Confusing Words in English

Confusing Words: Acclimation (verb) and Acclamation (verb)
Meaning:
Acclimation (the process or result of becoming accustomed to a new climate or to new conditions.)
Acclamation (loud and enthusiastic approval.)
Acclimation vs Acclamation Clarification: Acclimation and acclamation are two different words that cannot be interchangeable.

Acclimation vs Acclamation – What is the Difference, Definition & Meanings?

Languages can be difficult to understand. It is very important for writers to have a very clear set of vocabulary. In English language, there are several words that sound same but have different meanings. Such words are called homophones.

Homophones make a writer or a speaker confused just because of some minor differences. I will discuss two such words that have a very minor difference but it is very important to memorize the meanings and usage of these words. The words are acclimation vs. acclamation.

In acclimation and acclamation, there is just one-letter difference. These words are homophones because they have similar pronunciation but completely different meanings.

May be, it would be difficult for you to differentiate between these two words just because of this one-letter difference.
I will further discuss their meanings and tell you their usage within sentences.

Check Out: The Difference Between Except and Accept.

Definition and Examples of Acclimation and Acclamation

Acclimation

It is the process of being acclimated or accustomed to a different or new environment. Remember that acclimation is related to climate.

Read the examples below to get rid of confusion.
1. When climate changes, birds acclimate from one place to another for survival.
2. My acclimation to my new school was just because of my new friend Laura. Reference –(explainry.com)
3. Are you going through acclimation in your new home?

Acclamation

It is an approval or applause and it is given enthusiastically by someone. Acclamation is, no doubt, related to feelings and emotions. For instance, you say ‘cheers’. It means that you are enthusiastically approving something.

1. The winning team got a shout of acclamation.
2. An honored acclamation was given by my team when I published my first article.
3. The book met with modest acclamation.

The greatest confusion was a minor letter that is different in each of these words. Remember one thing to memorize the meaning of acclimation that it has a relationship with climate.

What Did You Learn?

Hence, it is clear that acclimation and acclamation are two different words that cannot be interchangeable. Acclimation is the process of being acclimated or accustomed to a different or new environment.

Acclamation, on the other hand, is ‘an approval or applause that is given enthusiastically’. So, there is just one letter difference that makes both of these words apart from each other.

So, make sure not to get confused again i.e. questioning acclimation or acclamation? Choose the correct word in your writing!

Confusing Words: Advice (noun) and Advise (verb)
Meaning:
Advise (offer suggestions about the best course of action to someone.)
Advice (a suggestion about what someone should do.)
Advise vs Advice Clarification: Advise and advice are not interchangeable. Though their meanings are slightly same but their functions are different in sentences.

Advise vs Advice – What is the Difference, Definition & Meanings?

You can see that there is only one-letter difference between advise and advice. The usage of both of these words is different. The pronunciation, on the other side, is not similar too but most of the people pronounce these words exactly the same. Advice is pronounced with the sound –s at the end whereas advise is pronounced with the sound –z at the end.
The most important difference to notice is that ‘advise’ is used as a verb whereas ‘advice’ is used as a noun. So, verb and noun have two different situations to be used in sentences.

Advice = Noun + -s sound at the end
Advise = Verb + -z sound at the end

Now, I will let you know their definitions and some examples. After reading, you should not be confusing yourselves again.

Definition and examples of advise and advice

Advice and advise are not interchangeable to each other. It means that both of these words have different meanings.

Advice

Advice is used as a noun and it is defined as ‘a guidance, direction or help given by someone for future action’. For instance, your mother always gives you advice for your better future.
Advice can be taken as a formal notice as well. Remember to pronounce advice with the ending –s i.e. like ‘ice’.

1. My friend gave me a sincere advice about loving others.
2. I took her advice and made my future bright.
3. Cheques and remittance advices were raised in alphabetical order. Reference –(Oxford Dictionaries.

Advise

Advise is used as a verb and it is defined as ‘an action to give instructions, recommendations or suggestions.’ Like advice, its purpose is also for the future sensible actions.
Advise is to give advice to someone.
Remember to pronounce advise with the ending –z i.e. like ‘wise’.

1. I advised him to pay his house rent on time.
2. We regret to advise you that your application was unsuccessful; the lawyer advised the court that his client wished to give evidence. -Reference (Oxford Dictionaries)
3. I am advising you to stop crying or else I will slap you.
Unlike advice, you can change advise by adding –s or –ing, when needed.

Check Out: The Difference Between All Right and Alright.

Got it?

I hope that from the above explanation you have cleared yourselves from the confusion of advice and advise. Let us take a very small quiz to check you.

Quiz

Use advice/advise in the following blanks and check whether the sentence will make sense or not:

1. I gave him an advise/advice for his business dealing.
2. Would you advise/advice him to go for a trip?
3. My friends went home advising/advicing my sister to be obedient.
*answers at the end.

What Did You Learn?

Advise and advice are not interchangeable. Though their meanings are slightly same but their functions are different in sentences. Advice is a noun which is given by someone as a guidance or help. Advise, on the other hand, is a verb and it is defined as to give advice.

*Answers: 1. Advice. 2. Advise 3. Advising.

Confusing Words: Aid (noun/verb) and Aide (noun)
Meaning:
Aid (help, typically of a practical nature.)
Aide (an assistant to an important person, especially a political leader.)
Aid vs Aide Clarification: Aid and aide are homophones. Both of these words have different meanings.

Aid vs Aide – What is the Difference, Definition & Meanings?

As you can see that there is only one-letter difference between aid and aide. Their pronunciation is exactly alike but there is difference in spellings. So, it is very important for the writers to completely have an idea about the spellings and the usage of each word of English vocabulary.

Both of these words sound same but have different meanings. That is why, aid and aide are called ‘homophones’.
Let us check out their difference in meanings and find out their functions in sentences. I hope that after reading this post, you will never ever confuse yourselves in thinking Aid or Aide?

Definition and Examples of Aid and Aide

Both of these words came in Late Middle English from Old French. Aid is quite related to economy.

Aid

Aid is used as a noun or a verb. In both cases, it means ‘help or assistance’. You have heard about many words like financial aid, economic aid, visual aid etc. This aid is exactly the same. Examples will give you more help to understand aid as a noun and as a verb.

(As a noun)
1. I will apply for financial aid to help myself in higher studies.
2. Pakistan receives foreign aid from several countries and international organization. Reference –(Wikipedia)

(As a verb)
1. We, as volunteers, went to aid the victims of the disaster.
2. Murphy and Falchuk are aided by a strong cast including a scene-stealing Jessica Lange as the very steely magnolia next door. Reference –(Grammarist.com)

Aide

Unlike aid, aide is used as a noun only. Aide is used for a person who is ‘an assistant of a military or a political leader’. He is often an important person who serves an important person officially. So in simple words, aide means ‘an assistant, helper or an adviser’. This word is also come from French and it says that aide is the short form of ‘aide-de-camp’ means ‘a military officer acting as an assistant’.

1. I was appointed as an aide at a military office.
2. Hillary Clinton and a senior aide discussed sending a secure cell phone to the secretary of state by FedEx or a personal courier, according to emails released Thursday. Reference –(Los Angeles Daily News)

Check Out: The Difference Between Amount and Number.

Point to Remember

Do not get confused of the disease ‘AIDS’. This particular ‘aids’ is a biological term and it is the name of a disease. Do not mix it up with the words ‘aid and aide’ as it is nothing to do with our discussed words.

What Did You Learn?

Aid and aide are homophones. Both of these words have different meanings.

Aid is used as a noun or a verb and it means ‘help or assistance’.
Aide, on the other hand, is a short form for aide-de-camp and it means ‘an assistant or an adviser’.

Confusing Words: Except (verb) and Accept (verb)
Meaning:
Except (not including; other than.)
Accept (consent to receive or undertake (something offered).)
Except vs Accept Clarification: Accept versus except are homophones. It means that they have same pronunciation but different meanings and spellings

Except vs Accept – What is the Difference, Definition & Meanings?

Accept and except are homophones:

Homophones are the words that have same pronunciation but different spellings and meanings like I have given an example of knew and new.

Now, coming toward our confusing words accept and except.

Definition and examples of accept or except:

‘Accept is a verb.’

Accept

Meaning to receive, take or to have something.

1. I was helpless, that’s why I accepted his proposal.
2. A lot of shops won’t accept cheques unless you have a cheque card with you. – Reference (Cambridge Dictionary)
3. I can’t accept this kind of rude behavior from my friends.

So, from the above examples, you are now clear that accept is a verb that has a very clear meaning.

On the other hand, except is not accept. It does not mean to receive or to take something.

Except is a verb; a conjunction; and sometimes used as a preposition too.

Except

meaning to exclude; to omit; or apart from.

You can use except differently in different situations. As I mentioned before that except can be used as a verb and sometimes as a preposition as well. Except as a verb is also used but in rare cases. Let us see that how except can be used in different situations.

As a preposition:

1. I have prepared all the yummy dishes for dinner, except rice.

• As a conjunction:

2. She knows nothing about her except that she is young and beautiful.

– English Grammar.org

• As a verb:

3. The company excepted the supply of unhygienic food because of some serious diseases.

Thus, from the above examples, you have come to know that you use except frequently as a preposition and a conjunction but not as a verb. But, don’t get confused again as it is not wrong to use except as a verb.

What Did You Learn?

Accept versus except are homophones. It means that they have same pronunciation but different meanings and spellings. Accept can be used as a verb; but in terms of except, it is slightly different. Except is used in three different situations; as a verb, a conjunction, and a preposition.

Now, you can never forget that accept means to receive, to take or to have something from someone and it is always a verb. On the other hand, except means apart from, to omit, or to exclude and you can remember it with –ex as both except and exclude has -ex.

Confusing Words: Affect (noun/verb) and Effect (noun/verb)
Meaning:
Affect (have an effect on; make a difference to.)
Effect (a change which is a result or consequence of an action or other cause.)
Affect vs Effect Clarification: Affect and effect are two opposite words and you should remember their functions in sentences.

Affect vs Effect – What is the Difference, Definition & Meanings?

The first and foremost difference, you first encounter, is the spellings. You can see that there is only one-letter difference between affect and effect.

So, the pronunciations of both of these words could be different.

The pronunciation of affect is so obvious. It starts with a sound –a like in ‘alike’. The pronunciation of effect, on the other side, is same as affect. But according to Oxford Dictionaries, effect is pronounced with a sound –i or –ee. Other dictionaries such as Merriam Webster Dictionary, shows /ee-fect/ as well as /a-fect/ in their lists.

It means that you can pronounce effect in both of these ways i.e. /ee-fect/ and /a-fect/. But /a-fect/ can be seen in various places. Most of the people think that both of these words are interchangeable. They are wrong!

Affect and effect are two separate words with different meanings and different usage in sentences.

‘Affect and effect are used differently’.

To erase all the confusions, continue reading. I will come up with the definitions, functions and some examples of affect and effect.

Definition and Examples of Affect and Effect

As I said above that affect and effect are two opposite words with different meanings. The pronunciation of both of the words is same at most of the places but according to Oxford Dictionaries, effect is pronounced as /ee-fect/. So, my research says that we are having two pronunciations of effect: one is /a-fect/ and the other one is /ee-fect/.

Affect

Affect can be used as a noun or a verb. In most of the sentences or almost every sentence, you have seen affect used as a verb. It is defined as ‘to influence or to have an effect’.

1. I hope that this article will affect your learning in a positive way.
2. The dampness began to affect my health. Reference –(Oxford Dictionaries)
3. My friend was affected by this horrible accident.
As, I have mentioned above that affect can be used as a noun but linguists say that it must be avoided as it creates great confusion. It is used as a noun only in the language of psychology. For example,

‘The patient is showing his affect as flat.’

Effect

Unlike affect, effect is mostly used as a noun and rarely as a verb. You should be familiar with both cases. Effect is defined as ‘a change, result or an outcome of a cause or an effort.’

1. Drugs have a dangerous effect on your health.

2. The effect of the lopsided vote was a loss of confidence in the chairman. Reference –(dailywritingtips.com)

3. I finally found an excellent effect for my room.

Effect as a verb is rarely used. According to Oxford Dictionaries, it means ‘to bring something about as a result or an outcome.’

1. The principal effected many changes in school’s principles.

2. A government unable to effect any change is a government that will produce no surprises. Reference –(vocabulary.com)

Check Out: The Difference Between Affective and Effective.

What Did You Learn?

Affect and effect are two opposite words and you should remember their functions in sentences. Affect is used as a verb and effect as a noun. Affect as a noun should be avoided and effect as a verb is rarely used in sentences.