Confusing Words Clarified: Group D; Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, Synonyms, etc. +(lists of "D" sections that are organized into what for some people are confusing groups of words)The day-to-day arena of spoken and written communication has always been a perilous place, fraught with endless possibilities for embarrassing blunders by even the most wary. People may have a fine grasp of grammar, be proficient with spelling and syntax, and still occasionally find themselves in a quandary about which word to use. These days it seems that those of us who want to be precise are having a harder time than ever because there is so much which is working against us. For one thing, there is the constant bombardment of sloppy English that we are subjected to from what we hear and read; and not just what's overheard on the bus or read on the walls of buildings.
We are also subjected to the many errors audible on TV or radio and published in every conceivable kind of printed matter; especially, in blogs and other presentations on some internet sites. These are strong influences, and if we hear and see a word misused often enough, it takes on a certain "correctness". If you have any problems understanding the pronunciation symbols, go to this Pronunciation Chart for clarifications.Once again, we want you to know that efforts have been made to help you grasp the meanings of the following and the other word groups 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. die, dye
die (DIGH)
1. To cease living: "If you leave the fish out of the water too long, it will surely die."
2. A tool for molding or shaping something: "The workers used a die to make the piece to fix the locomotive." 3. One of a pair of dice: "At the store, she rolled a large die and the number five was on top which gave her that number of free-trial days at the fitness studio." dye (DIGH)
To change the color of something: "She decided to dye her hair a dark red."
Make this your motto: "Don't die until you are dead. differentiate, distinguish
differentiate (dif" uh REN shee ayt")
To mark or identify distinguishing qualities or characteristics of something: "How would you differentiate between a rock and a hard place?"
distinguish (di STING gwish)
To perceive or to mark as different; to divide into classes or categories: "She marked each rock in her collection with a white dot to distinguish her rocks from those belonging to others."
diffident, dissident
diffident (DIF i duhnt, DIF i dent")
Hesitant, lacking in self confidence: "His diffident manner suggested he was shy rather than embarrassed."
dissident (DIS i duhnt, DIS i dent)
Not having the same opinion as other individuals or groups:"Her political activities suggested she was a dissident among her peers."
digest, digest
digest, as a noun (DIGH jest)
A collection of condensed information, a summary, or a synopsis; an abstract, a brief, an epitome: "When she was in the hospital, she found reading a digest of novels was easier than reading the entire book."
digest, as a verb (di JEST)
1. To condense a piece of writing by briefly summarizing or abridging its contents: "As a student assistant, her job was to digest the text of the research article into a summary for publication."
2. To change food; especially, in the mouth, stomach, and intestines with special juices and bacteria into a form which can be absorbed by the body: "After dinner, I like to go for a walk because I find that it helps me to digest my meal." digress, regress
digress (digh GRES, di GRES)
To side track or to divert attention from the topic at hand: "Her conversation often seemed to digress from the interests of her visitors."
regress (ri GRES)
To move backward, either physically or in one’s thinking: "When he was ill and in the hospital, his mind seemed to regress, often talking about his childhood."
diminish, minimize
diminish (di MIN ish)
To make less or small; for example, authority or distance: "The small stature of the manager seemed to diminish her authority."
"The trains went quickly across the country, seeming to diminish the size of the territory by their speed." minimize (MIN uh mighz")
To disparage or to reduce to the smallest possible size: "His radical speech attempted to minimize the importance of the celebration."
dine, dyne
dine (DIGHN)
To eat: "After a busy day at work, they liked to relax and dine by candle light."
dyne (DIGHN)
A unit of force that, acting on a mass of one gram, increases its velocity by one centimeter per second along the direction in which it acts: "The dyne is the basic unit of force in the centimeter-gram-second system."
dinghy, dingy
dinghy (DING ee)
A small rowboat or an inflatable rubber life raft: "The tugboat pulled a small dinghy behind it for emergencies."
dingy (DING jee)
1. Darkened with smoke and grime; dirty or discolored: "The tenement housing which the author described was dingy with age."
2. Shabby, drab, or squalid: "They lived in a dingy room to save money so they could immigrate to a better life." dire, dyer
dire (DIGHR)
1. Having or warning of terrible consequences; disastrous: "Even the smallest mistake could have dire consequences."
2. Requiring urgent and immediate action or treatment: "The government is in dire need of reform." dyer (DIGH'r)
A person who uses a soluble substance for staining or coloring materials by soaking in a coloring solution: "She spent the afternoon as a dyer of certain pieces of clothing and then the hair of her mother."
direct, erect
direct (di REKT, digh REKT)
To show or to point out a way to accomplish a task; moving from point to point without changing direction: "The manager's job was to direct the workers as they built the railroads."
"Can you tell me the most direct route to the next town?" erect (i REKT)
To build or to fix something: "Grandfather helped the children erect a model railroad tract."
disapprove, disprove
disapprove (dis" uh PROOV)
To express an unfavorable opinion of; to condemn; to reject: "The expression on the teacher's face suggested that she would disapprove of the essay on pets."
disprove (dis PROOV)
To prove to be false or to be in error; to refute: "Her research set out to disprove the findings on the topic as presented in the last century."
disaster, holocaust, tragedy
disaster (di ZAS tuhr, di SAS tuhr)
A sudden event causing great damage or loss: "The rise in the river caused a disaster in the farm land."
holocaust (HAHL uh kost", HOH luh kost)
Destruction or sacrifice by fire; when capitalized, refers to the destruction of the European Jewish community in the mid-Twentieth Century: "The eruption of the volcano caused a holocaust of the villages below its slopes."
tragedy (TRAJ i dee)
A very bad event that causes great sadness and often involves someone's death: "The flight that crashed into the ocean was a terrible tragedy for many people including people on the aircraft and their family members."
disburse, disperse
disburse (dis BURS)
To pay out: "Our cashier disburses several thousand dollars a day."
disperse (di SPURS)
To scatter: "Napoleon will disburse the mob with his famous 'whiff of grapeshot'."
disclose, divulge
disclose (di SKLOHZ)
To expose or to make known: "She promised that she would not disclose your secret."
divulge (di VULJ)
To reveal or to make known: "The author of mystery novels decided to divulge her real name to her readers."
discomfit, discomfort, disconcert
discomfit (dis KUM fit)
To frustrate the plans or expectation of; to thwart; to make uneasy; to confuse; to disconcert: "She will discomfit her sister when her secret marriage is made known."
discomfort (dis KUHM furt)
Lack of comfort; uneasiness; inconvenience: "I don’t like the discomfort of living in a tent all summer."
disconcert (dis" kuhn SURT)
1. To upset or to frustrate plans, etc.: "The sudden change in the weather will disconcert our plans to hike up the mountain."
2. To upset the composure or self-possession of; to embarrass; to confuse: "The realization that her slip was showing served to disconcert the pianist just as she was going on stage to perform."
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