121.

Memorable- No one can ever forget her memorable beauty.
Memorial- Shah Jahan erected a memorial in the memory of his wife.          

#122.

Popular- This design has always been popular.
Populous- Kolkata is a populous city.

#123.

Principal- He is the principal of the college.
Principle- One should stick to one’s principles.

#124.

Sensitive- A sensitive person is one whose feelings are easily hurt.
Sensible- A sensible person is one who possesses commonsense or intelligence.

#125.

Vacant- A mind vacant is a mind distresses.
Empty- Empty vessels sound much.

#126.

Spirituous- One should abstain from spirituous liquors.
Spiritual- I believe in a spiritual life.

#127.

Breath- His breath smelt of garlic.
Breathe- The team breathed confidence before the match.

#128.

Species- It is a rare specify of beetle.
Specify- The regulations specify that calculators may not be used in the examination.

#129.

Noble- He died for a noble cause.
Novel- He loves reading romantic novels.

#130.

Weak- her eyesight is rather weak.
Week- He comes to see us once a week.

#131.

Wicked- That was a wicked thing to do.
Wicked- Pakistan lost the match by five wickets.

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