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.auger, augur
auger (AW gur)
A tool for boring holes into wood, leather, etc.: "He used an auger to make holes in the shoes for the shoelaces."
augur (AW gur)
1. Verb: To foretell, predict, forewarn: "Dark clouds augur the coming of the thunderstorm."
2. Noun: A prophet, a prognosticator, an oracle: "A ancient Roman augur told Julius Caesar to 'Beware the Ides of March'." 3. A priest who was a member of the College of Augurs that numbered twelve, six patricians, and six plebeians: "Marc Anthony distinguished himself as a member of the College of Augurs." aught, naught, ought
aught (AWT)
1. Anything; any part or item; by any chance; in any respect (considered to be literary and old-fashioned): "For aught I know, he could have left an hour ago."
2. The figure "0"; a cipher of zero: "He had aught, or naught, available to pay for the bread." naught (NAWT)
1. Nothing, nonexistent, insignificant; zero, a cipher; worthless, useless: "All of our work was for naught."
2. Zero (usually a naught): "All of their efforts to complete the project on time was for naught." Naught: Something that is nothing.
ought (AWT)
1. Used to indicate what is expected: "They ought to be here by now and you ought to be able to read this book until they arrive."
2. Used to say or to suggest what should be done: "You ought to get some rest now and then after that you ought to do your homework." aural, oral
aural (OR uhl)
Related to the ear or the sense of hearing: "Hearing aids overcome some aural deficiencies."
oral (OR uhl)
1. Something uttered by the mouth or in words; spoken, vocal, using speech: "Each student had to stand up and give an oral report in front of the class."
2. Treating the mouth, of the mouth; swallowed, taken into the body through the mouth: "An oral surgeon removed the impacted wisdom tooth." "The dog obeys both oral commands and hand gestures." aureole, oriole
aureole (OR ree ohl")
1. A circle of light or radiance surrounding the head or body of a representation of a deity or holy person; a halo: "The picture of the saint in the stained glass has a beautiful aureole surrounding the head."
2. The outermost region of the sun's atmosphere; visible as a white halo during a solar eclipse: "By using the special telescope, the students were able to see the aureole of the sun during the eclipse." oriole (OR ree ohl")
1. Mostly a tropical songbird; the male is usually bright orange and black: "During her travels up the jungle river, she saw a beautiful oriole flitting through the trees."
2. An American songbird; the male is black and orange or yellow: "The American baseball team, the Baltimore Orioles, was named after the colorful bird, the oriole." auricle, oracle
auricle (OR i kuhl)
1. An ear or ear-shaped appendage or part; pinna:: "Many animals, including humans, have a dual auricle for hearing."
2. An ear-shaped muscular part that sticks out from the surface of each upper chamber atrium of the heart: "Cardiologists are quite aware of each auricle of the heart." oracle (OR i kuhl)
A person; such as, a priestess, through whom a god was believed to speak: "Some people from the past would go to a shrine so they could consult an oracle."
2. Someone who has a great deal of knowledge about something and whose opinions and advice are highly valued: "I knew him long before he became the oracle of linguistics." The auricle should not to be confused with oracle because neither the ear shape nor the upper chamber of the heart possess oracular powers. automation, automaton
automation (aw" tuh MAY shuhn)
1. The technique, method, or system of operating or controlling a process with electronic devices, reducing human intervention to a minimum: "The door uses a system of automation so you don't have to push it open."
2. The self-moving transfer of one unit of a complex industrial assembly to a succession of machines, each of which completes another stage in a manufacturing process: "Modern automobile companies are using more automation procedures than were used decades ago." automaton (aw TOM uh tuhn)
1. Anything capable of spontaneous movement or action: "They had an incredible automaton, or robot, that was vacuuming the rugs in the living room."
2. A person who acts in a mechanical or machinelike way: "He was behaving like an unfeeling automaton." avenge, revenge, vengeance
avenge (uh VENJ)
A person who exacts punishment is usually a third party acting on behalf of someone in the sense of achieving justice; to repay: "Sam wants to avenge and to punish the person who caused his mother's injuries."
"Bill planned to avenge his brother's death by burning the murderer's house down." revenge (ri VENJ)
Revenge usually stresses reprisal for the person wronged or offended; to pay back: "He still plans to revenge the injury done to him by getting even."
"They humiliated me, but I will get my revenge." vengeance (VEN juhns)
An act of punishment in retaliation for an injury or offense: "He sought vengeance for the murder of his sister."
aver, avert, divert, evert
aver (uh VUR)
To affirm positively; to declare, to proclaim: "Yes, the witness did aver that he had seen the suspect at the scene of the crime."
avert (uh VURT)
1. To turn aside, to turn away: "She had to avert her head so we could not see her face."
2. To prevent, to turn away: "The quick arrival of fire-fighters would avert a major forest fire." divert (di VURT)
1. To turn aside from a course or direction: "Traffic had to divert around the scene of the accident."
2. To distract; to turn from serious thoughts: "Divert her attention by pointing up to the sky." 3. To entertain by distracting attention of someone from worrisome thoughts or concerns; to amuse or to entertain: "The teacher's funny stories helped to divert the children in the class from being so noisy." evert (i VURT)
To turn outward or inside out, as any saclike object: "The doctor had to evert her eyelid so he could remove the irritating grain of sand."
avocation, vocation
avocation (av" oh KAY shuhn)
An activity taken up in addition to one's regular work or profession, usually for enjoyment; a hobby: "Her favorite avocation is reading."
vocation (voh KAY shuhn)
A regular occupation, especially one for which a person is particularly suited or qualified: "I'm a carpenter by vocation, but my avocation is painting."
avoid, devoid
avoid (uh VOID)
1. To keep something from happening: "He tried very hard to avoid falling down on the icy sidewalk."
2. To stay clear of or away from someone or something: "He took a detour onto another street to avoid the heavy traffic." 3. To keep from doing something or participating in something: "I promise I won't be late; that is, if I can avoid it." devoid (di VOID)
Completely lacking; destitute or empty: "The landscape in this area seems to be devoid of any life."
award, reward
award (uh WARD)
1. Something that is bestowed or granted, as for merit: "They award a scholarship to the student with the highest grades."
2. A decision, such as one made by a judge or an arbitrator: "The judge will award $500 to the plaintiff." reward (ri WARD)
1. Something given or received in recompense for worthy behavior; a token of appreciation: "A large reward was offered for the return of the necklace." 2. Retribution for evil acts; receiving what someone deserves: "Eventually all evildoers get their just reward." 3. Money offered or given for the capture of a criminal: "The man received a monetary reward for providing information that lead to the apprehension of the bank robber." away, aweigh
away (uh WAY)
1. From a particular thing or place: "We ran away from the lion."
"They sent the children away to boarding school." 2. At or to a distance in space or time: "They lived a block away from the park."3. At or by a considerable interval: "The scientist lived away back in the 17th century." aweigh (uh WAY)
A reference to an anchor; just clear of the bottom of a body of water: "The ship raised its anchor aweigh."
"The position of an anchor as it is raised clear of the bottom is referred to as being aweigh." awful, offal
awful (AW fuhl)
1. Dreadful, bad, terrible: "What awful weather!"
"He was guilty of the awful crime of murder." 2. Awe-inspiring, awesome, wondrous: "The astronauts know the awful expanse of the solar system."offal (AWF’l)
The waste parts of butchered animals, carrion, carcass; such as, entrails: "The hunters took the meat and left the offal for the buzzards."
The word offal is actually the waste parts that “fall off” a butchered animal. The word comes from "off" + "fall". English borrowed the word from Middle Dutch afval, a compound formed from af, "off" and vallen, "fall" which referred to both the "extremities of animals cut off by the butcher; such as, feet, tail, etc." and "shavings, peelings", or "general refuse". By the 15th century, offal had the meaning of "animals' entrails". Garbage is an offal waste. awhile, a while
awhile (uh HWIGHL, uh WIGHL)
For a short time; an adverb which is never preceded by a preposition such as for: "Let us wait awhile; not for awhile."
"I'm going to sit and rest awhile." "This cold weather has been around awhile." a while (uh HWIGHL, uh WIGHL)
A noun meaning "a period of time". This form may be preceded by a preposition: "Stay for a while or stay a while."
"I'm going to be away for a while." "We had to wait quite a while." "We had to wait for a while before our meals were served." His mother asked him to stay awhile, just a little while longer. axes, axis
axes (AHK sis)
1. Tools that have heavy metal blades and long handles that are used for chopping wood, etc.: "The men used the axes to clear the trees blocking the highway after the storm."
2. Cutting or removing something: "The program director thought the only solution was a series of axes of television programs from the new seasonal schedule." axis (AHK sis)
1. The imaginary straight line that something; such as, the earth, turns around: "The Earth's axis of rotation or the spin of the earth on its axis."
2. A straight line that divides a shape evenly into two parts: "An axis is a central line around which the parts of an object are symmetrically or evenly arranged." 3. An affiliation of two or more nations to promote and ensure mutual interest, cooperation, and solidarity in their relations with foreign powers: "The axis, or alliance, of Germany and Italy in 1936, later including Japan and other nations, that opposed the Allies in World War II."
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