Confusing Words: Conscience (noun) and Conscious (adjective)
Meaning:
Conscience (a person’s moral sense of right and wrong, viewed as acting as a guide to one’s behaviour.)
Conscious (aware of and responding to one’s surroundings.)
Conscience vs Conscious Clarification: Conscience and conscious are not interchangeable. They have totally different meanings from each other.

Conscience vs Conscious – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

There are thousands of confusing words in English vocabulary that, sometimes, make writers or speakers think twice, when to use which word. Today, I am coming up with two such words that are not actually homophones, but they are so close in terms of their pronunciations that drag them in the confusing category. The case is conscience vs. conscious.

Both of these words have quite similar pronunciations. This is the reason for the confusion between them. It is very important to keep these words apart. Conscience and conscious are not interchangeable. Let us check out their definitions and example sentences one by one.

Conscience

Conscience is used as a noun within a sentence. It is used to refer an inner thought of a person to judge the morality i.e. to have an idea of good and bad behavior. Conscience can be synonymous with moral sense.

1. He had a clear conscience that is why he said, “I did not do anything wrong.”

2. From the end of the War for Independence, the conscience of the newly formed United States was marred by almost constant internal and external warfare. (The Battlefords News-Optimist)

Conscious

Conscious is used as an adjective within a sentence. It means aware of one’s surroundings. Conscious can be synonymous with awake, alert or responsive.

1. Doctors let him be conscious during his major operation.

2. Fernando Torres is now “stable and conscious” after suffering a horrific head injury in a collision with a defender. (Liverpool Echo)

Got the Difference?

Conscience and conscious are two different words in terms of meaning as well as in function. You have to be very careful with word choice as wrong choice can give a bad impression to your writing.

The confusion between conscience and conscious is because of their pronunciations that are quite similar. However, you cannot say that their pronunciations are identical. Conscience is pronounced as /kän-shəns/. If you remove an “n” from this pronunciation then, it will become the pronunciation of conscious i.e. /kän-shəs/.

What Did You Learn?

Conscience and conscious are not interchangeable. They have totally different meanings from each other.

Conscience is a noun, which is used to refer an awareness of morality i.e. idea of good and bad behavior.
Conscious, on the other hand, is an adjective meaning to be aware of one’s surroundings; or more likely to say to be awake or alert.

Confusing Words: Concave (adjective) and Convex (adjective)
Meaning:
Concave (having an outline or surface that curves inwards like the interior of a circle or sphere.)
Convex (having an outline or surface curved like the exterior of a circle or sphere.)
Concave vs Convex Clarification: Concave and convex are used to describe two different surfaces.

Concave vs Convex – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

Concave and convex are a few letters apart. Most importantly, both of these words are used to refer lenses. This is the reason for the confusion between them. I, also, get confused sometimes, whether to choose concave or convex.

These words are used for the two different types of lenses that have different or, good to say, opposite functions from each other. Let us define them one by one.

Concave

Concave is used as an adjective within a sentence. It is used to describe a lens that rounds or curves inward like the inside of a ball.

1. The teacher said, “Can you see the inside surface of the glass? It is concave.”

2. The CV1 is a bold made-to-order street performance wheel that is notable for its muscular concave seven-spoke design and strong chamfered machining details around the spokes. (Tires & Parts News)

Convex

Like concave, convex is also used as an adjective within a sentence. But, unlike concave, convex is used to describe a lens that rounds or curves outward like the outside of any round object or a ball.

1. You can see that the lens is convex from the other side.

2. Last year, in fact, there were reports saying that the iPhone 7 will be accompanied by a convex screen. (Weekly Observer)

Some Examples of Concave and Convex Surfaces

Concave: cosmetic mirrors, telescopes, headlights, spotlights, etc.

Convex: Spoons, side mirrors of cars, sunglasses, etc.

Other Meanings

Both Concave and convex have one more function. These words are also used in the world of mathematics. Both are polygons in which concave has an internal angle greater than 180°. Convex, on the other hand, has angles that are less than or equal to 180°.

What Did You Learn?

Concave and convex are used to describe two different surfaces.

Concave rounds or curves inward.
Convex, on the other hand, rounds or curves outward. Both of these words are used as adjectives within a sentence.

Confusing Words: Colour or Color (noun/verb)
Meaning: the property possessed by an object of producing different sensations on the eye as a result of the way it reflects or emits light.
Color vs Colour Clarification: These are just two different spellings of the same word.

Color vs Colour – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

As I said above that there is no difference between color and colour in terms of function, meaning or definition. You can see that the difference is just in their spellings. The fact is that one spelling is preferred in American English whereas; the other one is preferred in British English.

Let us find out the preference of these words in different regions; but first let me define color or colour.

Color/Colour

Color/colour is used as a noun or a verb within a sentence. As a noun, it is used to refer to the appearance of something in terms of hue, brightness or saturation; it can help anyone to differentiate between various things. It can be synonymous with tone, shade, or hue.

1. I know that you will definitely love the color/colour of your shirt.

2. I will use all of my favorite colors/colours to turn this room into a dreamy land.

As a verb, it means to change the color/colour of something. You can change it by painting, or dyeing.

1. Please, don’t color/colour your hair.

2. I was busy coloring/colouring with kids.

Color or Colour?

Be careful about the intended audience. If you are writing for British audiences, go for the spelling “colour” because colour is the preferred spelling in British English.

On the other hand, choose color for American audiences because they use the spelling “color” preferably.

However, if you are not confirmed which one to choose then, ask your organization which spelling they’d like to use; or you can choose any one of these spellings. But, remember not to use both of these spellings in your writing. Just choose one spelling and stick to it till the end of your writing.

Apart from their spellings, do not get confused in terms of their meaning or usage as, there is not a single difference between them in meaning and function.

American English = Color

British English = Colour

What Did You Learn?

Color and colour are just two different spellings of the same word. Color is preferred in American English whereas; colour is the preferred spelling in British English.

There is no such difference in their meaning and function.

As a noun, it is used to refer to the appearance of something in terms of hue, brightness or saturation. As a verb, it means to change the shade or color/colour of something.

Confusing Words: Site (noun/verb) and Sight (noun/verb)
Meaning:
Site (an area of ground on which a town, building, or monument is constructed.)
Sight (the faculty or power of seeing.)
Site vs Sight Clarification: Different words with similar pronunciation but different meanings and usage

Site vs Sight – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

As I said above that site and sight are a set of homophones. It means that their pronunciation is same but they are different in terms of meaning, function and spelling. Let us define these terms one by one.

Site

Site can be used as a noun or a verb within a sentence. As a noun, it is used to refer a place or an area where something has been occurred or is constructed.

As a verb, it means to place or to locate something on a particular site.

1. I have fixed a meeting with the architect at the construction site. (noun)

2. SPH wants to build the facility in one of the site’s quarry holes – after pumping out the water and discharging it into nearby Llyn Padarn – which worries some campaigners. (BBC News)

3. We have decided to site our new factory near the forest. (verb)

It can also be used as a short form for website, which is used as a noun within a sentence.

1. His site has been blocked because it was creating an issue in verification.

Sight

Sight can be used as a noun or a verb within a sentence. As a noun, it is used to refer the power of seeing or vision; someone or something that can be seen.

As a verb, it means to see or to notice someone or something; or to aim.

1. My sight is getting poor day by day; it makes me frustrated. (noun)

2. I get confused when you are out of my sight. (noun)

3. Finally, we have sighted a green land after many hours of walking. (verb)

Check Out: The Difference Between Amoral and Immoral.

An Important Point

There is one more word that sounds same like sight and site. The word is cite that can be used as a noun or a verb within a sentence. As a verb, it means to quote or to mention something or someone; it also means to compliment.

As a noun, cite is used to refer a citation.

1. My friend’s name was cited three times at the international conference.

2. It is important to cite atleast two famous authors in the project.

3. Constant police calls from two feuding Cedar Rapids businesses prompted police to cite both as public nuisance properties. (KCRG)

What Did You Learn?

Site, sight and cite are three different words with similar pronunciation but different meanings and usage. In simple words, sight is related to the vision or power of seeing; site is a place or an area that is contructed; cite is to quote or to mention something.

Confusing Words: Contiguous (adjective) and Continuous (adjective)
Meaning:
Contiguous (sharing a common border; touching.)
Continuous (forming an unbroken whole; without interruption.)
Contiguous vs Continuous Clarification: The two words have similar spelling but carry completely different meanings. They can not be used interchangeably.

Contiguous vs Continuous – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

Contiguous and continuous are just one-letter apart. Both of these words are totally different from each other in terms of meaning and even in pronunciation. Maybe, it is because of the spelling that makes them confused.

Let us define these terms one by one with examples.

Contiguous

Contiguous is used as an adjective within a sentence. It is used to describe such things that are connected to each other and there is no boundary between them. Contiguous is synonymous with adjoining or adjacent.

1. There are almost 100 contiguous houses in every street of my district.

2. The 2015-16 El Niño Pacific Ocean warming event has faded into history, but the globe still saw its fourth warmest February in the satellite global temperature record, including the warmest February in that time for the contiguous 48 U.S. states, according to Dr. John Christy, director of the Earth System Science Center at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. (News WOKV)

Note: I have seen many people using ‘contiguous with’, which is incorrect to use within sentences. You should use ‘contiguous to’ instead of ‘contiguous with’.

Contiguous to = Correct

Contiguous with = Incorrect

Continuous

Continuous is used as an adjective within a sentence. It is used to describe something that is formed without any interruption. Continuous is synonymous with unbroken, constant, or nonstop.

1. There is a continuous noise coming from the back side of this room.

2. The twins are talented, quality people who have shown continuous improvement in all aspects of their game since joining the Canucks. (Dave Nonis)

Note: Remember one thing that continuous describes such things that are uninterrupted, especially in time, space or events.

Check Out: The Difference Between Continually and Continuously.

What Did You Learn?

Contiguous and continuous are very close in spelling and pronunciation that drag them in the category of confused words. Contiguous describes things that are adjoining or adjacent. Continuous, on the other hand, describes things in time, space or events that are uninterrupted or unbroken.

Quiz

Fill the blanks using contiguous and continuous.

1. Life is a _________ learning process.
2. __________ School zones.
3. __________ noise.
4. This district has three __________ neighbors.

Answers: 1. Continuous, 2. Contiguous, 3. Continuous, and 4. Contiguous.