Confusing Words Clarified: Group M; Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, Synonyms, etc. +

1. To pay attention to; to follow orders: "Mind your step as the sidewalk is slippery."

"When your teacher tells you to do something, you are expected to mind."

2. That part of the individual which thinks, feels, reasons, and remembers: "He had the greatest mind of the century."
3. A collective or group which reflects public attitudes, etc.: "The public mind is not supportive of building the new bridge."

1. To have placed explosives in a position so as to destroy or disrupt something: "The engineers mined the mountain for iron ore using dynamite."

"The road was mined with explosives making it dangerous to use."
2. To dig for valuable metals or ore: "The men mined for gold in the abandoned mine in the mountain."

An individual who digs for precious metals or other underground resources: "My neighbor is the fourth generation in his family to be a coal miner."

1. Relatively unimportant: "He was a minor poet who has published two books."
2. Someone who has not achieved the age of majority and therefore not yet able to assume civic responsibilities: "She will be a minor until her next birthday which is in three months."
3. Not involving serious risk to one’s life: "Her illness is minor and only requires her to stay in bed for a few days."
4. In music it refers to an interval between the keys on a piano which gives the finished composition a sad or depressed tone, in comparison to major intervals which make the music very happy and joyful: "Listening to the song, which was written in a minor key, she became very thoughtful and sad."

A slow dance characterized by bowing, forward balancing and toe pointing or the music to accompany such a dance: "The composer wrote a new minuet for the dancers to perform for the royal court."

"We listened to the delightful minuet played by the string quartet."

1. A unit of time equal to 60 seconds or one 60th of an hour: "It is one minute before midnight."
2. The written record kept about the proceedings of meetings: "The secretary printed the minutes from this morning’s meeting."

"The secretary read the minutes of the last meeting."

3. Quickly, a short space or passage of time: "I will be with you in a minute."

1. Of little importance, trifling: "There appeared to be a minute flaw in the new paint job on my car."
2. Very complete and precise: "She told him what happened in minute detail."

A printed volume which contains the details of each religious service throughout the year: "My new missal contained many prayers."

1. An object which is thrown with the intention of striking something: "They used a water filled balloon as a missile when they were playing in the park."
2. A rocket which can be projected or fired towards a target: "The missile was launched from the research station."

1. To fail to make contact with someone: "When I telephoned, I was told I just missed the person with whom I wanted to talk."
2. To avoid something: "He just missed being hit by the bicycle in the intersection."
3. To notice or to feel the absence of someone or something: "When she re-read her essay, she realized she had missed several key points."
4. Failure to participate in or to attend something: "He missed several lectures this year due to illness."

1. A fine spray or accumulation of water near the earth which is almost heavy enough to be rain: "There was a fine mist in the valley that obscured our view from the hillside."
2. That which dims or obscures: "Time tends to mist our memories."

1. Prolonged lamentation; sound of grief: "At the news of the king's death, a loud moan rose from the crowd."
2. To make a sound of lamentation or an expression of grief: "The child was heard to moan in sorrow when her favorite pet was injured."

"The wind was heard to moan in the trees on the windy night."

1. The process of cutting down plants; for example, grass with a specifically designed machine."

"The lawn was neatly mown using the new lawn mower."

2. With a violent connotation; such as, to have cut down or eliminated people by using a gun or similar equipment: "The victims were mown down by the gangsters who used a machine gun."

A trench surrounding a fortified location typically filled with water, part of the defense system of a fortified place: "The hero swam the moat in order to reach the castle and rescue the captive princess."

To shed or to cast off a covering of hair, feathers, skin, etc. which is then replaced with new growth in the same place: "The new chicks will molt their fluffy yellow feathers which will then grow darker into adult feathers."

"Snakes molt as they grow, shedding the old skin and growing a larger new skin."

A tiny speck of dust, dirt, etc.: "I like to watch the mote dance in the sunbeam coming through my window."

1. An artistic creation assembled to balance and move in the wind: "The mobile of paper birds moved gently in the breeze outside on the veranda."
2. Characteristic of the mixture of social groups or people: "They were an upwardly mobile couple and soon moved to a new neighbourhood."
3. Changeable, versatile: "His mobile facial features were an asset for his acting career."
4. Capable of being moved or of moving: "She had a mobile telephone in her purse."

That which can be moved or displaced from one location to another: "During our summer vacations, we lived in a movable home which was located on the shores of a nearby lake."

1. Common fashion or style: "She liked to dress in the current mode."

"He always used the latest mode of hip vocabulary when talking with his students."

2. The most frequently occurring value in a set of data: "The mode number in the list the teacher put on the blackboard was three."

To have cut down something; for example, grass: "I mowed the lawn yesterday morning while it was still cool."

1. An important or prominent person: "He was the most important mogul in the manufacturing industry."
2. An individual who is a descendent from several groups of Mongol, Persians, or Turkish who invaded India: "I traced my mogul ancestry when I was visiting in South Asia."

A dog with parents of different breeds: "The yellow mongrel dog wandered into our back yard today."

Soft, loose earth that is especially suitable or plants because it is rich in decaying organic matter: "I bought a bag of mold at the plant nursery for my garden."

1. A distinctive shape or characteristic: "His personality was of the mold of a university academic."
2. An object used to create a certain shape: "I have a baking mold the shape of a tree which I use at Christmas."

To shape or to create a form often by using one's hands: "I will mold the bread dough into a wreath before I bake it."

"The potter used his hands to mold the clay into a beautiful vase."

Any of a variety of fungus growths commonly found on the surfaces of decaying food or in warm, moist places, and usually having a woolly or furry texture: "I saw three different types of mold on the decaying log in our backyard."

"The bread was covered with mold; so, we had to throw it away and get some fresh bread for our dinner."

A small permanently colored spot or raised spot on one's body: "She has a small brown mole on her left cheek."

A spy or an individual who works inside an organization and gives secret information to another organization or country: "This exciting novel is about a mole who worked for the government."

1. An insect eating animal which burrows in the soil: "The mole in my garden makes the lawn lumpy and difficult to mow."
2. A massive, usually stone wall constructed in the sea, used as a breakwater and built to enclose or to protect an anchorage or a harbor: "The local harbor was enclosed by a mole."
3. A machine designed for boring through hard materials such as rock: "The huge mole was brought to the work site when it was time to dig the new tunnel."

A spicy sauce made with chilli and chocolate: "The Mexican restaurant served a delicious mole with the meat dishes."

Very brief, continuing for a short space of time: "I had a momentary lapse of memory this morning and forgot to put on my shoes."

Of significant consequence: "It was a momentous occasion when the former football hero came to visit our school."

An informal expression meaning Mother, often used by young children: "The little child seemed to be lost and was calling for her mommy."

1. A dead body of a person, or animal, prepared for burial in the manner of the ancient Egyptians by treating it with oils and wrapping it in strips of cloth: "This mummy was found in the ancient caves near the river."
2. An informal British term for Mother, used especially by children: "Where's my mummy?"

A dramatic speech or sketch performed by one actor: "She memorized the monologue for her role in the theater production."

A conversation or verbal exchange between two or more people: "The dialogue between the two lead characters in the play was fast paced and witty."