I'm definitely not the best writer in the world. There are scores of writers that write so much better than I do. But there are some mistakes they make that I think I have been able to avoid, and avoiding them is actually easy. They mostly have to do with words that either sound similar, or a word choice that seems reasonable, but is just slightly wrong. I'm not infallible, but this post is a starting point; if I don't do anything else that's useful for my fellow-writers, at least I can die happy that I did this much. I'm not being very exact here; I'm trying to squeeze as many words as possible into this brief post, especially since it isn't alphabetized!
Also, these are only some of the meanings of these words; just enough to make readers understand the difference between the words. Lead, for instance, is both a noun, the metal, and a verb. But it has a couple of other meanings, which would usually not enter into a discussion of lesfic.
Words that sound the same, but mean different things
Flare, flair. To flare is to become wider, like a cone, or a skirt. It's also used when taking a photo of a light, when the image spreads out. In contrast, flair describes a way of doing things, to make something attractive, to have skill in creating beauty.
Peddling, pedalling. Pedalling is powering a bicycle with your feet. (She looked over the wall, and saw Jill pedalling down the street as fast as she could.) Peddling is selling. (Jill wondered what the guy was peddling now.)
Peaking, peeking, peeping. Also piqueing. Peaking means to have reached the very top of your skill. (Jill's speed had peaked; it was downhill from here on.) Peeking is to spy on a scene from in hiding. (Jill peeked on Santa eating the cookies.) Brits and Commonwealth folk---and occasionally someone from the Northeast---use the word peeping instead. To pique is to grab the interest. (Jill's interest was piqued by the colorful book cover.)
Moose, mousse. Moose is a big critter, like Bullwinkle. Mousse is stuff that some people put in their hair, to make it lie flat.
Past, passed. The past is an earlier time. (My grandmother dwells in the past.) Passed is a verb, signifying that you've overtaken something, or succeeded in a test. (The paper was so good, Jill passed the course.)
Queue, cue. A queue is a checkout line, e.g. at a grocery store. A cue is a signal for something to take place. ("That's your cue to leave.")
Pouring, poring. Pouring is to spill a liquid out of a container. To pore is a rare usage; it means to study a book closely, looking for something. (Jill pored through the agreement, looking for problems.) Added later: pore is often used with over. Jill was poring over an article in Wikipedia. Pouring is also used with over; coffee drinkers will know that pour over coffee with a cone filter is considered especially great.
Lead, led. This is tricky. Lead is a soft, gray metal. Stainglass windows have the colored glass separated by lead. To lead a group means to take the guiding position. If someone has been a leader in the past, we say that she has led a group. Led is simply the past tense of the word lead. There is a word called leaded, which has nothing to do with the verb lead. It is the word for glass that contains the metal lead, or paint that contains lead salts, or stainglass windows.
Come, cum. Come is simply to come towards somebody or something. Cum is a relatively uncommon Latin word that means also. (Jill was a housekeeper-cum-nanny.) I pronounce the word cum as "coom", but that may not be a universal thing. Catholics familiar with the Latin liturgy might recognize the phrase cum Sancto Spirito, which means [who,] together with the Holy Spirit ...
Illusive, Elusive. These two words are close in meaning, but the first one should not be used at all. An illusion is something that looks different from what it is. Saying something is illusive means that it isn't what it appears to be. Illusory might be a better choice. In contrast, elusive means something that's hard to pin down, like Zorro.
Pedals, petals. Pedals are the gadgets that you press with your feet, e.g. the accelerator / gas pedal in a car. Petals are the cute little things that are in a flower. These words should not be pronounced the same way, but unfortunately many people do.
Conceded, Conceited. I was stunned when, in a story I was recently reading, the author had confused these two words! Or her voice-to-text app did, which is the more likely possibility; especially if her speech didn't distinguish between those words. Conceited means thinks very highly of him- or herself. Conceded means accepted--maybe somewhat grudgingly--some fact. (Such as having lost an election.)
Discreetly, Discretely. Discreetly is an adverb, meaning to do something quietly, or without causing alarm or offense, or attracting too much attention. Discretely means separately, a word that has more technical usages than colloquial ones.
Leant, lent, Lent. Leant is the same as leaned, the past tense of lean. Lent is the past tense of lend. (Jill, I need back the hammer I lent you.) Lent is also a season of the Christian calendar, lying between Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday.
Gate, gait. A gate is essentially a large door, perhaps in a fence or garden wall. A gait is a manner of walking. Most people have a fixed way of walking; and someone watching from a distance can often recognize a person from their gait, even if their faces can't be seen. Horses have many gaits; a trot, a gallop, are all different gaits.
Rung, wrung. A rung is a step of a ladder; To wring something is to extract moisture from it: you wring out your laundry. Wrung is the past tense. This laundry has been wrung out. I feel wrung out! It is a way of saying that a person feels stressed.
Your, you're. You're is such a frequently used word that, I think, people have trouble thinking of it as a contraction of you are, which is exactly what it is. So many really good writers, making no mistakes at all, unexpectedly screw this one up, and get me all depressed. Your, of course, is a possessive pronoun, like mine, or his, or hers. (This is your sheet. You're welcome!) I would encourage writers to use you're correctly whenever possible; it makes the speaker sound fluent, like a native English speaker, rather than someone who has learned English as a second language.
Role, roll. The word role means a part. 'The role of Deniece is now being played by Leandra Page.' Or, 'Meredith settled uncomfortably into the role of wife and mother.' The word roll--in this instance--means the class list, so when someone takes attendance, it's called roll call. They're going down the roll, calling the names. The reason I'm giving you this extra information about where the word or phrase comes from is to help you understand the word in context. It is better to understand something, rather than merely remember it! (That's my teacher background getting up on its hind legs. Down, boy!)
Balling, bawling. The phrase "bawling her eyes out" simply means crying her eyes out. Balling is a crude way of describing engaging in sex, and clearly has nothing to do with crying.
Here, here; Hear, hear! I don't know where the phrase "hear, hear!" comes from, but it is a cheer, which means something like What he said! It's heard a lot during wedding toasts, and so forth. "Here, here" is just a misspelling, quite understandable when people hear the phrase, but don't see it spelled.
Might, mite. Might means power and strength, as in "The village was up against the might of the Roman legions." Mite simply means a small contribution.
Waled, wail. I'm not sure "waled" is a recognized word. It is usually used by guys, and means punched really hard. Quite unrelated, Wailed means cried.
Jamb, jam. A door jamb, is the part of the doorway to which the hinges would be attached, if there were hinges, of course. Jam is a sweet preparation to eat with bread.
Peace, piece. Well, most people know the difference between these words; peace is the absence of war, strife or disagreement. Piece is a portion of something, a section, a part. When someone says: there, I've said my piece, this is the word they intend.
The next several items are just words with usages that some people get wrong.
Elicit, Illicit. These words are completely unrelated, and so are their meanings, obviously. To elicit a response from someone is to prompt a reaction or reply. Illicit is an adjective, which means illegal.
Social, Sociable. The word social simply means: having to do with society. In some places, it means a party. Sociable is a word used to describe someone who likes to get together with others, and has lots of friends. (Jill is a reclusive girl, but Jack has lots of friends, and is a sociable fellow.)
Bare back, bareback. Bare back refers to someone's back, without a covering. To ride a horse Bareback means to ride a horse without a saddle.
Easygoing, easy going. Easygoing describes someone who is relaxed, and not particular or picky about things. Easy going means some task that doesn't give you problems.
Anymore, Any more. These two are well established distinct but related phrases. "Do you have any more coffee? This coffee is really good!". That sentence just won't work with anymore' instead. "Will you please turn down the music volume? I can't take it anymore!" Here the phrase means, formally, 'from now on.'
If, whether. The word if is a word of logic: if you like horror movies, stay with us! But some people use the word if to indicate uncertaintly: I don't know if you like horror movies! The more conventional word to use is whether. "I don't know whether you like horror movies!"
Everyday, every day. Everyday means ordinary. "Oh dear, I wore everyday clothes; I didn't know it was an occasion!" Every day simply means each day.
Hangout, hang out. Hangout is a place. To hang out is to spend time with someone.
Creep, crept. Crept is the past tense of Creep.
Kneeled, knelt. Knelt, and kneeled are both past tenses of kneel, but they have slightly different usages. Still, I think using them interchangeably is not really unforgiveable!
Sat, seated. I just notice the use of the word sat to mean seated, by British writers. (Jill was seated right across from Jack.) Let's be clear; any wrong usage will eventually be accepted. The grammatical universe is heading in the direction of not caring too much about correct usage. But if clarity and understandability are your goals, it makes sense to tweak your writing a little bit, so that it is not confusing, even if you sacrifice a few colloquialisms that are dear to your heart!
Alright, All right. Alright is an expression that is still growing out of all right. "Man, he walks just like his dad, alright." For that sentence, I think alright is the right word. "I think it'll come out all right in the end." Here, I don't think alright will really work, but sure; go ahead if you think you must. At this time, in 2022, I think using all right in every instance will not upset anyone. Using alright instead would make some people uncomfortable.
Thing, think. These aren't words that are usually confused, except in a particular instance: the phrase "You've got another think coming!" This is a phrase of the 19th or early 20th century; the idea is You thought wrong, so think again. But people of our generation who have heard this saying, but not read it, seem to assume that it is 'you've got another thing coming,' and use it in dialog that way. It does have a lovely sarcastic ring to it!
Site, sight. Site means location. "This was the site of the old town hall." The word website uses this word in that sense. Sight means appearance. That pizza is a sight for sore eyes!
Lax, lacks. Lacks means doesn't have. "This paragraph lacks a lot of necessary punctuation." Lax means too relaxed. "I can see your parents have been lax with your manners."
Champing at the bit. This is an expression that derives from (probably) horse-racing, and is often misquoted as: "chomping at the bit." I don't exactly know how to champ at a bit, but I suspect it is a lot like, well, chomping. The expression "champing at the bit" is a lot older than the word 'chomping', so if you want to sound conventional, you'd use the older expression.
Glimpsed / Glanced. Glimpsed something means you saw something, often through the corner of your eye. Glanced at something means you took a quick look at it. If you noticed in passing that there was someone looking through the window, you glimpsed them. If you took a quick look at the clock, you glanced. They aren't interchangeable words.
This a work in progress is. If I have the energy, I want to order the entries alphabetically, and maybe group things in some way.
Hope this is useful! --Kay
