Words in English that often confuse, either look alike sound alike or look and sound alike, but have a completely different meaning. Some are similar in meaning but look and sound different. It is difficult to determine which is the correct one in a given context.

The sentences that follow illustrate the difference in usage and meaning between words that are often confused.

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Acetic, ascetic, aesthetic

• Vinegar contains acetic acid
• Those monks were by no means ascetic, they thoroughly enjoyed the pleasure of the flesh.
• From an aesthetic point of view, the curtains are out of keeping with the beauty of the room.
  Adapt, adopt, adept
• The new puppy adapted well to his new surroundings
• We adopted a baby who was rejected by his mother
• She is adept in music (highly skilled)
  Admittance, admission
• He was refused admittance to the building (permission to enter)
• Admission of guilt or, your membership allows you free admission to the concert
  Affect, effect
• The living conditions of the street children affected the community deeply (affect = verb)
• The increase in VAT is going to have an effect on everyone (effect = noun)
  Allusion, illusion, delusion
• She was hurt by any allusion to her unhappy childhood (An allusion is an indirect reference to an event, person, statement, history. No direct reference to an event, person, etc; assumes that the reader/group already has knowledge of the facts.)
• He had no illusion about her feelings for him
• Delusional thoughts are often a sign of mental illness (Believing things that do not exist. Deceiving)
  Allude, refer (similar in meaning, look and sound different)
• Do not mention his bad health, do not even allude to it
• During the tour of the museum, the tour guide referred to facts of history
  Annalist, analyst
• He was the royal annalist and his yearly records are most interesting to historians ( a chronicler, a writer of annals, historian)
• The analyst applied chemical test to the water
  Anomalous, anonymous
• The appointment of an agnostic to a church school would create an anomalous position (deviating from what is standard)
• An anonynous book is one published without the name of the author

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Bog roll
Taken from the 16th-century Scottish/Irish word meaning ‘soft and moist,’ bog means restroom or lavatory. Bog roll, naturally, is an idiom for toilet paper. This will come in especially handy if you find yourself in a dire situation in the loo. Easy enough, right?

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Source: English grammar: EBH Joubert 1999

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