Click here to get your FREE Handbook for ESL Learners.
Confusing Words
In English, there are many words and phrase which look similar, but they are different in meaning:
STUDIO / STUDIOUS
Studio: a place where pictures are taken, or films are made.
e.g. The film was made in a Hollywood studio.
Studious: fond of study; careful and thoughtful.
e.g. To be a good scientist, you must be studious.
MELLOW / MELODIOUS
Mellow: mature; soft and pure; rich and full.
e.g. As he continues to age, he become more mellow and compassionate.
Melodious: tuneful; pleasant to the ear.
e.g. He voice is melodious; he should take up singin
PERISHABLE / PERISHING
Perishable: liable to die quickly.
e.g. Fresh vegetables are perishable; put them in the refrigerator.
Perishing: causing suffering.
e.g. Negative thinking may cause perishing emotions and thoughts.
SEDATIVE / SEDENTARY
Sedative: calming or soothing.
e.g. The doctor gave her some sedative medicine to put her to sleep..
Sedentary: accustomed to sitting; physically inactive.
e.g His sedentary work -- sitting in front of the computer -- took a toll on his health.
e.g. Avoid a sedentary lifestyle even if you are approaching 60..
GENTEEL / GENTLE
Genteel: well-bred, polite; imitating the lifestyle of the rich.
e.g. Your friend is genteel. Is he very rich?
e.g. All along he has been living in genteel poverty. He is not practical.
Gentle: kind, friendly, mild.
e.g. Be gentle to my puppy.
DISPOSABLE / INDISPOSED
Disposable: cant be removed or got rid of.
e.g. This machine is disposable; we can do without it
Indisposed: not feeling well; unwilling to
e.g. You look indisposed. Is there something wrong with you?
e.g. Many people are indisposed to working on weekends.
TERMINABLE / TERMINAL
Terminable: can be ended.
e.g. Your employment is only temporary and terminable at any time.
Terminal: at the end.
e.g. The doctor told him that he had terminal cancer.
DECORATIVE / DECOROUS
Decorative: having an artistic or showy effect.
e.g. The ballroom with all the ribbons and flowers are very decorative.
Decorous: showing good taste.
e.g. The Princess looks decorous in that simple but beautiful dress.
Ingenious / Ingenuous
Ingenious is clever; ingenuous is natural, free from deceit.
e.g. I must say that was an ingenious way to steal the money.
e.g. His response was sincere and ingenuous.
Genteel / Gentle
Genteel: well-bred, polite; imitating the lifestyle of the rich.
e.g. Your friend is genteel. Is he very rich?
e.g. All along he has been living in genteel poverty. He is not practical.
Gentle: being nice and showing care
e.g. Be gentle with the baby.
Bulk / Hulk
Bulk: in large quantities; the greater part of.
e.g. His business was selling wheat in bulk.
e.g. The billionaire gave the bulk of his estate to charity.
Hulk: a big, clumsy person.
e.g. If you do nothing to your obesity, you will soon become a hulk.
Hail / Hale
Hail means to greet or salute; hale means healthy and strong.
e.g. "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee."
e.g. A man is hale when his complexion is rosy.
e.g. This dress is too loose for you (not tight enough).
Some time / Sometime / Sometimes
Some time means a period of time.
Sometime, as an adverb, means approximately; as an adjective, means former or occasional.
Sometimes, as an adverb, means now and then.
e.g. We have been for the train for some time.
e.g. Why don't you visit me sometime?
e.g. She was my sometime girlfriend.
e.g. Sometimes I like her, and sometimes I don't -- that's our relationship.
Lose / Loose
Lose means being unable to find; loose means to set free or to become less tight.
e.g. Here is your ticket to the game; don't lose it.
e.g. Don't lose your temper (become angry).
e.g. You are too loose with your children (you have little or no control over them).
DEPLETE / REPLETE
Deplete means to empty; replete means to be filled with.
e.g. The workload has depleted me of energy and strength.
e.g. Your garage is replete with garden tools.
e.g. Your garage is replete with garden tools.
COMMON / COMMONPLACE
Common means shared or used by many; commonplace means ordinary and not very interesting.
e.g. To be healthy and wealthy is a common New Year’s resolution.
e.g. Running may be a commonplace sport for many.
FRAGILE / FRAIL
Fragile: delicate, easily broken.
e.g. This piece of antique is fragile; please handle it with care.
Frail: weak in health; without strong support.
e.g. Are you OK? You look pale and frail.
e.g. The Senator received frail support from his party.
PERIODIC / PERIODICAL
Periodic: occurring again and again.
e.g. The singer has never really retired with periodic appearance on TV.
Periodical: published at regular intervals.
e.g. This is a periodical magazine -- published once a month.
Stephen Lau
Copyright© 2018
More to Come
In English, there are many words and phrase which look similar, but they are different in meaning:
STUDIO / STUDIOUS
Studio: a place where pictures are taken, or films are made.
e.g. The film was made in a Hollywood studio.
Studious: fond of study; careful and thoughtful.
e.g. To be a good scientist, you must be studious.
MELLOW / MELODIOUS
Mellow: mature; soft and pure; rich and full.
e.g. As he continues to age, he become more mellow and compassionate.
Melodious: tuneful; pleasant to the ear.
e.g. He voice is melodious; he should take up singin
PERISHABLE / PERISHING
Perishable: liable to die quickly.
e.g. Fresh vegetables are perishable; put them in the refrigerator.
Perishing: causing suffering.
e.g. Negative thinking may cause perishing emotions and thoughts.
SEDATIVE / SEDENTARY
Sedative: calming or soothing.
e.g. The doctor gave her some sedative medicine to put her to sleep..
Sedentary: accustomed to sitting; physically inactive.
e.g His sedentary work -- sitting in front of the computer -- took a toll on his health.
e.g. Avoid a sedentary lifestyle even if you are approaching 60..
GENTEEL / GENTLE
Genteel: well-bred, polite; imitating the lifestyle of the rich.
e.g. Your friend is genteel. Is he very rich?
e.g. All along he has been living in genteel poverty. He is not practical.
Gentle: kind, friendly, mild.
e.g. Be gentle to my puppy.
DISPOSABLE / INDISPOSED
Disposable: cant be removed or got rid of.
e.g. This machine is disposable; we can do without it
Indisposed: not feeling well; unwilling to
e.g. You look indisposed. Is there something wrong with you?
e.g. Many people are indisposed to working on weekends.
TERMINABLE / TERMINAL
Terminable: can be ended.
e.g. Your employment is only temporary and terminable at any time.
Terminal: at the end.
e.g. The doctor told him that he had terminal cancer.
DECORATIVE / DECOROUS
Decorative: having an artistic or showy effect.
e.g. The ballroom with all the ribbons and flowers are very decorative.
Decorous: showing good taste.
e.g. The Princess looks decorous in that simple but beautiful dress.
Ingenious / Ingenuous
Ingenious is clever; ingenuous is natural, free from deceit.
e.g. I must say that was an ingenious way to steal the money.
e.g. His response was sincere and ingenuous.
Genteel / Gentle
Genteel: well-bred, polite; imitating the lifestyle of the rich.
e.g. Your friend is genteel. Is he very rich?
e.g. All along he has been living in genteel poverty. He is not practical.
Gentle: being nice and showing care
e.g. Be gentle with the baby.
Bulk / Hulk
Bulk: in large quantities; the greater part of.
e.g. His business was selling wheat in bulk.
e.g. The billionaire gave the bulk of his estate to charity.
Hulk: a big, clumsy person.
e.g. If you do nothing to your obesity, you will soon become a hulk.
Hail / Hale
Hail means to greet or salute; hale means healthy and strong.
e.g. "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee."
e.g. A man is hale when his complexion is rosy.
e.g. This dress is too loose for you (not tight enough).
Some time / Sometime / Sometimes
Some time means a period of time.
Sometime, as an adverb, means approximately; as an adjective, means former or occasional.
Sometimes, as an adverb, means now and then.
e.g. We have been for the train for some time.
e.g. Why don't you visit me sometime?
e.g. She was my sometime girlfriend.
e.g. Sometimes I like her, and sometimes I don't -- that's our relationship.
Lose / Loose
Lose means being unable to find; loose means to set free or to become less tight.
e.g. Here is your ticket to the game; don't lose it.
e.g. Don't lose your temper (become angry).
e.g. You are too loose with your children (you have little or no control over them).
DEPLETE / REPLETE
Deplete means to empty; replete means to be filled with.
e.g. The workload has depleted me of energy and strength.
e.g. Your garage is replete with garden tools.
e.g. Your garage is replete with garden tools.
COMMON / COMMONPLACE
Common means shared or used by many; commonplace means ordinary and not very interesting.
e.g. To be healthy and wealthy is a common New Year’s resolution.
e.g. Running may be a commonplace sport for many.
FRAGILE / FRAIL
Fragile: delicate, easily broken.
e.g. This piece of antique is fragile; please handle it with care.
Frail: weak in health; without strong support.
e.g. Are you OK? You look pale and frail.
e.g. The Senator received frail support from his party.
PERIODIC / PERIODICAL
Periodic: occurring again and again.
e.g. The singer has never really retired with periodic appearance on TV.
Periodical: published at regular intervals.
e.g. This is a periodical magazine -- published once a month.
Stephen Lau
Copyright© 2018
More to Come
