List of Confusing Words

 Expect: regard (something) as likely to happen

Except: not including; other than
Accept: consent to receive or undertake/ believe
or come to recognise as valid or correct
 Rain: the condensed moisture of the atmosphere
falling visibly in separate drops
Reign: hold royal office/ the period of rule of a
monarch
 Hair: any of the fine thread-like strands growing
from the skin of humans, mammals, and some
other animals
Heir: a person legally entitled to the property or
rank of another on that person’s death
Air: the invisible gaseous substance surrounding
the earth, a mixture mainly of oxygen and
nitrogen
 Auricle: a structure resembling an ear or ear lobe.
Oracle: a priest or priestess acting as a medium
through whom advice or prophecy was sought
from the gods in classical antiquity
 Ball: a solid or hollow spherical or egg-shaped
object that is kicked, thrown, or hit in a game
Bawl: shout or call out noisily and unrestrainedly/
weep or cry noisily
 Barren: too poor to produce much or any
vegetation
Baron: a member of the lowest order of the
British nobility

 Crediblevs.Credulous:
Credible: Something that is credible is capable of being
believed. If your friend tells you about this report that eating
cupcakes make you taller, you know that the source is not
credible. ‘Credible’ can apply to both things and people.
Credulous means having or showing too great a readiness to
believe things.
Credulous: Someone who is credulous is too willing to believe
and hence easily tricked or taken advantage of.
 Tortuous vs.Torturous:
Tortuous: Tortuous means ‘full of twists and turns’, as in The
travellers took a tortuous route.
Torturous: Torturous means ‘involving or causing torture’, as
in: They had a torturous five days of fitness training.
 Disinterested vs. Uninterested:
Disinterested: If you’re disinterested, you’re unbiased. A
judge in the courtroom must be unbiased so she can be
disinterested.
Uninterested: But if you’re uninterested, you’re bored. So the
next time you want to tell someone you are bored, let them
know you’re uninterested (and not disinterested)
 Appraise vs. Apprise:
Appraise:To appraise is to estimate the value of something,
for e.g. “the interviewer’s job is to appraise and evaluate.”
Apprise: On the other hand, apprise means to tell or letting
people know about things.
Remember that in companies you have an appraisal meeting
with your manager where she evaluates your performance and
gives you feedback.But if you are late for this meeting, you are
supposed to apprise her of the same.
 Enervate vs. Energise:
Enervate: Enervate means to sap off energy or strength. It is
the opposite of energise.
Energise: So long lectures can enervate you, while a glucose
drink will energise you.
 Fortuitous vs. Fortunate:
Fortunate: Fortunate is lucky, but fortuitous means by chance
or accident.
Fortuitous: Fortuitous is closer to serendipity which also
means by chance.
A news report said, “More fortunate refugees have been taken
in by local families.” However, meeting a friend from school at
the movie theatre is a fortuitous event.
 Invoke vs. Evoke:
Evoke: The word evoke means to bring something forth or to
recall something to the conscious mind. It typically implies
some type of emotion, imagery, or memory. For e.g. The
comic strip will evoke laughter from its audience or This
painting evokes childhood memories.
Invoke: The definition of invoke has a number of meanings,
including to assert (something) as authority, to appeal (to
someone or a higher power) for help, or to conjure up (to
invoke spirits of the past). For e.g. The president invoked
 martial law to stop the protests or He invoked the law to win
the case.
Invoke is more direct and active than evoke in that all of these
examples have an action that is being actively or intentionally
performed.
 Ambiguous vs. Ambivalent:
Ambiguous: Even though the prefix “ambi-” means both,
ambiguous has come to mean unclear or undefined. For e.g.
The election law is written in an ill-defined, ambiguous way.
Ambivalent: If you are ambivalent about something, your
feelings about it are contradictory or mixed: you feel two (or
more) ways about it. For e.g. She’s deeply ambivalent about
the issue and can argue both sides very effectively.
When choosing between ambiguous and ambivalent, consider
whether you are describing something that is unclear or vague:
that’s ambiguous. If it’s a fluctuation in attitude or feeling,
that’s ambivalent.
 Abhorrent: inspiring disgust and loathing; repugnant.
Aberrant: departing from an accepted standard.
Example: The abhorrent-individual was spurned by his fellow
citizens because of his aberrant behaviour.
 Ability: possession of the means or skill to do something.
Capacity: the maximum amount that something can contain.
Example: With her speaking skills, she has the ability to fill the
auditorium to its capacity.
 Adjured: urge or request (someone) solemnly or earnestly to do
something.
Abjure: solemnly renounce (a belief, cause, or claim).
Example: The minister adjured his wayward congregation
to abjure the sins of the flesh.
 Accept: consent to receive or undertake (something offered).
Except: not including; other than.
Example: I would accept your excuse, except for the part
about losing the watch.
 Access: the means or opportunity to approach or enter a place.
Excess: An amount of something that is more than necessary,
permitted, or desirable.
Example: The number of students who wanted access to the
computer labs was in excess of two hundred.
 Adopt: legally take (another's child) and bring it up as one's
own.
Adapt: make (something) suitable for a new use or purpose;
modify.
 Example: The government would often adopt policies that
required people to adapt to a harsh regime.
 Adolescents: an adolescent boy or girl.
Adolescence: the period following the onset of puberty during
which a young person develops from a child into an adult.
Example: The trouble with many adolescents is that they
never seem to grow out of adolescence.
 Advice: guidance or recommendations offered with regard to
prudent future action.
Advise: offer suggestions about the best course of action to
someone.
Example: I need your advice.
Please advise me on this.
 Ambivalent: having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about
something or someone.
Ambiguous: open to more than one interpretation; not having
one obvious meaning.
Example: She was confused, displaying ambivalent feelings
about the ambiguous situation they'd gotten into.
 Amoral: lacking a moral sense; unconcerned with the rightness
or wrongness of something.
Immoral: not conforming to accepted standards of morality.
Example: Sometimes, it seems more shocking to
be amoral than to be immoral.
 Appraise: assess the value or quality of.
Apprise: inform or tell (someone).
Example: After we have the jeweler appraise the diamond, we
will apprise you of its value.
 Assent: the expression of approval or agreement.
Ascent: a climb or walk to the summit of a mountain or hill.
Example: When they got the assent of the weather bureau,
they allowed the enormous balloon to begin its ascent.
 Averse: having a strong dislike of or opposition to something.
Adverse: preventing success or development; harmful;
unfavourable.
Example: I am averse to traveling in such adverse weather
conditions.
 Lot: a large number or amount; a great deal.
Allot: give or apportion (something) to someone.
Example: We need a lot of money. She will allot funds
according to need.
 All ready: completely prepared.
Already: something that has happened before a certain time.
Example: As soon as I put my coat on, I'll be all ready.
 What do you mean you'd rather stay home? I've already got my
coat on.
 Allude: suggest or call attention to indirectly; hint at.
Elude: escape from or avoid (a danger, enemy, or pursuer),
typically in a skilful or cunning way.
Example: She would often allude to her childhood when she
would elude her brothers in a game of hide-and-seek.
 Alternate: every other; every second.
Alternative: (of one or more things) available as another
possibility or choice.
Example: In mock debates, we used alternate sides,
taking alternative positions.
 Alleviate: make (suffering, deficiency, or a problem) less
severe.
Ameliorate: make (something bad or unsatisfactory) better.
Example: Government agencies tried to alleviate the effects of
depression. They attempted to ameliorate the job-seeking
process.
 Amiable: having or displaying a friendly and pleasant manner.
Amicable: characterised by friendliness and absence of discord.
 Amount: a quantity of something, especially the total of a thing
or things in number, size, value, or extent.
Number: an arithmetical value, expressed by a word, symbol, or
figure, representing a particular quantity and used in counting
and making calculations.
Example: The amount of money you make in a year depends on
the number of deals you close.
 Annoyed: slightly angry; irritated.
Aggravated: (of an offense) made more serious by attendant
circumstances.
Example: I am annoyed that my bad back seems to
be aggravated by tension.
 Anticipate: regard as probable; expect or predict.
Expect: regard (something) as likely to happen.
Example: It's difficult to anticipate things that one
doesn't expect.
 Lawyer: a person who practices or studies law
Attorney: a person, typically a lawyer, appointed to act for
another in business or legal matters.
Example: She wanted a good lawyer, so I told her about
my attorney.
 while: a period of time.
awhile: adverb that means "for a while"
Example: I'll be back in a while. Can you wait awhile?
 Anecdote: a short amusing or interesting story about a real
incident or person.
Antidote: a medicine taken or given to counteract a particular
poison.
Example: He told a funny anecdote about mixing up his soda
with the snake-bite antidote.
 Eager: strongly wanting to do or have something.
Anxious: feeling or showing worry, nervousness, or unease
about something with an uncertain outcome.
Example: The eager audience awaited the anxious, sweating
performer.
 Bad: of poor quality or a low standard.
Badly: in an unsatisfactory, inadequate, or unsuccessful way.
Example: She felt bad about his behaving badly at the
conference.
 Bizarre: very strange or unusual.
Bazaar: a market in a Middle Eastern country.
Example: She was afraid of him after seeing
his bizarre behaviour at the county's annual bazaar.
 Besides: in addition to; apart from.
Beside: at the side of; next to.
Example: Besides my unphotogenic aunt and uncle, there were
fourteen other people standing beside the train station.
 Between: at, into, or across the space separating (two objects
or regions).
Among: situated more or less centrally in relation to (several
other things).
Example: He has divided the money between Carlos and his
daughter. He has divided the rest of his property among his
three brothers.
 Backwards: (of a movement) in the direction of one's back.
Backward: directed behind or to the rear.
Example: The economy seemed to slide backward thanks to
the backward government policies.
 Brought: take or go with (someone or something) to a place.
Bought: obtain in exchange for payment.
Example: She brought with her all the Diwali gifts she had
recently bought.
 Break: separate or cause to separate into pieces as a result of a
blow, shock, or strain.
Brake: a device for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle,
typically by applying pressure to the wheels.
Example: He will break the car brake if he keeps pushing on it
like that.
 Breech: the part of a cannon behind the bore.
Breach: an act of breaking or failing to observe a law,
agreement, or code of conduct.
Example: The breech of the gun slammed into his shoulder as
he fired into the breach of the wall.
 Breath: the air taken into or expelled from the lungs.
Breathe: take air into the lungs and then expel it, especially as a
regular physiological process.
Example: Every breath counts, so breathe deeply now.
 Bridal: of or concerning a bride or a newly married couple.
Bridle: the headgear used to control a horse, consisting of
buckled straps to which a bit and reins are attached.
Example: The entire bridal party took a long and pleasant walk
along the bridle path.

 Canvas: a strong, coarse unbleached cloth made from hemp,
flax, or similar yarn, used to make items such as sails and tents
and as a surface for oil painting.
Canvass: solicit votes from (electors or members).
Example: We wore canvas shoes while we tried to canvass the
entire neighbourhood.
 Capitol: a building that houses a government's legislative
branch
Capital: A state's capital is the primary city and usually the seat
of the state government. Capital is also a financial word referring
to the money a person or business has, not including debts.
Example: We went over to the capitol to see the legislators.
The capital of India is New Delhi. The state is running out
of capital.
 Carat: a unit of weight for precious stones and pearls,
equivalent to 200 milligrams.
Carrot: a tapering orange-coloured root eaten as a vegetable.
Example: If a bride wants a diamond that weighs a carat, it will
cost more than a carrot.
 Censured: express severe disapproval of (someone or
something), especially in a formal statement.
Censor: an official who examines books, films, news, etc. that
are about to be published and suppresses any parts that are
considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to
security.
Example: The Board of Education has censured the high-school
principal because he tried to censor the student newspaper.
 Certitude: absolute certainty or conviction that something is the
case.
 Certainty: firm conviction that something is the case.
Example: The Pilgrims acted with certitude on matters of faith;
others required more certainty.
 Childlike: (of an adult) having the good qualities, such as
innocence, associated with a child.
Childish: of, like, or appropriate to a child.
Example: Some people thought he was sweet and childlike in
his innocence, but I always thought he was boorish and childish.
 Choose: pick out (someone or something) as being the best or
most appropriate of two or more alternatives.
Chose: Past tense of choose.
Example: I chose the red balloon. Now you choose a balloon of
another colour.
 Climactic: acting as a culmination or resolution to a series of
events; forming an exciting climax.
Climatic: relating to climate.
Example: The climactic moment of a lightning storm, nature's
most dramatic climatic event is a deafening roll of thunder.
 Clothes: items worn to cover the body.
Cloths: woven or felted fabric made from wool, cotton, or a
similar fibre.
Example: His clothes were made of cloths of many different
colours.
 Coarse: rough or harsh in texture.
Course: route or path which a ship or aircraft follows. It denotes
the way in which something evolves gradually.
Example: In this project, the students have to make something
unique out of coarse material.
The strategy is the best course of action, to reach the desired
end.
 Complimented: politely congratulate or praise (someone) for
something.
Complemented: contribute extra features to (someone or
something) in such a way as to improve or emphasise their
qualities.
Example: She complimented her sister on the way her
scarf complemented her blouse.
 Comprises: consist of; be made up of.
Constituted: be (a part) of a whole.
Example: Connecticut comprises eight counties. The system
is constituted of twelve separate campuses.
 Confident: feeling or showing confidence in oneself or one's
abilities or qualities.
Confidant: a person with whom one shares a secret or private
 matter, trusting them not to repeat it to others.
Example: She was confident that her confidant had given her
good information.
 Confounded: used for emphasis, especially to express anger or
annoyance.
Compounded: makeup (a composite whole); constitute.
Example: Confounded by the instructor's ambiguous
instructions, the students' problems were compounded by a lack
of time to do the exam.
 Denotes: be a sign of; indicate.
Connotes: (of a word) imply or suggest (an idea or feeling) in
addition to the literal or primary meaning.
Example: The word guts denotes one's viscera, one's intestines,
but it also connotes determination, fortitude, persistence, and
courage.
 Dinning: (of a word) imply or suggest (an idea or feeling) in
addition to the literal or primary meaning.
Dining: the activity of eating a meal.
Example: There was a terrible dinning noise coming from
the dining room.
 Dissent: the holding or expression of opinions at variance with
those commonly or officially held.
Decent: conforming with generally accepted standards of
respectable or moral behaviour.
Descent: an act of moving downwards, dropping, or falling.
Example: Since no one offered any dissent, we waited for
a decent interval and then began our descent to the lower floors.
 Conscious: aware of and responding to one's surroundings.
Conscience: a person's moral sense of right and wrong, viewed
as acting as a guide to one's behaviour.
Example: She didn't seem conscious of the fact that her
husband has no conscience.
 Contemptuous: showing contempt; scornful.
Contemptible: deserving contempt; despicable.
Example: Her family grew contemptuous of
her contemptible behaviour.
 Continual: forming a sequence in which the same action or
event is repeated frequently.
Continuous: forming an unbroken whole; without interruption.
Example: These continual changes in our weather seem to be
related to our continuous emissions of carbon monoxide into the
atmosphere.
 Convince: cause (someone) to believe firmly in the truth of
something.
 Persuade: induce (someone) to do something through
reasoning or argument.
Example: My mother will convince him that she is right. She
will persuade him to keep working.
 Counsel: advice, especially that given formally.
Council: an advisory, deliberative, or administrative body of
people formally constituted and meeting regularly.
Example: She decided to seek the counsel of the Dorm Council.
 Credible: able to be believed; convincing.
Creditable: (of performance, effort, or action) deserving public
acknowledgment and praise but not necessarily outstanding or
successful.
Example: It didn't seem credible that such a creditable person
would say such a horrible thing.
 Criterion: a principle or standard by which something may be
judged or decided.
Criteria: plural form of criterion.
Example: At first, there was only one criterion for becoming
Chairperson, but then, suddenly, the Party imposed several
other criteria.
 Paramount means best, Something that is paramount is of chief
concern or supreme in rank. The word is often used in somewhat
redundant phrases such as of paramount importance.
Example: The best interests of the client are paramount.
Tantamount means equivalent. It describes the relationship
between two things rather than the status of a single thing.
Example: Breaking off negotiations at this point is tantamount to
a declaration of war.
 A critic is someone who forms and expresses judgments of the
merits, faults, value, or truth of a matter: “He is his own worst
critic when it comes to analysing his writing.”

Example: He found that there wasn’t enough meat

on the bones for this critic.
A critique is an evaluation by using a review or commentary,
especially one dealing with works of art or literature: “The
critique of the new film in Times of India was very positive.”
Example: He was trained efficiently to evaluate
and critique texts.