Choose Your Words (Beginning With C, D, E)
Caught between words? Make the right choice.
CCCCCCC
capital/ capitol
Aha! A capital is a stash of money or the government headquarters of a state. Oh, a capitol is a building.
censor/ censure
A censor hides information. A censure is harsh criticism. They’re both judgments and they both stink.
cite/ site/ sight
All are good for research papers: cite is short for citation, site is a place, and sight is what your eyeballs are for. The Web has a lot to answer for, good and bad. One item in the minus column is the increased popularity of site and people throwing these sound-alikes all over the place!
climactic/ climatic
Climactic describes the high point, the most intense part of a movie, play, song, or, well, anything. Climatic refers to the climate, like the climatic changes that turned Santa’s workshop into a sauna for elves.
complement/ compliment
Both are awesome on a first date — complement means to complete something, and a compliment is flattering. If you feel you and your new friend complement each other, maybe it’s because he’s been giving you so many compliments like when he says you look like a supermodel.
compose/ comprise
Compose is to make up a whole, and comprise is to contain parts. Poodles compose the dog class because the class comprises poodles. The parts compose the whole, and the whole comprises the parts. Confused? Everybody else is!
concurrent/ consecutive
Bad guys don’t like these words because they often describe jail terms: concurrent means at the same time, and consecutive means one after the other in a series. Con artists would rather serve concurrent terms and get them over with, instead of consecutive ones.
confident/ confidant(e)
Confident is how you feel on a good hair day, but a confidant is the person you tell when you’re secretly wearing a wig. It's no wonder that these words are so easily confused: they were once both confident.
connotation/ denotation
A connotation is the feeling a word invokes. But take note! A denotation is what the word literally says. If these words were on a trip, connotation would be the baggage, and denotation would be the traveler.
connote/ denote
Don’t let the rhyme fool you — to connote is to imply a meaning or condition, and to denote is to define exactly. Connote is like giving a hint, but to denote is to refer to something outright.
conscious/ conscience
Both words have to do with the mind, but it’s more important to be conscious, or awake, than conscience, or aware of right and wrong. Remain conscious while listening to your friend’s moral dilemma so you can use your conscience to give good advice.
contemptible/ contemptuous
Something contemptible is worthy of scorn, like the contemptible jerk who’s mean to your sister; but contemptuous is full of it, like the contemptuous look you give that guy as he speeds away in his gas guzzler.
continual/ continuous
The words continual and continuous are like twins: they both come from continue, but they get mad if you get them confused. Continual means start and stop, while continuous means never-ending.
correlation/ corollary
A correlation is exactly what it sounds like: a co-relation, or relationship — like the correlation between early birds waking up and the sun rising. But corollary is more like a consequence, like the corollary of the rooster crowing because you smacked it in the beak. Both words love the math lab but can hang with the rest of us, too.
council/ counsel
A council is meeting for discussion or advice, but to counsel is a verb meaning to give advice. They sound exactly the same, but the language council met and decided to counsel you on how to keep them straight.
DDDDDDDD
decent/ descent/ dissent
Decent is all buttoned up. Descent has all the fun because it gets to climb down a mountain. Dissent is what you do when the glee club wants to get matching red outfits but you like purple.
definitely/ definitively
Use definitely and definitively when there's no doubt, but save definitely for emphasis and definitively for the final say. If you definitely want to go to a party, but your mom definitively says no, then you aren't going. Quit asking.
demur/ demure
To demur is to show reluctance or to hesitate, like not quite getting in the car when someone opens the door, but demure isalways an adjective describing a modest, reserved, or shy person, and sounds like the mew of a tiny kitten.
didactic/ pedantic
Both words relate to teaching, but didactic teaches a lesson and pedantic just shows off the facts.
disassemble/ dissemble
Disassemble is to take something apart, like an old car motor, but dissemble is sneaky — it means to hide your true self, like the guy who said he was a mechanic but had never actually seen a motor, much less put one back together.
discomfit/ discomfort
To discomfit is to embarrass someone. Say it with a Southern accent while sipping sweet tea. Discomfort is a noun meaning uncomfortable, like the feeling you get when you realize you put salt instead of sugar in Mama’s tea.
discreet/ discrete
Discreet means on the down low, under the radar, careful, but discrete means individual or detached. They come from the same ultimate source, the Latin discretus, for separated or distinct, but discreet has taken its own advice and quietly gone its separate way.
disillusion/ dissolution
To disillusion someone is to rid her of an illusion, like lifting up the curtain to show that the wizard is just a man. Dissolution, on the other hand, is when everything falls apart. Both are disappointing.
disinterested/ uninterested
If you’re disinterested, you’re unbiased; you’re out of the loop. But if you’re uninterested, you don’t give a hoot; you’re bored. These two words have been duking it out, but the battle may be over for uninterested. Heavyweight disinterested has featherweight uninterested on the ropes.
dual/ duel
Seeing double? Not quite! Dual is two, or double, but a duel is a fight. If you’re getting sick of your fair-weather friend’s dual personality, perhaps you should throw down your glove and challenge him to a duel at high noon.
EEEEEEEEEEE
economic/ economical
Economic is all about how money works, but something economical is a good deal. You might take an economic studiesclass to understand the ebb and flow of cash in the world, but if you buy a used textbook for it, you’re being economical.
elusive/ illusive
An elusive fairy is one you can't catch, but an illusive one was never really there at all. It was just an illusion!
emigrate/ immigrate/ migrate
Going somewhere? Emigrate means to leave one's country to live in another. Immigrate is to come into another country to live permanently. Migrate is to move, like bird in the winter.
eminent/ imminent
No, it's not the name of the latest rapper from Detroit — eminent describes anyone who's famous. But imminent refers to something about to happen, like the next big thing's imminent rise to the top. These two words sound the same to some, but they're unrelated.
eminent/ imminent/ immanent
No, it's not the name of the latest rapper from Detroit, but it could describe one — eminent describes anyone who's famous. Imminent refers to something about to happen. And anything immanent (with an "a" in there) is inherent, like that good attitude you were born with.
empathy/ sympathy
Empathy is heartbreaking — you experience other people’s pain and joy. Sympathy is easier because you just have to feel sorry for someone. Send a sympathy card if someone’s cat died; feel empathy if your cat died, too.
endemic/ epidemic
Endemic and epidemic are both words that diseases love, but something endemic is found in a certain placeand is ongoing, and epidemic describes a disease that’s widespread.
entitle/ title
To entitle means to give someone a rank or right, like if your perfect attendance entitles you to free ice cream at lunch. A title is the name of something, like the title of a song you wrote about ice cream.
entomology/ etymology
Don’t bug out! Entomology is the study of insects, but etymology is the study of words. They sound similar and both end in -logy, which means “the study of,” but don’t mix them up unless you like completely confusing people.
envelop/ envelope
To envelop is to surround something completely. But an envelope is a piece of paper you put your love note in and lick to seal. With enVElop, the accent is on the second syllable, while with ENvelope, the accent is on the first.
envy/ jealousy
It’s no fun to feel envy or jealousy because both make you feel inadequate. Envy is when you want what someone else has, but jealousy is when you’re worried someone’s trying to take what you have. If you want your neighbor’s new convertible, you feel envy. If she takes your husband for a ride, you feel jealousy.
epigram/ epigraph
An epigram is a little poem or clever statement, but an epigraph is a specific kind of epigram: a witty statement that's inscribed somewhere, such as on a building or at the beginning of a chapter or book.
epitaph/ epithet
An epitaph is written on a tombstone. An epithet is a nickname or a description of someone. Halloween graves often combine them: “Here lies Fearsome Frank, who bet that he could rob a bank.
especially/ specially
The words especially and specially, have just a hair's breadth of difference between them. Both can be used to mean "particularly."
exalt/ exult
To exalt, means to glorify or elevate something, but to exult is to rejoice. Exalt your favorite pro-wrestler, Jesus, or your status in the world. Exult when you get the last two tickets to see your favorite band.
exercise/ exorcise
While both words can refer to ways to get rid of something — belly fat, Satan — that's where the similarities end. Exercise is physical activity but to exorcise is to cast out evil.
expedient/ expeditious
Something expedient is helpful to you. If you vote your friend in for student body president just because you know she’ll hook you up — that’s an expedient choice. But expeditious is speedy, like your expeditious exit from the voting booth because you know didn’t do the right thing.
extant/ extent
They sounds similar and both have exes, but extant means “still here,” and extent refers to “the range of something.” People get them mixed up to a certain extent.
.......................................................................
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M-Q Vocabulary
R-Z Vocabulary
Poetry Terms
CCCCCCC
capital/ capitol
Aha! A capital is a stash of money or the government headquarters of a state. Oh, a capitol is a building.
censor/ censure
A censor hides information. A censure is harsh criticism. They’re both judgments and they both stink.
cite/ site/ sight
All are good for research papers: cite is short for citation, site is a place, and sight is what your eyeballs are for. The Web has a lot to answer for, good and bad. One item in the minus column is the increased popularity of site and people throwing these sound-alikes all over the place!
climactic/ climatic
Climactic describes the high point, the most intense part of a movie, play, song, or, well, anything. Climatic refers to the climate, like the climatic changes that turned Santa’s workshop into a sauna for elves.
complement/ compliment
Both are awesome on a first date — complement means to complete something, and a compliment is flattering. If you feel you and your new friend complement each other, maybe it’s because he’s been giving you so many compliments like when he says you look like a supermodel.
compose/ comprise
Compose is to make up a whole, and comprise is to contain parts. Poodles compose the dog class because the class comprises poodles. The parts compose the whole, and the whole comprises the parts. Confused? Everybody else is!
concurrent/ consecutive
Bad guys don’t like these words because they often describe jail terms: concurrent means at the same time, and consecutive means one after the other in a series. Con artists would rather serve concurrent terms and get them over with, instead of consecutive ones.
confident/ confidant(e)
Confident is how you feel on a good hair day, but a confidant is the person you tell when you’re secretly wearing a wig. It's no wonder that these words are so easily confused: they were once both confident.
connotation/ denotation
A connotation is the feeling a word invokes. But take note! A denotation is what the word literally says. If these words were on a trip, connotation would be the baggage, and denotation would be the traveler.
connote/ denote
Don’t let the rhyme fool you — to connote is to imply a meaning or condition, and to denote is to define exactly. Connote is like giving a hint, but to denote is to refer to something outright.
conscious/ conscience
Both words have to do with the mind, but it’s more important to be conscious, or awake, than conscience, or aware of right and wrong. Remain conscious while listening to your friend’s moral dilemma so you can use your conscience to give good advice.
contemptible/ contemptuous
Something contemptible is worthy of scorn, like the contemptible jerk who’s mean to your sister; but contemptuous is full of it, like the contemptuous look you give that guy as he speeds away in his gas guzzler.
continual/ continuous
The words continual and continuous are like twins: they both come from continue, but they get mad if you get them confused. Continual means start and stop, while continuous means never-ending.
correlation/ corollary
A correlation is exactly what it sounds like: a co-relation, or relationship — like the correlation between early birds waking up and the sun rising. But corollary is more like a consequence, like the corollary of the rooster crowing because you smacked it in the beak. Both words love the math lab but can hang with the rest of us, too.
council/ counsel
A council is meeting for discussion or advice, but to counsel is a verb meaning to give advice. They sound exactly the same, but the language council met and decided to counsel you on how to keep them straight.
DDDDDDDD
decent/ descent/ dissent
Decent is all buttoned up. Descent has all the fun because it gets to climb down a mountain. Dissent is what you do when the glee club wants to get matching red outfits but you like purple.
definitely/ definitively
Use definitely and definitively when there's no doubt, but save definitely for emphasis and definitively for the final say. If you definitely want to go to a party, but your mom definitively says no, then you aren't going. Quit asking.
demur/ demure
To demur is to show reluctance or to hesitate, like not quite getting in the car when someone opens the door, but demure isalways an adjective describing a modest, reserved, or shy person, and sounds like the mew of a tiny kitten.
didactic/ pedantic
Both words relate to teaching, but didactic teaches a lesson and pedantic just shows off the facts.
disassemble/ dissemble
Disassemble is to take something apart, like an old car motor, but dissemble is sneaky — it means to hide your true self, like the guy who said he was a mechanic but had never actually seen a motor, much less put one back together.
discomfit/ discomfort
To discomfit is to embarrass someone. Say it with a Southern accent while sipping sweet tea. Discomfort is a noun meaning uncomfortable, like the feeling you get when you realize you put salt instead of sugar in Mama’s tea.
discreet/ discrete
Discreet means on the down low, under the radar, careful, but discrete means individual or detached. They come from the same ultimate source, the Latin discretus, for separated or distinct, but discreet has taken its own advice and quietly gone its separate way.
disillusion/ dissolution
To disillusion someone is to rid her of an illusion, like lifting up the curtain to show that the wizard is just a man. Dissolution, on the other hand, is when everything falls apart. Both are disappointing.
disinterested/ uninterested
If you’re disinterested, you’re unbiased; you’re out of the loop. But if you’re uninterested, you don’t give a hoot; you’re bored. These two words have been duking it out, but the battle may be over for uninterested. Heavyweight disinterested has featherweight uninterested on the ropes.
dual/ duel
Seeing double? Not quite! Dual is two, or double, but a duel is a fight. If you’re getting sick of your fair-weather friend’s dual personality, perhaps you should throw down your glove and challenge him to a duel at high noon.
EEEEEEEEEEE
economic/ economical
Economic is all about how money works, but something economical is a good deal. You might take an economic studiesclass to understand the ebb and flow of cash in the world, but if you buy a used textbook for it, you’re being economical.
elusive/ illusive
An elusive fairy is one you can't catch, but an illusive one was never really there at all. It was just an illusion!
emigrate/ immigrate/ migrate
Going somewhere? Emigrate means to leave one's country to live in another. Immigrate is to come into another country to live permanently. Migrate is to move, like bird in the winter.
eminent/ imminent
No, it's not the name of the latest rapper from Detroit — eminent describes anyone who's famous. But imminent refers to something about to happen, like the next big thing's imminent rise to the top. These two words sound the same to some, but they're unrelated.
eminent/ imminent/ immanent
No, it's not the name of the latest rapper from Detroit, but it could describe one — eminent describes anyone who's famous. Imminent refers to something about to happen. And anything immanent (with an "a" in there) is inherent, like that good attitude you were born with.
empathy/ sympathy
Empathy is heartbreaking — you experience other people’s pain and joy. Sympathy is easier because you just have to feel sorry for someone. Send a sympathy card if someone’s cat died; feel empathy if your cat died, too.
endemic/ epidemic
Endemic and epidemic are both words that diseases love, but something endemic is found in a certain placeand is ongoing, and epidemic describes a disease that’s widespread.
entitle/ title
To entitle means to give someone a rank or right, like if your perfect attendance entitles you to free ice cream at lunch. A title is the name of something, like the title of a song you wrote about ice cream.
entomology/ etymology
Don’t bug out! Entomology is the study of insects, but etymology is the study of words. They sound similar and both end in -logy, which means “the study of,” but don’t mix them up unless you like completely confusing people.
envelop/ envelope
To envelop is to surround something completely. But an envelope is a piece of paper you put your love note in and lick to seal. With enVElop, the accent is on the second syllable, while with ENvelope, the accent is on the first.
envy/ jealousy
It’s no fun to feel envy or jealousy because both make you feel inadequate. Envy is when you want what someone else has, but jealousy is when you’re worried someone’s trying to take what you have. If you want your neighbor’s new convertible, you feel envy. If she takes your husband for a ride, you feel jealousy.
epigram/ epigraph
An epigram is a little poem or clever statement, but an epigraph is a specific kind of epigram: a witty statement that's inscribed somewhere, such as on a building or at the beginning of a chapter or book.
epitaph/ epithet
An epitaph is written on a tombstone. An epithet is a nickname or a description of someone. Halloween graves often combine them: “Here lies Fearsome Frank, who bet that he could rob a bank.
especially/ specially
The words especially and specially, have just a hair's breadth of difference between them. Both can be used to mean "particularly."
exalt/ exult
To exalt, means to glorify or elevate something, but to exult is to rejoice. Exalt your favorite pro-wrestler, Jesus, or your status in the world. Exult when you get the last two tickets to see your favorite band.
exercise/ exorcise
While both words can refer to ways to get rid of something — belly fat, Satan — that's where the similarities end. Exercise is physical activity but to exorcise is to cast out evil.
expedient/ expeditious
Something expedient is helpful to you. If you vote your friend in for student body president just because you know she’ll hook you up — that’s an expedient choice. But expeditious is speedy, like your expeditious exit from the voting booth because you know didn’t do the right thing.
extant/ extent
They sounds similar and both have exes, but extant means “still here,” and extent refers to “the range of something.” People get them mixed up to a certain extent.
.......................................................................
You may also like 😊😊😊😊
Newspaper Vocabulary
Words of '-ism'
Barron's GRE
Fantastic 25 (Words)
A-E Vocabulary
F-L Vocabulary
M-Q Vocabulary
R-Z Vocabulary
Poetry Terms
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