Confusing Words Clarified: Group B; Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, Synonyms, etc. +(lists of "B" sections that are organized into what for some people are confusing groups of words)A classic story tells how Plato had defined man as a featherless two-tooted animal, and his students agreed. The next day, Diogenes pulled the feathers off a cock and took it to Plato. "Here's Plato's man," he said. It was an embarrassing moment for Plato. Thereafter he corrected the definition to "a featherless two-footed animal with flat nails". Ever since Plato's description, man has never ceased to define man, and has constantly sought a more meaningful self-definition. Voltaire altered the Platonic version, in Candide, to "man is a featherless biped with a soul".
Another unknown author created, "Man is the only animal that eats when he is not hungry, and drinks when he is not thirsty." 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.bridal, bridle
bridal (BRIGHD'l)
Referring to a bride or a wedding: "She changed her bridal gown right after the marriage ceremony."
bridle (BRIGHD'l)
The head harness, including bit and reins used to guide or to restrain a horse: "The woman had trouble putting the bridle on her restless horse."
Bridal, a harness for a man. A bridle path is associated with grooms, not brides, and with halters, not altars. brief, short
brief (BREEF)
A concise statement or letter: "The lawyer prepared a brief in preparation for the trial."
short (SHORT)
1. Being of brief duration, abrupt, passing quickly: "There was a short pause in the speech before the Senator continued."
2. Insufficient: "The supplies in the store room were short several boxes." 3. Containing or cooked with a grease based ingredient; “The pie crust was very short, flaky and delicious." bring, take
bring (BRING)
1. To come with something or someone to a place: "I'll bring the money when I come to your house."
2. To move or carry to a place where some action is to occur: "The students were asked to bring the books from the store room to the library to be put on shelves." take (TAYK)
To get something into one’s possession or command: "In a moment of passion, the young man attempted to take the young lady’s hand in his."
brink, drink
brink (BRINGK)
The edge at the top of a steep cliff; usually, used figuratively to refer to a point that is very close to the occurrence of something very bad or very good: "The tree grew on the brink of the cliff."
"He nearly lost everything because of his excessive drinking, but his friends were successful in pulling him back from the brink of disaster." "Medical scientists may be on the brink of finding a cure for this mental disease." drink (DRINGK)
1. To put a liquid in one’s mouth in order to swallow it: "He held the flask to his mouth to take a drink of water."
2. To absorb or to receive avidly: "The students appeared to drink in all that the professor said in class." 3. A beverage, non-alcoholic or alcoholic: "The students went to the cafe for a drink when they finished their examinations." broach, brooch
broach (BROHCH)
1. A pointed tool for making holes: "The carpenter used a broach to make a smooth hole in the piece of wood."
2. To open by making a hole: "He tried to broach a cask of wine." 3. To begin to talk about something: "He wanted to broach a new topic for the discussion." brooch (BROOCH, BRUCH)
An ornamental pin used on one's clothing: "She wore a beautiful brooch with a pearl as part of its structure."
brochure, leaflet, pamphlet
brochure (broh SHOOR)
A small book or publication containing descriptive or advertising information: "The realtor put a brochure about the new house in the mailbox."
leaflet (LEE flit)
1. Botanical, a small, young foliage: "In the spring, the students examined the leaflet on the branch of the tree."
2. A printed publication usually for distribution free of charge, typically one page in length: "The boy’s first job was to distribute the leaflet put out by the grocery store to advertise the store sales." pamphlet (PAM flit)
A printed publication that is unbound or with a soft, paper cover: "The members of the Student Union distributed a pamphlet outlining their concerns to the school administration."
brook, brook
brook (BROOK)
To put up with; to tolerate:: "His parents said they would brook no further discusion."
brook (BROOK)
A small stream, often a shallow or intermittent tributary to a river: "The brook was flowing near our back yard out in the country."
broom, groom
broom (BROOM)
An implement used for sweeping, usually consisting of a bunch of twigs, straw, or bristles bound together and attached to a stick or handle: "He used a broom to sweep off the sidewalk in front of his house."
groom (GROOM)
1. A person who is employed to take care of horses or a stable for horses: "He will be the groom for the horses that will be used in the coming competition."
2. A man who has just married or is about to be married: "The bride and the groom have just completed the necessary vows for marriage." 3. To remove dirt and parasites from the skin, fur, or feathers of by an animal or for another animal: "The cat can groom itself, but sometimes animals will groom others; such as, one monkey has been seen to groom another one by looking for and eating fleas, etc. from the fur." 4. To prepare someone for a particular job or position: "Someone will groom a new person with the right skills to take over as the head of this department." Constable or "officer of the stable", the chief groomIn medieval France, the head groom of a stable was called, in Late Latin, comes stabuli, "officer of the stable". During those times, horses were extremely valuable for their uses in transportation and in war. Being in charge of the horses was an important job; therefore, comes stabuli came to refer to a high officer of a royal or noble household, or to a higher military officer. The present form of constable now refers to any of various public officers of the peace. In England, a policeman is known as a constable. brows, browse
brows (BROUZ)
The superciliary ridge over the eyes, the eyebrows: "The prominent brows on his face accentuated his deep brown eyes."
browse (BROUZ)
1. To inspect leisurely and casually; to read by skimming: "Sitting by the banks of the river, the traveler liked to browse through the books he carried."
2. Animals that feed on vegetation; such as, leaves or young shoots; to nibble: "The sheep would browse on the hillside while the shepherd and his dog watched." brunt, burnt
brunt (BRUNT)
The principle force or stress: "The dam on the river bore the brunt of the flood waters thus protecting the villages in the valley."
burnt (BURNT)
A scrape or injury caused by heat: "When she fell, the little girl burnt her knees by scraping them on the rough carpet."
buccal, buckle
buccal (BUK'l)
The cheek or a reference to the mouth: "The buccal nerve on his right cheek was irritated by the infected tooth."
buckle (BUK'l)
1. A clasp used to fasten the ends of a belt, strap, etc.: "The belt buckle was very fancy, depicting a rider and a horse."
2. A metal ornament for a shoe: "When the king dressed for special occasions, he demanded a gold buckle to be on each of his shoes." 3. As a verb, to fasten: "Be sure to buckle your seat belt when driving in a car." 4. To bend, to bulge, or to wrinkle: "Heat applied to a sheet of plastic will cause it to buckle, distorting its shape." bug, bug
bug (BUHG), noun
1. An insect or similar organism; such as, a centipede or an earwig; usually a small insect: "There's a bug in my soup."
"Please close the door, you're letting the bugs in." 2. A defect in a computer code or with the routine operation of a program: "We found a bug in the word-processing program which makes it impossible to do anything.""He said he would be trying to work the bug, or bugs, out of the program system as soon as he could find the cause of the bug." 3. An electronic listening device; such as, a hidden microphone or wiretap, used to secretly listen to and to record the conversations of a person or people: "The authorities planted a bug in the suspect's room.""The secret service put a bug in the man's apartment in case he tried to contact other suspected terroists." bug (BUHG), verb
1. To bother or to annoy someone: "Please don't bug me about closing the door."
"She told him to bug off and to leave her alone." 2. Putting a hidden microphone in a room in order to secretly hear what people are saying: "The police received the judge's authorization to bug the guy's apartment.""Everyone should be forewarned that certain governments are continually trying to bug their phones, and their computers are constantly being bugged; as well as, other areas of their living and working areas." It's amazing how easy it is for a bug to bug us. buggy, buggy
buggy (BUHG ee)
A light carriage that is usually pulled by one horse: "The last time I heard, tourists can still find a horse and buggy for a short ride in New York City."
buggy (BUHG ee)
1. Full of or having many insects: "It's too buggy out here, let's go inside."
2. A computer program, system, etc. that has many problems or errors that prevent the proper operation of the computer: "This buggy software is driving me crazy because I can't do anything with my computer!" bull, bull, bull
bull (BOOL)
1. An adult male bovine mammal of the ox and cow family: "Among cows in the pasture, there is usually at least one bull."
2. The male of certain other large animals, such as the alligator, elephant, whale, or moose: "The bull elephant is also a protector of the younger elephants." bull (BOOL)
An optimist, especially regarding business conditions, who buys commodities or securities in anticipation of a rise in prices or who tries by speculative purchases to effect such a rise: "Sometimes there is a bull market which for some people may mean an increase in their financial status."
bull (BOOL)
An official document issued by the pope and sealed with a bulla (a round seal affixed to a papal bull): "The bull is an official command or statement written by the Roman Catholic Pope."
bump, thump
bump (BUMP)
To strike against something with force: "The truck hit the large stone with a jolting bump."
thump (THUMP)
To hit or to knock with something heavy: "The guests were frightened when they heard a loud thump in the attic which they had been told was caused by a ghost."
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