This is a list of common, tricky words. It’s a work in progress so I’ll be adding more words and ways to learn them over the next few weeks. Enjoy!
Want something a bit more difficult? Try these: Words Every Brilliant Person Should Know. Get something simpler here.
[A]
*abbreviate
acceptable / unacceptable
acceptable / unacceptable
accidentally
*acclimatise
*acclimatise
accommodate
achieve
acquire, acquisition
advice (noun) e.g. I took his advice: advise (verb), e.g. I advised him not to do it
apparel
apparent, appear
appraisal
apprentice
appraisal
apprentice
approve, approval – disapproval
appropriate – inappropriate
*approximate
*approximate
argument
assess
assess
attend, attention
[B]
because
believe (verb), belief (noun) – disbelieve (verb), disbelief (noun)
[C]
calendar
Caribbean
changeable
commit, committed, commitment
complementary (works well with) vs complimentary (gift)
conscientious
consciously
conscience
corresponding
corresponding
[D]
deceive, deceit, deceitful
definite, definitely, definitive
detrimental
disbelieve (verb), disbelief (noun)
discipline
discriminate
discriminate
[E]
eighth
efficient
efficient
environment
embarrass (ment)
excess, excessive, exceed
exciting
existence
experience
[F]
friend
foreign
[G]
gauge
government
*grammar
*grammar
guarantee
[H]
harass, harassment
height
hierarchy
[I]
icicle
immeasurable
immeasurable
immediate
immense
immense
impediment
implement
independent
indispensable
[J]
jewellery
judgement
[N]
necessary (one coat, two shoes)
noticeable
[O]
occasionally
occurrence
omit, omission
[P]
parallel
passage
pastime
passage
pastime
particularly
permission
perseverance
personnel i.e. ‘workers’
possess, possession
practice (noun), e.g. football practice
practise (verb), e.g. we need to practise passing the ball
precede
precision
principal / principle
privilege
procrastinate, procrastination
publicly
publicly
[Q]
questionnaire
queue
[R]
receive/receipt
recipe
relieve
recommend
refer, referral, reference, referred
[S]
satellite
schedule
schedule
separate
sequence, sequentially – subsequent, subsequently
success, successive
succinct (=brief)
succinct (=brief)
[T]
terriffic
till
transferred
till
transferred
truthfully
threshold
threshold
twelfth
[U]
uncontrollable
until
[V]
vaccination
vehicle
vein (blood vessel) – vain (vanity)