Writing
Trouble Spots in Word Usage
Ability - present power to do
Capacity - potential power to learn
Accept - to receive
Except - aside from
Access - admittance
Excess - greater amounts
Adapt - to fit, adjust, or make suitable
Adopt - to accept as one’s own
Addicted to - devoted to persistently as a habit or indulgence
Subject to - liable to or conditional upon
Adverse - unfavorable
Averse - having a dislike for
Advice - counsel, warning, recommendation (noun)
Advise - to give counsel, warning, recommendation
Inform - to acquaint, tell, communicate, or impart
Affect - to influence (verb only)
Effect - the result; bring about
Already - by now
All ready - everybody prepared
All-round - general
Round - circular
Around - on all sides
Altogether - entirely, wholly
All together- everybody in one unit
Allusion - a hint or reference
Illusion - false or misleading concept
Delusion - false belief, fixed misconception from self-depiction
Mirage - an optical illusion
Amount - refers to volume or bulk
Number - refers to individual things
Ante - before
Anti – against
Apt - capable, fast-learning
Liable - subject to ill results
Likely – usual
Assume - to take into service, suppose, pretend
Presume - to take for granted, venture, dare
At - for smaller places
In - for larger places
Bad - (as opposed to) good (adj. and adv.)
Badly - (as opposed to) well (adv.)
Balance - a bank balance
Remainder - what is left
Rest - what is left
Beside - by the side of
Besides - in addition to, also
Between - refers to two
Among - refers to three or more
Biannual - twice a year
Biennial - once every two years
Can - (as compared with) could (stresses ability)
May - (as compared with) might (stresses possibility)
Canvas - a coarse cloth
Canvass - to solicit
Capital - seat of government, sum of money, large sized letter, chief, foremost
Capitol - a government building
Cession - a yielding of
Session - meeting of a court or other group
Case - illustrates existence of something
Credible - deserving belief
Instance – an occurrence of something; serve as an example
Coarse - rough, common
Course - a direction, action, way, part of a meal
Common - shared alike by two or more people
Mutual - reciprocal, given and received
Complacent - self-satisfied
Complaisant - pleasing, obliging, affable
Complement - to complete
Compliment - to praise
Conscience - sense of right and wrong
Conscious - aware, awake, sensible
Contemptible - worthy of being despised
Contemptuous - showing scorn
Continual - with interruption
Continuous - without stopping
Council - an assemble
Counsel - legal advice
Consul - foreign representative
Creditable - praiseworthy
Credulous – gullible
Currently - in the present time
Presently - in the future, soon
Damage - loss to property only
Injury - impairment to beauty or utility
Decease – die
Cease – stop something; stop happening
Desist – stop doing something
Depositary - receiver of a deposit, a storehouse
Depository - a place of safekeeping
Deprecate - to disapprove
Depreciate - to decrease in value
Device - contrivance (noun)
Devise - contrive (verb)
Disinterested - impartial
Uninterested – bored
Distinct - clear
Distinctive - different, unique
Emigrate - to move away from, leave
Immigrate - to move into, enter
Migrate - to move, trek
Eminent - prominent
Imminent - impending, threatening
Immanent - inherent, within
Ensure – make something certain
Insure – cover something with insurance
Assure – make someone confident; convince someone
Ethical - moral principles
Religious - dogma or creed
Euphemism - a mild expression for something disagreeable
Euphuism - an affectation of elegance in writing
Evidence - proof
Testimony – affirmation
Explicit - easily understood
Implicit – unquestioning
Extent - measure
Extant - still existing
Famous - favorably known, noted
Notorious - unfavorable known
Farther - refers to a physical distance
Further - more advanced in time, quantity, or degree; to promote
Flaunt - a display with showiness
Flout - to treat with contempt
Foreword - a preface
Forward – advance
Forgo - to relinquish; to let pass
Forego - to go before
Fortuitous – accidental
Fortunate – lucky
Formally - in a formal manner
Formerly – before
Got - (preferred form) Gotten
Ignorant - not informed
Illiterate - uneducated; unlettered
Illicit – unlawful
Elicit - to draw out by some inducement
Imply - hint or suggest
Infer - draw conclusion
Inflammable - not easily set on fire
Flammable - easily set on fire
Ingenious - clever, skillful
Ingenuous - frank, untrusting
Invaluable – priceless, very useful, important
Valuable – useful, held dear, capable of being assigned a value
In regard to - concerning
In regards to - (do not use)
Inter - between
Intra – within
Irrelevant - not bearing upon the case
Irreverent – disrespectful
Its - belonging to it
It’s - contraction for it is
Last - final one
Latest - most recent
Latter - refers to second of two things mentioned
Laudable - worthy of praise
Laudatory - giving praise
Lay, laid - transitive and direct object
Lie, lay, lain – intransitive
Less - refers to amount or bulk
Fewer - refers to individual things
Lessee -a tenant
Lesser - smaller
Lessor - one who gives a lease
Let - permit
Leave - to go away
Like - in the manner of (preposition)
As - in the form of (conjunction)
Loan - to give temporarily (noun)
Lend - to give temporarily (verb)
Linear - refers to lines, measurement
Lineal - refers to lines, usually to line of ancestry or descendants
Loath - reluctant
Loathe - regard with hatred and disgust
Located - found
Situated – placed
Loose - not tight
Lose - to fail to keep or sustain
Majority - more than half
Plurality - more than the next highest
Most - nearly all; greatest
Almost - nearly (always an adverb)
Moral - man’s conception of right and wrong
Morale - mental state
Oral - spoken
Verbal - using words, written or oral (spoken)
Parties - number of persons united for a particular purpose
Persons - a number of individuals
People - a group
Partly - in part
Partially - to some degree
Personal - individual and his private affairs
Personnel - a body of people employed in work or service
Plausible - having the appearance of truth
Feasible - capable of being done
Populace - the common people
Populous - densely settled
Practical - useful in actual practice
Practicable - feasible
Possible - capable of happening
Precede - to go before in time, place, or importance
Proceed - to go on, continue
Principal - leader; main
Principle - rule of conduct
Prodigy – somebody with exceptional talent; something marvelous
Progeny – offspring
Prophecy - what is foretold (noun)
Prophesy - to foretell or predict (verb)
Proved - (preferred form) proven
Provided - on condition that
Providing – supplying
Quiet - silent
Quite - completely, wholly
Raise - lift up
Rise - ascend
Raze - to level to the ground
Real - true, genuine
Really – actually
Remuneration - paying for service rendered
Compensation - whatever makes good any lack or loss
Honorarium - honorary fee paid to a professional as a courtesy
Respectively - relating to each of several things or persons
Respectfully - showing esteem
Rout - total defeat and flight
Route - a way to travel; direct
Savable - capable of being saved
Salvageable - can be saved or rescued from loss
Same - identical
Said - already referred to
Such - of that, or the like, kind
Sanitarium - establishment for care of certain diseases
Sanatorium - usually for mental ailments
Sight - vision
Cite - to summon; to use as an illustration
Site - position or location
Soluble - can be dissolved, loosened; or can be solved or explained, as a problem
Solvable - can be solved or explained
Sometime - once, formerly (adverb - rarely an adjective)
Some time - at a stated time
Sometimes - now and then, occasionally (adverb)
Special (ly) – special (adjective)
Especial (ly) – especially (adverb)
Stationary - fixed
Stationery - writing paper
Statue - sculptured figure
Stature - normal height
Statute - ordinance of law
Suite - group of rooms, furniture, music
Suit - act of seeking favor or justice; clothing
Tenets - laws
Tenants - ones who rent property from another; occupants
Their - belonging to them
There - in that place
They’re - they are
Therefore - on this account
There for - in return for this and that
Toward - (preferred form) towards
Undo - to make null and void
Undue - not due yet
Unquestioned - not questioned
Unquestionable - not to be disputed
Who’s - who is
Whose – possessive
You’re - you are
Your – belonging to the person being spoken to
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Alumni Events Calendar |
|
| Sunday, June 03, 2012 | |
| 4:00 PM | Alumni Family Picnic |
| Friday, June 15, 2012 | |
| 7:30 PM | God of Carnage |
| Saturday, June 16, 2012 | |
| 2:00 PM | God of Carnage |
| 7:30 PM | God of Carnage |