Which of these words confuse you?
Assure/Insure/Ensure:
- Assure: To inform or tell positively. (“There, there, everything will turn out all right in the end, I assure you.”)
- Insure: To take out a policy to guarantee from loss or harm. (“Congratulations, your car is now insured against accidents, just sign here.”)
- Ensure: To secure or guarantee. (“Renew now to ensure that you don’t miss an issue!”)
Affect/Effect:
- Affect: To act on, change. (“How will global warming affect our weather?”)
- Effect: The result of a change. (“The effect will be warmer winters, more rain, and harsher storms.”)
Cite/Sight/Site:
- Cite: To quote or identify a source. (“In his report, he cited the New York Times as one of his sources.”)
- Sight: Vision. (“It’s a miracle! These eyedrops helped him regain his sight!”)
- Site: A location. (“Come visit my cool new site on the web.”)
Lose/Loose:
- Lose: To misplace something. (“Darn, I always lose my keys when I’m in a rush.”)
- Loose: Free from restraint. (“Drat, and now the dog is loose, too!”)
(Believe me, there are plenty more where these come from…. Inspired by Laura‘s request.)
Thanks! This is a great list of confusing words!!
Okay, to be honest, none of those confuse me — *now.* I’ve had to work at it, though. Is it just me, or is the sight/site thing relatively recent? I’m thinking the web brought that one around.
God, I think I should just print this up and keep it at my desk. Assure/Ensure…that one kinda confuses me. Affect and Effect, too. Thanks for the lesson!
I see these word misused all the time. Great post!
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“The not unblack dog chased the not unsmall rabbit across the not ungreen field” Orwell – gotta love him
Oh, SpellCheck passed the previous post, but didn’t recognize “Orwell”.