Commonly confused words
Words, either through typos or through not understand actual meanings, can often be mistake through spell check. Now, oftentimes we don’t know that we made a mistake, and usually it is easier to look it up in the dictionary. However, just in case you were wondering, this is my non-comprehensive list of all similar words and homophones that I could find.
Just in case you were wondering, I have a total of 452 words.
As a note, for those using safari or firefox, you can press either cmd+down arrow or spacebar to get to the bottom and tell me how impressed you are with me. :)
That being said, here is my list of commonly confused words.
- a lot / allot
- accent / ascent / assent
- accept / except
- acts / ax
- ad / add
- ado/adieu
- ads / adds / adz
- adverse / averse
- advice / advise
- affect / effect
- aide / aid
- ail / ale
- air / heir / err
- aisle / isle / I’ll
- all / awl
- all ready / already
- all together / altogether
- allowed / aloud
- allude / elude
- allusion / illusion
- already / all ready
- altar / alter
- angel / angle
- ant / aunt
- arc / ark
- are / our
- assay / essay
- assent / ascent
- assistance / assistants
- ate / eight
- aural / oral
- away / aweigh
- axil / axle
- aye / eye
- bail / bale
- bait / bate
- ball / bawl
- band / banned
- bard / barred
- bare / bear
- baron / barren
- base / bass
- bases / basis
- bazaar / bizarre
- be / bee
- beach / beech
- beat / beet
- beau / bow
- bell / belle
- berry / bury
- berth / birth
- billed / build
- bit / bite
- bite / byte
- blew / blue
- bloc / block
- boar / bore
- board / bored
- boarder / border
- bode / bowed
- bolder / boulder
- born / borne
- bough / bow
- bouillon / bullion
- boy / buoy
- braid/brayed
- braise/brays
- brake / break
- bread / bred
- breath / breathe / breadth
- brewed / brood
- brews / bruise
- bridle / bridal
- broach / brooch
- browse / brows
- bus/buss
- bussed/bust
- but / butt
- buy / by / bye
- cache / cash
- callous / callus
- cannon / canon
- canvas / canvass
- capital / capitol
- carat / carrot / caret / karat
- carol / carrel
- cast / caste
- cede / seed
- ceiling / sealing
- cell / sell
- cellar / seller
- censor / sensor
- cent / scent / sent
- cents / scents / sense
- cereal / serial
- cession / session
- chance / chants
- chased / chaste
- cheap / cheep
- chews / choose
- chic / sheik
- chilly / chili
- choir / quire
- choose / chose / choice
- choral / coral
- chord / cord
- chute / shoot
- cite / sight / site
- clause / claws
- click / clique
- close / clothes / cloze
- clothes / cloths
- coal / cole
- coarse / course
- colonel / kernel
- complement / compliment
- conscience / conscious
- coo / coup
- coop / coupe
- core / corps
- corps / corpse
- correspondence / correspondents
- council / counsel
- creak / creek
- crews / cruise
- cruel / crewel
- cue / queue
- currant / current
- curser / cursor
- cymbal / symbol
- dairy / diary
- dam / damn
- days / daze
- dear / deer
- definitely / defiantly
- defused / diffused
- descent / dissent
- dessert / desert
- device / devise
- dew / do / due
- die / dye
- disburse / disperse
- discreet / discrete
- do / dew / due
- doe / dough
- dominant / dominate
- done / dun
- draft / draught
- dual / duel
- dyeing / dying
- earn / urn
- eight / ate
- elicit / illicit
- eminent / imminent
- envelop / envelope
- everyday / every day
- ewe / you / yew
- eye / I
- facts / fax
- faint / feint
- fair / fare
- farther / further
- faun / fawn
- faze / phase
- feat / feet
- find / fined
- fir / fur
- fist / first
- flair / flare
- flair / flare
- flea / flee
- flex/flecks
- flew / flu / flue
- flocks / phlox
- flour / flower
- for / four / fore
- foreword / forward
- formally / formerly
- fort / forte
- forth / fourth
- foul / fowl
- friar / fryer
- fur / fir
- gait / gate
- gene / jean
- gild / guild
- gilt / guilt
- gnu / knew / new
- gored / gourd
- gorilla / guerrilla
- grayed/grade
- grease / Greece
- great / grate
- groan / grown
- guessed / guest
- hail / hale
- hair / hare
- hall / haul
- halve / have
- half / have
- hangar / hanger
- hart / heart
- hay / hey
- heal / heel / he’ll
- hear / here
- heard / herd
- heed / he’d
- hertz / hurts
- hew / hue / Hugh
- hi / high
- higher / hire
- him / hymn
- hoar / whore
- hoard / horde
- hoarse / horse
- hoes / hose
- hold / holed
- hole / whole
- holey / holy / wholly
- hostel / hostile
- hour / our
- human / humane
- idle / idol
- illicit / elicit
- in / inn
- insight / incite
- instance / instants
- intense / intents
- iron / ion
- its / it’s
- jail / gel / jell
- jam / jamb
- jeans / genes
- knap / nap
- knead / kneed / need
- knew / new
- knight / night
- knit / nit
- knot / not
- know / no
- know / now
- knows / nose
- laid / lade
- lain / lane
- later / latter
- lay / lei
- leach / leech
- lead / led
- leak / leek
- lean / lien
- leased / least
- lee / lea
- lessen / lesson
- levee / levy
- liar / lier / lyre
- lichen / liken
- lie / lye
- lieu / Lou
- lightning / lightening
- links / lynx
- load / lode
- loan / lone
- locks / lox
- loins / lions
- loop/loupe
- loose / lose
- loot / lute
- low / lo
- made / maid
- mail / male
- main / mane / Maine
- maize / maze
- male / mail
- mall / maul
- manner / manor
- mantel / mantle
- marry / merry / Mary
- marshal / martial
- massed / mast
- material / materiel
- maybe / may be
- meat / meet / mete
- medal / metal / mettle / meddle
- might / mite
- mince / mints
- mind / mined
- miner / minor
- missed / mist
- moan / mown
- mode / mowed
- moose / mousse
- moral / morale
- morn / mourn
- mourning / morning
- muscle / mussel
- must/mussed
- mustard / mustered
- naval / navel
- nay / neigh
- nix/nicks
- none / nun
- ode / owed
- oh / owe
- one / won
- or / ore / oar
- overdo / overdue
- overseas / oversees
- pail / pale
- pain / pane
- pair / pare / pear
- palate / palette / pallet
- passed / past
- patience / patients
- pause / paws
- pea / pee
- peace / piece
- peak / peek / pique
- peal / peel
- pear / pair
- pearl / purl
- pedal / peddle / petal
- peer / pier
- per / purr
- personal / personnel
- phrase/frays
- pie / pi
- pier / peer
- place/ plaice
- plain / plane
- plait / plate
- pleas / please
- plum / plumb
- pole / poll
- poor / pour / paw / pore
- praise/prays/preys
- pray / prey
- precede / proceed
- presence / presents
- prince / prints
- principal / principle
- profit / prophet
- quiet / quite
- rack / wrack
- rain / reign / rein
- raise / rays / raze
- rap / wrap
- rapped / rapt / wrapped
- rational / rationale
- raw / roar
- read / red
- read / reed
- real / reel
- reek / wreak
- respectfully / respectively
- rest / wrest
- retch / wretch
- reverend / reverent
- review / revue
- right / rite / write
- ring / wring
- road / rode / rowed
- roam / Rome
- roe / row
- role / roll
- root / route / rout
- rose / rows
- rote / wrote
- rough / ruff
- rung / wrung
- rye / wry
- sail / sale
- scared / scarred
- scene / seen
- scull / skull
- sea / see
- seam / seem
- seas / sees / seize
- sense / since
- serf / surf
- sew / so / sow
- shear / sheer
- shoe / shoo
- shone / shown
- shore / sure
- side / sighed
- sighs / size
- sight / site / cite
- slay / sleigh
- sleight / slight
- slew / slue / slough
- soar / sore
- soared / sword
- sole / soul
- some / sum
- son / sun
- staid / stayed
- stair / stare
- stake / steak
- stationary / stationery
- steal / steel
- step / steppe
- stile / style
- straight / strait
- suite / sweet
- summary / summery
- surge / serge
- tacks / tax
- tail / tale
- taught / taut
- tea / tee
- team / teem
- tear / tier
- tern / turn
- than / then
- their / there / they’re
- theirs / there’s
- therefore / therefor
- threw / through
- through / thorough / thought
- thrown / throne
- thyme / time
- tic / tick
- tide / tied
- to / too / two
- toad / towed
- toe / tow
- told / tolled
- track / tract
- trail / trial
- trussed / trust
- vain / vane / vein
- vale / veil
- vary / very
- vial / vile
- vice / vise
- wade / weighed
- wail / whale
- waist / waste
- wait / weight
- waive / wave
- wale / whale / wail
- want / wont
- ware / wear / where
- way / weigh / whey
- ways / weighs
- we / wee
- we’d / weed
- we’ll / wheel
- we’ve / weave
- weak / week
- weal / wheel
- wear / where
- weather / whether / wether
- wet / whet
- where / were
- which / witch
- while / wile
- whine / wine
- whirled/world
- whirred/word
- whose / who’s
- won / wan
- wood / would
- worn/warn
- write / right
- yoke / yolk
- yore / your / you’re
- you’ll / yole / yule
So there you have it. Hope you enjoyed.
2 responses to “Commonly confused words”
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Abigail
always a writer 
Great list, but you missed:
place/ plaice
ado/adieu
flex/flecks
must/mussed
bus/buss
bussed/bust
praise/prays/preys
grayed/grade
loop/loupe
sex/sects
nix/nicks
braid/brayed
braise/brays
phrase/frays
worn/warn
whirred/word
whirled/world
… and many more
Also, 15 and 20 are duplicates
Thanks for the additions. I know I missed a lot, but that’s probably why there is no comprehensive collection out there. I’ll add those in though.
And about duplicates, I expected there are probably more than just 15 and 20. Part of my logic was that if they weren’t close together, a person might look up their word and see there’s nothing similar, but it is really in paired with another word. I also didn’t have to go back then and check it repeatedly just in case. :)