Commonly Confused and Overused Words

Commonly Confused Words

There's nothing worse than a sloppy web article written by some buffoon who doesn't know the difference between there, their, and they're.  If you've ever been on the internet, you've seen this kind of tragedy, and you probably have a handful of friends that lament this sad state of affairs on social media (perhaps even some of them falling prey to the very errors they bemoan!).

Truth is, words are a complicated business, and there's a lot of overlap between them, whether it's meaning, spelling, or pronunciation.  Even the smartest of us (by which I mean me) have occasionally confused words, or even used them wrong our whole lives.

Thankfully, the internet is replete with articles like this one and this one that aim to cure us of this wickedness. Collected here are some words that have tripped up yours truly in the past.  It's not a complete list--just the list I keep on a cork board right above my computer.

it'sit is
itspossessive
who'swho is
whosepossessive
let'slet us
letspresent tense verb
adverseharmful
aversedislike
affectverb: influence
noun: emotional state
effectverb: accomplish
noun: result
complimentnoun, kind words
complementverb, add to, improve
criterionsingular
criteriaplural
discreetcareful
discretedistinct
fartherphysical distance
furtherfigurative distance
numbercountable
amountuncountable
principleconcept
principalprimary
a lotmuch, many
allotto divide or distribute
capitalcity
money
LETTERS
principal
death penalty
capitolgov't building
councilgroup
counseladvice
immanentinherent
imminentforthcoming
lieI lie down
laylay the gun down
stationarystill
stationerypaper
appraiseassess
appriseinform
bornstarted life
bornecarried
complacentsatisfied
complaisanteager to please
defusereduce tension
diffusespread
draughtcurrent of air
draftversion
floundermove clumsily
founderfail
forbearrefrain
forebearancestor
forewordbook intro
forwardahead
hoardstore
hordecrowd
loathreluctant
loathehate
poretiny hole
study closely
pourflow
amuseentertain
bemusebewilder
lusterreflecting light
luminescencegenerating light
emigrateleave one's country
immigratearrive in a new country
migratemove from one place to another
antidotecure
anecdotestory
heartyfilling, or warm & sincere
hardytough, durable
tragedycause of sadness
travestybad, offensive imitation

Overused Words


Another habit that plagues writers and irritates editors is the overuse of mundane words.  Many writers have a tendency to use "filler" words when the write, because it mirrors the way people speak.  But introductory phrases like "Well," and go-to words like "awesome" have little or no place in fiction.  Here is a list of words that you should always try to write around, if you can do so without conspicuous linguistic acrobatics.

  • A lot
  • About
  • Absolutely
  • Actually
  • All
  • Almost
  • Also
  • Always
  • Awesome
  • Awfully
  • Bad
  • Beautiful
  • Begin/Began/Begun
  • Big
  • Every
  • Feel/Feels
  • Get
  • Good
  • Got
  • Great
  • Happy
  • Have got
  • Have to
  • Important
  • Interesting
  • Just
  • Like
  • Literally
  • Look
  • Many
  • Maybe
  • Most
  • Never
  • Nice
  • Often
  • Perhaps
  • Pretty
  • Put
  • Quite
  • Really
  • Seem
  • Small
  • So
  • Some
  • Something
  • Started
  • Stuff
  • Suddenly
  • That
  • Than
  • Then
  • Things
  • Think
  • Though
  • Tiny
  • Used to
  • Very
  • Was/is/are/am
  • Well
  • Went
  • Wondered  

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