Confusing Words Clarified: Group A; Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, Synonyms, etc. +(lists of "A" sections that are organized into what for some people are confusing groups of words)English can be very confusing; for example, a house burns up as it burns down, a form is being filled in as it is being filled out, and an alarm goes off by going on. How about when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible? As you examine the groups of words in this unit, you will find many examples of confusions; sometimes, just one or two letters in a word can change its meaning completely. There are also times when two different words get confused because their meanings apply to things that are very similar. Efforts have been made to help you grasp the meanings of various words that may be confusing so you can utilize them with greater accuracy in your communication. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome by writing to: E-mail Contact (just click it for an e-mail form) or by typing, words@wordinfo.info, as the address in your e-mail heading. If you have any problems understanding the pronunciation symbols, go to this Pronunciation Chart for clarifications.asinine, ass
asinine (AHS uh nighn")
Stupid, foolish, simpleminded, irrational: "It is certainly asinine to buy a house so close to a river that over flows every year."
ass (AHS)
1. A donkey or similar horse-like animal with long ears and a braying call; male jackass; a burro: "One small ass was hitched to the cart."
2. A fool, an idiot, a nitwit: "Don't be an ass and quit your job before arranging for another one." ask, ax
ask (ASK)
1. The use of words when seeking the answer to (a question); try to find out about by inquiring: "I will ask the librarian where I can find that book."
2. To request; to express a desire for: "I had no choice but to ask him for help in changing the tire." 3. To demand or to expect; such as, a price: "The antique dealer would ask $25.00 for the watch." ax (AKS); sometimes misused for "ask" (ASK)
A mispronunciation of ask used by a large number of people including those who are considered to be educated: "I will ax my friend if she wants to go to the dance with me."
"Didn’t you ax me that yesterday?" This pronunciation still exists in many dialects, but it is no longer considered acceptable in standard English. aspiration, inspiration, perspiration
aspiration (as" puh RAY shuhn)
1. Exalted desire; high ambition; something that a person wants very much to achieve: "Her aspiration for the future is to become a successful business woman."
2. In linguistics, the act of pronouncing the sound of a breath: "The aspiration of the letter "h" as in "a house" is one example of pronouncing aspirated letters." 3. In medicine, removing liquid from a person's body: "She was treated with the aspiration of stomach fluids." 4. Breathing something into the lungs: "He was having problems caused by the aspiration of fluids into his lungs." inspiration (in" spuh RAY shuhn)
1. Stimulation of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity: "Her early childhood experiences provided the inspiration for her first novel."
2. The act of drawing in, especially the inhalation of air into the lungs: "The doctor was trying to help his patient improve her inspiration after years of lung problems." perspiration (pur" spuh RAY shuhn)
The fluid, consisting of water with small amounts of urea and salts, that is excreted through the pores of the skin by the sweat glands: "She wiped the perspiration from her forehead as she anticipated making her speech to a group of teachers."
aspire, expire, inspire
aspire (uh SPIHR)
1. To strive toward an end: "The university students aspire to greater knowledge in their chosen career fields."
2. To want to have or to achieve something; such as, a particular career or level of success: "These young men and women aspire to careers in medicine." expire (ik SPIGHR)
1. To come to an end; to terminate: "Our memberships in the club will expire next month."
2. To breathe one's last breath; to die: "It is medically obvious that this patient will expire sometime today." 3. To exhale; to breathe out: "The doctor wanted to measure the volume of air which the patient could expire." inspire (in SPIGHR)
1. To stimulate others to do something; for example, any creative or artistic work: "Her teaching techniques are done with the idea that they will inspire her students to become scientists."
2. To inhale air or a gas into the lungs: "As a result of the high mountains, we had to inspire oxygen before we could proceed higher." assailant, assassin
assailant (uh SAY luhnt)
Someone who attacks another person; an attacker, an aggressor: "The assailant was later identified by the man he had attacked and beaten."
assassin (uh SAHS sin)
Someone who murders by surprise attack; especially, anyone who carries out a plot to kill a prominent person: "John Wilkes Booth was Abraham Lincoln's assassin."
Assassin came from Arabic hashshashin, "hashish-users", a name of an Islamic order founded about 1090, whose members were said to take hashish before being sent forth to assassinate leading Crusaders. assassinate, assail, assault
assassinate (uh SAS uh nayt")
To murder (a prominent person) with a surprise attack, often for political reasons: "Someone did indeed assassinate President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, in 1963."
assail (uh SAYL)
To attack with or as if with violent blows: "A mugger tried to assail him on the dark street as he was walking home."
assault (uh SALT)
1. A violent physical or verbal attack: "He was heard to verbally assault one of his coworkers."
2. To attack with or as if with violent blows: "She was wanted by the police for assault because she attacked a man with her umbrella." assay, essay
assay (uh SAY, AS ay)
1. The chemical analysis or testing of an alloy or ore; especially, of gold or silver, to determine the ingredients and their proportions: "Specialists will assay the gold they found in the stream to find out how pure it is."
2. Any examination or testing: "The officials will assay the votes to determine the final results of the election." "Take time to assay the information before drawing a conclusion." essay (ES ay, e SAY)
1. A short piece of writing that reveals a person's thoughts or opinions about a subject: "Her assignment was to write a 500-word essay on one of the topics given by the teacher."
2. To try to do, to perform, or to deal with something: "There is no hint as to which of the approaches he will essay that will prove useful for this project." assimilate, simulate
assimilate (uh SIM uh layt")
1. To consume and incorporate (nutrients) into the body after digestion: "What we eat will assimilate into our bodily systems."
2. To learn something so that it is fully understood and can be used: "Children need to assimilate new ideas and there is a lot of information to assimilate in schools." 3. To cause a person or group to become part of a different society, country, etc.: "Schools have been used to assimilate the children of immigrants." simulate (SIM yuh layt")
1. To make a pretense of; to feign: "The woman tried to simulate tears to get our sympathy."
2. To have or to take on the appearance, form, or sound of: "The wall surface was constructed to simulate stone." assistance, assistants
assistance (uh SIS tuhns)
1. Support; cooperation: "The pilot needed the copilot’s assistance in landing the plane."
2. Financial support: "Public assistance is needed to build the orphanage." assistants (uh SIS tuhnts)
Those who help someone, or who support a number of higher ranking people, to complete work assignments: "The new assistants in the office are very hard workers."
assume, presume
assume (uh SOOM)
1. To take for granted, to speculate: "We assume that we will see the speaker at the meeting next week."
2. To take on, become responsible for, take care of: "The new buyer will assume the mortgage on the house." presume (pri ZOOM)
1. Take for granted, believe, deduce: "Dr. Livingston, I presume?"
2. To rely on too much: "She wants to presume on his writing talents to compile her memoirs." These words have related but distinguishable meaningsTo assume is to take for granted, to infer without proof: "Mrs. Blake assumed that her husband had paid the bill." To presume is to believe something to be a fact: to infer as true without actual proof to the contrary. When Stanley came upon another explorer in Africa, he didn't say "Dr. Livingstone, I assume" but "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" This was because circumstances clearly indicated that the man he was meeting could be no one else. In ordinary conversation; however, the words may be used interchangeably. assurance, insurance
assurance (uh SHOOR uhns)
The state of being sure or certain about something; a strong feeling of confidence: "He spoke with quiet assurance about his future plans."
insurance (in SHOOR uhns)
An agreement in which a person makes regular payments to a company and the company promises to pay money if the person is injured or dies; or to pay money equal to the value of something; such as, a house or a car, if it is damaged, lost, or stolen: "After the fire destroyed our home, we used the money from the insurance to buy a new house."
assure, insure
assure (uh SHOOR)
1. To promise, to guarantee: "The witness tried to assure the judge that he was telling the truth."
2. To make sure, make certain, to confirm: "If you want to assure that a job is done properly, you need to do it yourself." insure (in SHOOR)
To obtain insurance for or to cover by insurance; guarantee against loss or risk: "The owner of the new house tried to insure it for $500,000." astrology, astronomy
astrology (uh STRAHL uh jee)
A form of divination based on the theory that the movements of the celestial bodies; such as, the stars, the planets, the sun, and the moon influence human affairs and determine the course of events: "Each day he would check the astrology section in his newspaper to to see what it said about his astrological sign."
astronomy (uh STRAHN uh mee)
The scientific study of heavenly bodies, particularly stars: "She wanted to study astronomy so she could learn more about the science of the universe."
ate, eight
ate (AYT)
Past tense of eat: "They ate their dinner earlier than usual."
eight (AYT)
The cardinal number 8 is equal to 7 + 1: "There were eight people waiting for the bus."
I ate the eight small pieces of chicken that were on my plate. attendance, attendants
attendance (uh TEN duhns)
1. Presence, appearance: "Your attendance at the monthly club meeting is necessary."
2. Number present, audience, crowd: "The attendance at the game was over 75,000." attendants (uh TEN duhnts)
1. Escorts, followers, companions, servants, or associates: "The queen was always surrounded by her attendants."
2. Accompanying, associated, related: "We always dread winter and its attendant hardships."
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