• dependant is the noun, dependent the adjective

• To deprecate something is to deplore it; to depreciate it is to belittle it or reduce its value

• To desert is to abandon, and a desert is a dry sandy place; but the sweet course of a meal is dessert

• device is a noun, devise a verb

• A dinghy is a boat; dingy means grimy

• discreet means judicious; discrete means separate

• To douse is to quench; to dowse is to use a divining rod

• A draft is a military party, a money order, or a sketch; as a verb it means to prepare a document, the work of a draftsman

• A draught is a current of air, a drink, a ship’s depth, while a draughtsman
• either draws plans or is one of the pieces in the game of draughts. (But the Americans sensibly use draft for both)

E, F

• etymology is about words, entomology is about insects.
• A faun is a rural deity; a fawn is a young deer, and to fawn is to flatter

• To flaunt something is to display it ostentatiously; to flout a rule is to break it contemptuously

• To forbear is to abstain, but a forebear is an ancestor

• foregoing and foregone mean preceding, complete; but to forgo something is to relinquish it

• fortuitous means accidental, fortunate means lucky

G

• Gallic means French; Gaelic means the Celtic languages or peoples

• A geezer is an old man, but a geyser is a hot spring or a bathroom water heater

• To gibe or jibe is to jeer; to gybe is what a sail does

• A gourmet is a connoisseur of food, but a gourmand is just greedy

• grisly means horrible; a grizzly is a bear

• A groin is a kind of arch, or an anatomical part; a groyne is a breakwater.

CONFUSABLES Words with slight variation in spelling but sounding similar and having different meanings.

· advice is the noun; advise the verb,

· affect and effect can both be verbs. To affect is to have an influence on: affected his health. To

· effect is to bring about: effect changes. There is a noun effect meaning result or (in the plural)

· property, but no noun affect except in the technical language of psychology.

· alternate means every other, happening in turns: on alternate days; in American use it sometimes

· replaces alternative, which chiefly means available instead of another or others: an alternative

· route.

· To amend something is to improve it, to emend (a text) is to remove errors from it

· annex is the verb, annexe the noun

· To appraise is to estimate the value of: appraised her skills. To apprise is to inform: apprised him of

· the facts.

· An auger is a sort of large corkscrew; to augur is to portend a particular outcome.

· autarchy is despotism; autarky is economic self-sufficiency.

· One bails out a prisoner, and bails water out of a boat. One bales hay, and bales out of an-aircraft

· bait is for fish, or is rat poison; but bated breath

· balmy means fragrant, barmy means crazy.

· bass and base both mean low, but bass is for music and base is inferior or ignoble

· A beret is a hat; a berry is a fruit

· A berth is for sleeping in; birth is being born.

· beside is by the side of, or compared with; besides is as well as, or other than.

· A bloc is a combination of parties, governments, or groups. Use block for all other meanings-

· A boar is a male pig; a bore is a dull person or thing, or a tidal wave. The verb is bore.

· bogey is a golf score, bogey or bogy is a goblin, a bogie is a wheeled truck.

· A child is born; borne means carried, or given birth to: she has borne two sons.

· A breach is a gap or a breaking, but breech for a gun or for breech birth.

· A bridle is for horses; bridal concerns brides and weddings.

· by is the adverb or preposition; bye is a term in cricket or golf, or is short for goodbye.

· A caddie caries golf clubs; a caddy is a container of tea.

· A calendar is for dates, but a calender is a mangle.

· A cannon is a gun or a stroke in billiards; a canon is a clergyman, a law, or a term in music.

· canvas is cloth, but to canvass votes.

· carousal is noisy celebration; a carousel is at an airport of luggage, or else it is a merry-go-round

· A censer contains incense; a censor examines books, films, etc. beofe public release; to censure is

· to disapprove.

· chord is for music, mathematics, and engineering; cord is any kind of string, including such

· anatomical ‘strings’ as the spinal cord and vocal cords.

· complaisant means politely acquiescent; complacent is self-satisfied

· A complement makes something complete; to compliment is to praise

· A confidante is someone in whom you confide; confident means bold and trusting.

· A corps is a body of people, especially troops; a corpse is a dead body.

· A council is an assembly, whose members are councilors; counsel is advice, and a counselor is either an adviser or a senior diplomat.

· crape is a black fabric; crepe is either a thin fabric, a kind of rubber, or a pancake.

· A crevasse is a hole in ice; a crevice is any small fissure.

· crochet is rather like knitting; a crotchet is a musical note

· A curb is a restraint, and to curb is to restrain; the edge of a pavement is a curb or a kerb.

· A cygnet is a young swan, but a signet is a seal, often set in a ring.

· Cyprus is an island, but a cypress is a tree.

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