Confusing Words

Practical / Practicable

Practical means related to practice; practicable means realistic or can be done.

e.g. You must learn all the practical details of the operation of the machine.

e.g. Your plan is not practicable without the funding.

Reverend / Reverent

Reverend: worthy of respect; reverent: showing respect.

equently

e.g. Have you met the Rev. Mr. Johnson?

e.g. He gave a reverent speech on drug addiction.

Overdo / Overdue

Overdo means do too much; overdue means past the deadline date.

e.g. This is good enough; don't overdo it!

e.g. The payment is now overdue. 

Admit / Admit of

Admit means to confess an act; admit of means allow of or leave room for.

e.g. He did not admit taking the key without permission.

e.g. The circumstance admits of no delay.

e.g. His admission of guilt shows his honest personality.

e.g. There is no admittance for error.

Mortal / Morale

Moral as a noun means a standard of behavior or teaching of a story; morale as a noun means a positive state of mind with reference to confidence.

e.g. Not to take advantage of the poor is a moral act (as an adjective).

e.g. The moral of the story is that dishonesty never pays off.

e.g. This victory has increased the morale of the soldiers.

Common / Commonplace

Common: shared or used by many; commonplace: ordinary, not unusual.

e.g. English is a common language used in Europe.

e.g. Nowadays, carrying a gun is commonplace.

Efficient / Proficient

Efficient means capable of producing result; proficient means skilled or knowledgeable.

e.g. The boss likes him because he is hard working and efficient.

e.g. We need a proficient scientist to be in charge of this sophisticated lab.

Material / Maternal

Material means consisting of matter or substance; maternal means like a mother.

e.g. We live in a material world.

e.g. The senior nurse is providing maternal care to all the children in the hospital.

Born / Borne

Born means to be brought into existence; borne means to be carried or tolerated.

e.g. Don't take me for a fool; I wasn't born yesterday!

e.g. The heavy burden of taking care of his family was borne by him for many years.

e.g. All human sorrows can be well borne if you have faith in God.

Prepossessing / Preposterous

Prepossessing means attractive or impressive; preposterous means absurd or contrary to reason.

e.g. She had put on a prepossessing dress to impress the audience.

e.g. You look preposterous in that ridiculous outfit!

Effective Writing Made Simple

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau