COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS

PAIRS THAT SNARE The following sound-alike and look-alike words are often easily
confused.
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Accede consent or agree

Accept to take something offered

Access way of getting to something or

someone
Adapt (to) to adjust, to fit or make fit
Advice [s] counsel, suggestion, or
information
Affect to influence
Aisle a passageway
all ready everything is ready or
prepared
all together everything is together
Allusion reference or mention
Altar platform raised as in a church
Anecdote a short narrative
Angel heavenly being

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Beside at the side of, next to

Blond fair-haired person of either sex
Brake device that stops, to reduce
speed of
Breath air from or in the lungs
Brunet dark-haired man
Canon rule or law esp. of religious faith
Canvas a sturdy cloth

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Capital major, seat of central gov.,

money for investment
Chord combination of musical notes
Cite to quote or refer to
Complement to complete or perfect

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Decent suitable or respectable

Desert arid region
Device [s] a tool or aid
Die to perish
Emigrant a person who leaves a country
Envelop (v) to wrap or enclose
Farther at a greater distance

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Its Possessive form of it

Later more late, after some time
Loose [s] not tight, untied or free
Moral adhering to the laws of God and
man
Passed past tense of verb pass
Personal belonging to a particular
person

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Exceed to surpass, to go beyond limit of

Except to exclude or leave out; with exception
of
Excess surplus or overabundance
Adopt to take as ones own
Advise [z] to give advice or counsel
Effect to bring about a result; a result
Isle an island
Already previously, earlier, by this time
Altogether completely or absolutely
Illusion false impression
Alter to change
Antidote something that counteracts poison
Angle a geometric figure formed by two lines
meeting
Besides in addition to, moreover
Blonde a blond woman or girl
Break to smash, an opening
Breathe to inhale and exhale
Brunette dark-haired girl
Cannon a large gun often mounted on wheels
Canvass to solicit votes, sales, opinion esp.
house to house
Capitol main building of a government
Cord string or rope
Site a place where something is located
Compliment an expression of praise or
admiration
Descent the act of coming down
Dessert a sweet course at the end of a meal
Devise [z] to invent or construct
Dye to color by a chemical process
Immigrant a person who enters one country
Envelope (n) a paper wrapper, as for a letter
Further more (Ex: I have nothing further to
report.)
it's Contraction of it is
Latter the second of two
Lose [z] to suffer the loss of; to be beaten
Morale confidence and courage
Past having already happened; time gone by
Personnel the people employed on a job

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Precede to go in advance of, to go first

Principle a general rule or truth
Quiet calm, still, silent
Stationary in fixed position, standing
still
Thorough - Complete
Weather day-to-day climate
Whose possessive pronoun of who
Your possessive of pronoun you

Proceed to go on or go forward
Principal major, person who takes leading part
Quite entirely, really, completely
Stationery writing paper
Through from one side or one end to the other
Whether if it be that case; in case
who's Contraction of who is
you're Contraction of you are