Commonly Confused Words in English, and How to Fix Them!

Though "loose" and "lose" sound similar, they are not pronounced exactly the same, and thus are not homophones. "Loose" is about not being contained or tightly attached, while "Lose" is about not winning or not being able to keep.

The words "desert" and "dessert" may appear to be easily distinguished (sand vs. sweets), but things get more complex when you bring in the two pronunciations of "desert," and the tricky phrases "food desert" and "just deserts..."

People mix up "clothes" and "cloths" all the time, even though they're pronounced differently, and "clothes" means garments like shirts and pants, while "cloths" just refers to pieces of cloth that are usually in a rectangular shape, and not good for anyone to wear.

"Weary" means tired, while "wary" means cautious about possible danger. Quite different meanings and somewhat altered pronunciations from the addition of a single letter!

The word "below" means underneath, while "bellow" is to yell or roar -- very different!

Two literary terms which are frequently confused are "tone" and "mood." How can we tell them apart? See definitions and examples of each.

What's the difference between "former" and "latter," and when should each be used? See examples here.

Learning the difference between topic and theme can help save ELA class grades, since it's a TOPIC that frequently arises on English tests and essays. See more here.

What's the difference between figurative language and literal? Find out here, with examples of each, and explanation of when to use them -- so someone doesn't end up feeding you an entire horse.

The words "imply" (to hint at) and "infer" (to deduce) are useful in everyday life as well as academic discussions. Yes, you can infer that implying that it's worth it to click through and learn their definitions well!

Arc and arch have the closest meanings of any word pairs on this list, but they do have distinct meanings. "Arch" describes an upside-down "U" shape that has both "feet" on the ground. "Arc" is a curved line in the shape of part of a circle, but usually is conceptualized as floating above the ground.

The plural of "hair" is confusing, because when you're referring to the thousands of hairs on a person's head, you say "hair" with no "s," but when you're referring to just a few strands of hair, you say "hairs."

Homophones are words which sound the same but have different meanings. They can be incredibly tricky with editing! Here's my huge homophones list with illustrated lessons on how to use each correctly.

How can you remember which cave spikes go in which direction? Learn the difference between stalactites and stalagmites here!

As a fitness buff, I constantly see the words work out and workout used incorrectly. See some muscular cartoons teach you the difference, here...

One of these words does not exist... Yes that's right: "Every time" is correct, while "Everytime" is just plain wrong. Don't make that mistake!

Is the correct spelling incase or incase or encase? Well, the first one, "incase," is just plain wrong. "In case" is correct if you mean "in the event that." Finally, "encase" is the right one to use if you mean to enclose something. See tricks for how to remember each here.

One of the most confusing words to spell in the English language is "dilemma." Learn a funny mnemonic device for how to remember how to spell it here.

Oh,, the many ways I've misspelled "definitely!" See this article for a trick to remember spelling of that word, given that its synonym is "certain." The drawings here also explain how to spell defiantly -- with an angry ant to illustrate that it means rebelliously!

Don't freak out -- there's a funny memory phrase to keep the letter order of "onomatopoeia" in your brain. It's a little goofy, but does the trick.

The word "separate" is forever misspelled as "seperate." This article explains where that confusion comes from, and gives three tricks for how to remember the correct letter configurations. (Yes, there's a rat involved!)

The word "relevant" is particularly confusing to spell because it's pronounced more like "relavant" (with an "a"), and means "related" -- which also has an "a" after the "l." Click through for a way to remember the letter order.

Three of the most commonly confused sets of homophones are these sneaky ones. Luckily, each has memory shortcuts to edit them correctly and avoid errors.

It's confusing to tell APART the homophones "apart" and "a part" but there's a simple trick to remember, which hinges on the fact that each is written as the opposite of its meaning! See the full story here.

What's the difference between the words "Aww" (sometimes spelled "Aw") and "Awe?" Find out here.