Master List of Commonly Confused Words

The Master List
of
Commonly confused
words
One subset of the vocab-in-context questions will ask you to distinguish between commonly
confused words. Often these words are homophones⁠—words that have different spellings but
identical or nearly identical pronunciations. These kinds of questions form an important part of
the Writing Section of the SAT and the English Section of the ACT. The good news is that the
words you will be tested on come from a relatively limited group. If you memorize the words in
this list, you will be able to answer these questions accurately and confidently on the test.
1
abstruse/obtuse purpose of the test, it’s usually more
straightforward. The main definition of
Abstruse means difficult to understand. The affect is a verb meaning to cause
concept was abstruse. O btuse means dull something to change. Memorizing this list
or dim-witted. He was too obtuse to will positively affect your SAT score. The
understand. main definition of effect is a noun meaning
access/excess a result brought about by a cause.
Memorizing this list will have a positive
To access means to get or reach. Deep in effect on your SAT score. For more details,
the rainforest, the scientists were unable to consult Appendix A at the end of this
access electricity. Excess means extra or handout.
too much. The excess food was donated to
the poor. afflict/inflict
accept/except Afflict is a verb meaning to cause pain or

suffering. Although it is correct to say that
To accept means to receive or allow. I x afflicts someone, it is more common to
om
accepted the gift from my friend. E xcept say that someone is afflicted with x. She
means excluding. I got all the questions was afflicted with a headache. Inflict is a
right except one. verb meaning to force something, usually
.c
pain or suffering, upon someone. The mad
accurate/precise scientist inflicted pain upon his test
ep
subjects.
Accurate measurements reflect true values.
Precise measurements are close to each
pr
aggravate/irritate
other, even if all of them are wrong in the
same way. The scale was not calibrated To aggravate is to worsen. The loud music
rs
properly, so all of the measurements were aggravated her headache. To irritate means
to
precise but not accurate. to annoy or cause minor pain. The cigarette
smoke irritated her throat.
en
adapt/adopt
all ready/already
To adopt something is to accept it as your
m
own. Gandhi adopted the principles of All ready means prepared. The dancer was
non-violence. T o adapt something is to all ready to go on stage. A
lready means
ue
change it. He adapted the best-selling novel previously. The dancer’s performance is
into a movie. over already.
g
adhere/cohere altogether/all together

ea
To adhere means to stick to. The poster Altogether is an adverb meaning

yl
adhered to the wall. It can also be used completely. When he first saw the
figuratively. An olympic athlete must examination questions, he was altogether
.iv
adhere to a strict workout plan. Cohere baffled. All together is a phrase meaning in
means to hold together well or be cohesive. a group. The wedding guests were gathered
w
The diverse elements of the novel failed to all together in the garden.
w
cohere.
a lot/alot
w
adverse/averse
Alot is a common contraction of a lot, but it
Adverse means negative or unpleasant. Air is incorrect. People make mistakes about
pollution is known to have an adverse effect this a lot.
on health. T o be averse to something
means to try to avoid it. Due to her fear of allusion/illusion/allude/elude
heights, she is averse to flying. An allusion is a reference to something
advice/advise else. The poem contains an allusion to
Greek mythology. The verb form of allusion
Advice is a noun. Nathan gave his students is allude. The author alluded to mythology.
great advice. A
dvice is a verb. Nathan An illusion is a false vision or a fantasy. The
advised his students to memorize this list. ghost was an illusion. T he verb elude
means to avoid or escape something. The
affect/effect criminal couldn't elude the police.
This is a complicated one, but for the
2
although/despite some effort). She attained her goal of
becoming class president. The verb obtain
While although and despite both indicate means to acquire or get possession of
contrast, they have different rules for something. The detective tried to obtain lre
usage. Although must be followed by a evidence.
clause. Although he is intelligent, he
doesn't work hard. Despite is followed by a awhile/a while
noun or noun phrase. Despite his
intelligence, he doesn't work hard. Awhile is an adverb meaning for some time.
Take off your shoes and rest awhile. A
ambivalent/ambiguous while is an article and noun and should be
used as an object. Take off your shoes and
Ambivalent means without preference or rest for a while. The phrase “for awhile” is
opinion. I was ambivalent about what to incorrect.
eat for lunch. Ambiguous means unclear or
open to multiple interpretations. The bad/badly
question was ambiguous.
Bad is an adjective, so it must describe a
a/an noun. The bad man hit his brother. Badly is
an adverb. He plays tennis badly.
Use a when the word that follows begins
with a consonant sound. It was a horrible beside/besides
idea. U
se an when the word that follows
begins with a vowel sound. It was an honor Beside means next to. I ran beside the
to meet the queen. river. B
esides means also or in addition to.
He is a liar, and besides that, a thief.
anecdote/antidote
between/among
An anecdote is a brief story. The author
tells an anecdote about his experience in Between is used when something is shared
the war. An antidote is a substance that by only two people or things. This secret
counteracts a poison, though it is often will remain between you and me. Among is
used figuratively to mean a cure. Education used when something is shared by more
is the antidote to ignorance. than two people or things. Among the many
teachers in the world, Nathan is the tallest.
a part/apart
breath/breathe
A part means one part. This piece is a part
of the puzzle. Apart means separate or with Breath is a noun. I took a deep breath.
the exception of. Apart from Isabella, all of Breathe is a verb. I breathe heavily.
the students failed the test. carefree/careless
ascent/assent Carefree means without worries or
Ascent refers to upward motion. Glover's concerns. She was fortunate to have a
ascent to fame was rapid. To assent means carefree life. Careless means without
to agree. Michael did not assent to his exercising adequate caution. She made a
friend's request. careless mistake on the test.
assure/ensure/insure censor/censure/sensor
To assure a person of something is to make To censor somebody’s speech or writing is

him or her confident of it. The doctor to try to suppress it by preventing it from
assured her patient that the injection reaching the public. In North Korea,
wouldn't hurt. T
o ensure that something political dissent is censored. The noun
happens is to make certain that it does. My version of censor is censorship. To censure
friend studied hard to ensure that she someone is to officially denounce. She was
would do well on the test. To insure is to censured by the school for cheating on the
issue an insurance policy. He insured the test. A
device which senses any change like
painting for a million dollars. changes in light or electrical output is a
sensor. Your car and your digital camera
attain/obtain contain sensors.
The verb attain means to achieve, childish/childlike

accomplish, or succeed (usually through
3
Childish has negative connotations and her flowers.
implies a lack of maturity. Her bad behavior
was childish. Childlike has positive or cite/site/sight
neutral connotations. She stared at the To cite is to give credit. It's important to
painting with childlike wonder. cite your sources to avoid plagiarism. A site
compel/impel is a location. The detective investigated the
site of the crime. Sight is related to vision.
To compel is to force or drive someone to Sadly, violence is a common sight in most
take action by making that person fear the American cities.
consequences of not doing so. To impel is
to persuade someone to take action on device/devise
moral or ethical grounds. When you are Device is a noun. A can-opener is a device.
compelled you are coerced, regardless of Devise is a verb that means to make or
your wishes. When you are impelled you come up with something, often a plan or a
are made to realize that although the solution. You can devise a plan for opening
choice may be difficult, it is the right thing a can with a sharp rock instead.
om
to do
descent/dissent
concede/confess
.c
Descent means downward movement. The
To concede is to admit or acknowledge that descent from the mountaintop was
ep
something is true or valid. The scientist treacherous. D
issent means disagreement.
eventually conceded that his theory was not She expressed her dissent about the
supported by evidence. To confess is to
pr
government's new proposal.
admit that one has committed a crime or
done something bad. Russia confessed to rs
discreet/discrete
sabotaging American elections.
Discreet means without drawing attention
to
collaborate/corroborate or modest. They left the party discreetly to
en
avoid making a scene. Discrete means

To collaborate is to work together. The separate. He had several discrete groups of
artists collaborated on a project. T
o friends.
m
corroborate is to confirm. The experiment

corroborated the hypothesis. disinterested/uninterested
ue
council/counsel Disinterested means impartial or unbiased.

g
A good judge should be disinterested.

A council is a group. The city council met on Uninterested means bored. The students
ea
Tuesday. Counsel is advice or guidance; to were uninterested in the lecture.

counsel is to advise. I was confused, but
yl
my teacher gave me counsel. economic/economical

.iv
compare to/compare with Economic means related to money or the

economy. Bolivia experienced rapid
Compare to connotes similarity between the
w
economic decline in the late 1990s.

things compared. He compared her apple Economical means thrifty or related to
w
pie to heaven. Compare with can connote saving money. It is more economical to buy
similarity or difference. He compared
w
bottled water in bulk rather than one bottle

Lincoln with Hitler. at a time.
complement/compliment eminent/imminent
To complement means to go well with. My Eminent means famous or respected. Bach
sense of humor complements her love of was an eminent composer. Imminent
laughter. A compliment is a flattering means about to happen. The dark clouds
statement or the act of making one. I gave suggested that rain was imminent.
her a compliment about her hair.
emigrate/immigrate
continual/continuous
To emigrate is to leave one’s country. He
Something that is continuous never stops. emigrated from India. To immigrate is to
The Earth rotates continuously. Something move to another country. He immigrated to
that is continual is recurring but can stop. the United Kingdom.
My girlfriend continually asks me to give
4
emit/omit means illegal. The man was arrested for
possession of illicit drugs.
To emit means to release or send outward.
The spacecraft emitted a bright light. To enervate/energize
omit means to not include. Redundant
information should be omitted. To enervate is to drain of energy. The long
run enervated him. T o energize is to give
etc./e.g./i.e. energy. The coffee energized her.
Etc. is short for etcetera and means and so exhaustive/exhausting/exhaust

forth. Because "and" is included in the
meaning, it is wrong to repeat the and To exhaust means to use up. The sailors
before it. He was an expert in tropical exhausted their water supply and were
diseases: malaria, typhoid fever, cholera, forced to return to land. E
xhausting means
etc. E
.g. is short for exempli gratia and tiring. The marathon was exhausting.
means for example. She loved Exhaustive means comprehensive or
Shakespeare’s more fanciful comedies, e.g. inclusive. Her knowledge of classical music
A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I.e. is short was exhaustive.
for id est and means that is or in other idle/idol
words. Asbestos is carcinogenic, i.e.,
cancer-causing. An idol is an object of worship. Christians
are forbidden from worshipping idols. I dle is
everyday/every day an adjective that means motionless. He
Everyday is an adjective that means spent all day idle in bed.
common or normal. The renown artists ingenious/ingenuous
Greenberg and Struhl created sculptures
with everyday objects, such as cardboard Ingenious means smart or clever. The
and plastic bottles. The phrase every day programmer developed an ingenious
functions as an adverb and means that solution to the problem. Ingenuous means
something happens every day. Doctors innocent and unsuspecting. She was so
recommend getting some exercise every ingenuous that she believed the
day. unscrupulous salesman who tried to sell her
pills that would make her smart.
find/found
good/well
To find means to locate or discover. The
past tense is found. I found a dollar on the Good is an adjective. Alice is a good
floor. T
he verb to found means to establish, student. Well is an adverb. Alice studies
especially in the case of an organization, well.
institute, or country. The past tense is
founded. He founded an organization to hanged/hung
raise awareness about HIV.
Always use hung except in the case of
further/farther execution with a rope. We hung the
stockings on the line. The convicts were
Further refers to time or degree. After hanged.
further thought, he chose to surrender.
Farther refers to physical distance. He implicit/complicit
moved the desks farther apart to avoid
Complicit, an adjective, means to be
crowding.
involved in something illegal. The neighbors
forbidding/foreboding were complicit in their attempt to conceal
the burglar from the police. Implicit, an
Foreboding means ominous. The sky was a adjective, means not stated but
foreboding shade of gray. Forbidding means understood. Something is implicit when it is
hostile or dangerous. The trek across the implied but not directly stated.
desert to the nearest latte stand was
forbidding. its/it’s
elicit/illicit Its is the possessive form of it. Its main use

is as a spice grinder. It’s is a contraction
To elicit means to provoke or arouse. The meaning it is. It’s used mainly for grinding
joke elicited laughter from the crowd. Illicit spices.
5
lay/lie much/many
Lay is used when the subject of the Much generally refers to quantities that
sentence acts on a direct object. Julie lays cannot be counted. There was much dirt in
down the book. L ie is used when there is no the old truck. Many refers to quantities that
direct object. Julie lies down for a nap. It can be counted. Dirt has many uses.
gets a bit more complicated than that,
however, so, for more details, consult overdo/overdue
Appendix B at the end of this handout. Overdo is a verb which means to do too
less/fewer much. A little competition is good, but don’t
overdo it. Overdue is an adjective that
Less is used for quantities that cannot be means past the due date or too late. Many
counted. Fewer is used for quantities that feel that the problem has gone on too long
can be counted. In winter, there is less and that change is overdue.
daylight because the sun shines for fewer
hours. peak/peek/pique
om
lightening/lightning A peak is a summit or highest amount. At
the peak of his career, he was world
Lightening means making light. Taking off famous. A peek is a glimpse. He strained to
.c
your backpack would help in lightening your take a peek of the answer sheet. Pique
load. Lightning flashes from the clouds means to stimulate or provoke. Her cryptic
ep
during storms. He was struck by lightning answer piqued my curiosity.
during the storm.
pr
persecute/prosecute
little/few/a little/a few
Little refers to quantities that cannot be

rs
To persecute is to mistreat someone,
usually on the grounds or race, religion, or
to
counted. Few refers to quantities that can political views. In medieval Europe, Jews
be counted. A little and a few have positive were often persecuted. To prosecute is to
en
connotations, whereas little and few have implement legal proceedings against
negative connotations. Unfortunately, he someone for a crime. The suspect was
m
had little (not much) hope. Luckily, he had prosecuted for the crime.
a little (some) hope. Unfortunately, he had
ue
few (not many) prospects. Luckily, he had a perspective/prospective

few (some) prospects. A perspective is a point of view or attitude.
g
lose/loose The novel Crime and Punishment is told

ea
from the perspective of a murderer.

Lose is a verb. He hates to lose games. Prospective is an adjective that means
Loose is an adjective that means not tight. expected or expecting to be something
yl
The water spilled because the cap was particular in the future. Prospective
.iv
loose. employees must submit resumes and

application forms by the deadline.
medium/media
w
predominant/predominate
w
Media is the plural of medium. Oil paint is

the favorite medium of many artists. Art Predominant is an adjective. It is the
w
students learn techniques in a variety of predominant idea among scientists.

media, including pencil, oil paint, and Predominate is a verb. The idea
watercolor. predominates among scientists.
moral/morale principle/principal
If you are trying to make people behave A principle is an idea or concept, especially
properly, you are policing their morals. His a moral precept. I agree with the principle
bad behavior showed that he lacked of nonviolence. A principal is the head of a
morals. I f you are just trying to keep their school. Principal Jones suspended the
spirits up, you are trying to maintain their student. Principal can also be used as an
morale. The captain gave a speech to adjective meaning main. Human error was
improve the morale of his teammates. the principal cause of the accident.
Moral is accented on the first syllable and
morale on the second.
6
prior/previous/before Than is a comparative term. Nathan is a
better teacher than Andy. Then refers to
Prior and previous are interchangeable as chronological sequence. I slept, and then I
adjectives. Prior can also be used in the woke up.
idiomatic expression prior to, which means
before. Before is an adverb. The that/which
previous/prior arrangement existed prior
to/before this arrangement. That is used to provide information that is
necessary to identify a specific item. The
prophesy/prophecy ticket that John bought was nonrefundable.
Which is used to add extra information
Prophecy is a noun that means a prediction about an item already identified. Note that
of future events. The prophecy came true 'which' is generally preceded by a comma,
when Oedipus killed his father and married while 'that' is not. John paid for the ticket,
his mother. Prophesy is a verb that means which cost fifty dollars.
to make prophecies. The seer prophesied
that Oedipus would be ruined. their/they’re
quote/quotation Their is the possessive form of they. Their

eyes were closed in sleep. T hey’re is a
Quote is a verb. He quoted Mark Twain in contraction meaning they are. They’re
his paper. Quotation is a noun. That sleeping. There refers to a place or can act
quotation from Twain’s novel is really as a subject holder. There is a tiger over
clever. there.
real/really timber/timbre
Real is an adjective. Some believe that Timber is wood. You can build a house out
unicorns are real. Really is an adverb. of timber. Timbre is the quality that
Some believe that unicorns really exist. A
distinguishes the sound produced by one
common mistake is to use real as an instrument or voice from others. The alto
adverb, but this is unacceptable. saxophone has a unique timbre.
so/very try to/try and
Avoid using so as a word of emphasis. In Try to introduces an action to be tried. Try
such cases, very is better. Nathan is very to stop me. Try and is correct only if
smart. The one exception is in the pattern followed by an unrelated action. You
so… that. Nathan is so smart that some willingly try and fail.
consider him a genius.
use/usage
stationary/stationery
In general, if either use or usage seems like
Stationary is an adjective referring to a it could work in a sentence the best choice
state of motionlessness. The car was is probably use as this is a more commonly
stationary. Stationery is a noun referring to used word with more meanings. The
paper and envelopes. I went to the author's use of alliteration is effective. The
stationery store to buy some paper. word use can in fact be either a noun or a
secede/succeed/success verb, whereas usage is only a noun. Usage
usually refers to the way something is
Succeed is a verb that can mean to obtain a customarily or commonly used. Comma
desired outcome or to follow in order. usage is difficult to master. Note that in this
Becky succeeded in getting into Columbia case, use would also be acceptable, so in
University. The prince succeeded his father general, use is a safer choice.
and took the throne. The noun form of the
first meaning is success and the noun form undo/undue
of the second meaning is succession. Undo is a verb that means to take
Secede is a verb that means to formally something back. He couldn’t undo the
leave or quit. The noun form is secession. damage. Undue is an adjective that means
In the Civil War, the South seceded from unwarranted or excessive. Undue stress will
the United States. hurt your performance on the test.
than/then undertake/overtake
7
To undertake is to attempt something
challenging or accept a responsibility. Kathy
undertook the challenge of learning Swahili.
To overtake is to pass or surpass. The
Canadian sprinter overtook her Russian
counterpart in the final lap.
valuable/invaluable
Valuable means high in value. Diamonds

are valuable. S
urprisingly, invaluable
means very valuable or essential. The
website ivyleaguementorsprep.com is
invaluable to students who wish to do well
on the SAT and ACT.
who/whom
om
Who is a subject. Who is coming to the
party? Tim saw Cheryl, who was wearing a
red coat. Whom is an object. Whom should
.c
I invite? Tim saw Cheryl, whom he loves
ep
like a sister.
who’s/whose
pr
Who’s is a contraction meaning who is.
Who's the fastest runner on the team?
Whose is the possessive form of who.
rs
to
Whose car is that?
en
m
g ue
ea
yl
.iv
w
w
w
8
Appendix A: Affect vs. Effect
As established previously, in the vast majority of situations, affect is a verb and effect is a
noun. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Although they are far less likely to
come up on the test, they’re good to know because you might encounter them.
Effect as a verb means to bring about. It usually shows up with nouns like change: The
protesters wanted to effect change in the corrupt government. In other words, they wanted to
bring about the effect of change—maybe by getting the government to change its policies or
even step down. If you use affect here, it would mean “to have an effect on change” or “to
impact change.” Protesters who want to “affect change” would be trying to impact existing
changes. That’s nice, but not as powerful as creating change, especially when there’s a corrupt
government on the line.
Affect as a noun means feeling, emotion, or specific emotional response: Understanding more
about the primary innate affects and the plasticity of the brain has important clinical
implications. T
his is a great example of complex psychological jargon you might find in a
psychology clinic or journal. It’s great if you’re studying basic feelings and brain
activity—which is what this sentence is about—but if not, you’re probably safe with the
knowledge that “affects” means “feelings” here.
Affected can also be used as an adjective to mean pretentious, artificial, or designed to

impress. It usually isn’t a compliment, and means that someone is acting stuck-up or trying to
look like they’re more important than they actually are: James spoke with an affected British
accent to appear more sophisticated.
9
Appendix B: Lay vs. Lie
Choosing the correct forms of lay and lie is a big challenge. Without a doubt, they are the two
most difficult irregular verbs. The problem is that when we speak, we frequently misuse them.
As a result, our ears are used to hearing incorrect forms. So when we spot a wrong form while
we are proofreading, it sounds right. How do you use lay and lie correctly? First, you must
know the definition of each verb.
Lay means to put something [or someone] down. Because lay is a transitive verb, a direct
object will come after it. A direct object receives the action of the verb. Read this example:
Before returning to the Monty Python marathon on late night TV, David laid his sleeping son
Jeremy on the bed and covered him with a quilt. David laid whom on the bed? Jeremy.
Lie, on the other hand, means to rest or recline. Lie is an intransitive verb, so no direct object
om
will follow. The center of Nathan's bed always smells bad because Jupiter, his pet hedgehog,
lies there every chance he gets. What is Jupiter doing in the middle of the bed? Lying
.c
Unfortunately, things get even more complicated because the past tense of the verb lie is lay.
ep
Also, there are actually two words lie with different conjugation patterns. English ㅠㅠ Use this
table to keep things clear and simple.
pr
Infinitive Meaning Present Past rs Past Present
participle participle
to
To lay To put lay(s) laid laid laying
en
something
down
m
To lie To rest or lie(s) lay lain lying

ue
recline
To lie To say lie(s) lied lied lying

g
something
ea
untrue
yl
.iv
w
w
w
10

Master List of Commonly Confused Words

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Master List of Commonly Confused Words

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The Master List

accept/except Afflict is a verb meaning to cause pain or

adhere/cohere altogether/all together

To adhere means to stick to. ​The poster Altogether is an adverb meaning

To assure a person of something is to make To censor somebody’s speech or writing is

The verb attain means to achieve, childish/childlike

avoid making a scene.​ Discrete means

corroborate is to confirm. ​The experiment

council/counsel Disinterested means impartial or unbiased.

A good judge should be disinterested.

Tuesday.​ Counsel is advice or guidance; to were uninterested in the lecture.

my teacher gave me counsel. economic/economical

compare to/compare with Economic means related to money or the

economic decline in the late 1990s.

bottled water in bulk rather than one bottle

Etc. is short for etcetera and means and so exhaustive/exhausting/exhaust

elicit/illicit Its is the possessive form of it. ​Its main use

Little refers to quantities that cannot be

few (not many) prospects. Luckily, he had a perspective/prospective

lose/loose The novel Crime and Punishment is told

from the perspective of a murderer.

loose. employees must submit resumes and

Media is the plural of medium. ​Oil paint is

students learn techniques in a variety of predominant idea among scientists​.

quote/quotation Their is the possessive form of they. ​Their

Valuable means high in value. ​Diamonds

Affected can also be used as an adjective to mean pretentious, artificial, or designed to

To lie To rest or lie(s) lay lain lying

To lie To say lie(s) lied lied lying

You might also like

To adhere means to stick to. The poster Altogether is an adverb meaning

avoid making a scene. Discrete means

corroborate is to confirm. The experiment

Tuesday. Counsel is advice or guidance; to were uninterested in the lecture.

elicit/illicit Its is the possessive form of it. Its main use

Media is the plural of medium. Oil paint is

students learn techniques in a variety of predominant idea among scientists.

quote/quotation Their is the possessive form of they. Their

Valuable means high in value. Diamonds