Confusing Words
Choose the correct word for each sentence.
1. Your choice of friends is most regretful/regrettable.
2. I have been sitting by myself/on my own.
3. Mary is a very strong/intense person who cares deeply
about everything.
4. She is very credible/credulous and believes everyone.
5. The speaker or writer infers/implies something, and
the listener or reader infers/implies it.
6. We have had to postpone/cancel our vacation until
September.
7. The plane was put off/delayed by an hour due to a
blizzard.
8. His efforts to improve the school have been very effective/efficient.
9. A sensible/sensitive person has great sensibility/sensitivity
and is quick to enjoy or suffer.
10. She is practical/practicable and buys only what she
can afford.
11. He applied for a job/work as a personnel officer.
12. The food at my school is so bad it’s hardly eatable/edible.
13. Yesterday I received an officious/official letter
concerning my income tax.
14. We expect prices to raise/rise by at least ten per
cent next month.
15. We will only exchange your answering machine if you bring the receipt/recipe.
16. He is working on a science degree/title in chemistry.
17. By your masterful/masterly speech I can tell you are
an expert on teaching students.
18. The next episode/serial of “Dallas” will be shown
on BBC1 next Friday.
19. The temperature yesterday was about average/middle
for the time of year.
20. Although someone had seen him take the watch, he still denied/refused
it.
21. I asked two persons how to get to the post office, but none/neither
of them knew.
22. She now works for an advertising/advertisement
agency.
23. Will the department’s policy be affected/effected
by the appointment of a new chairwoman?
24. The bank manager has agreed to borrow/lend me another
$5,000.
25. My brother is very tall/high.
26. Amsterdam is a city of channels/canals.
27. Bach and Beethoven wrote classical/classic music.
28. Before coming here, I studied economics/economy at
university.
29. A small car is more economical/economic than a large
one because it uses less petrol (AmE gasoline).
30. Is it a historic/historical fact that Washington
slept in this house?
31. He will become illegible/eligible to vote next year.
32. Recent events have made this movie very topical/actual.
33. The President’s arrival is eminent/imminent.
34. This dress has to be altered/changed. It’s too
large.
35. Where were you trained/educated to be a lawyer?
36. He has lived and worked in a convent/monastery for
the past ten years.
37. The college has excellent library facilities/amenities.
38. His speech was full of contemptible/contemptuous
remarks about his wife. It was contemptible/contemptuous of him to speak
like that about her.
39. You will have to send your tax return/declaration in
April.
40. That was his last will and testimony/testament.
41. I had an accident/incident in the kitchen and broke
all the glasses.
42. This train is very convenient/comfortable. It has
soft seats and air-conditioning.
43. There is no room/place for any more suitcases in the
boot (AmE trunk).
44. Keep some room/place/space between your car and the
car ahead at the parking room/place/space.
Answers and Explanations:
1. regrettable means that one should feel sorry about it
(досадно), but regretful means that someone should be unhappy at the loss
of something, at a sad event, etc. (полный сожаления): He said he was
not regretful about leaving the university.
2. by myself means completely alone, but on my own also
means without help: I can’t carry it on my own; it’s too heavy.
3. intense means strong in quality or feeling (hatred, heat,
pain), but strong would mean having power, esp. of the body: She was not very
strong after her illness.
4. credulous means too willing to believe, esp. without real
proof (легковерный), but credible means deserving or worthy of belief;
trustworthy (правдоподобный, заслуживающий доверия): a
credible news report.
5. implies ... infers to imply means to express
indirectly, to suggest (намекать): His remarks implied that he had not enjoyed
the trip. To infer means to reach an opinion after thinking about something
(делать вывод): I infer from your letter that you do not wish to see us.
6. postpone to means to move to some later time
(откладывать), but to cancel means to give up or call off a planned
activity (отменять): She cancelled (AmE canceled) her trip.
7. delayed to delay means to do something later than
planned, but put off means to move to some later time.
8. effective means producing the desired result (an
effective medicine), but efficient means working well, quickly, and without waste: She
is an efficient worker.
9. sensitive ... sensibility sensitive suggests
showing delicate feelings or judgement (sensitive to cold/pain), but sensible
means reasonable and practical; having or showing good sense (a sensible child/plan;
sensible shoes); sensibility concerns one’s ability to experience delicate
feelings (способность чувствовать и понимать).
10. practical [here] means sensible, clever at doing things;
practicable can sometimes mean the same thing (a practical/practicable plan or
suggestion), but practicable is never used of people.
11. job is nearly always a regular paid employment, but work is
nearly always an activity which uses effort with a special purpose, not for amusement.
12. eatable if food is in a fit condition to be eaten, fresh,
and nicely prepared, but something is edible if it can be used as food: Are
these berries/mushrooms edible, or are they poisonous?
13. official means that the letter was from a position of power
and responsibility (an official position/occasion), but officious means too
eager to give orders or to offer advice (назойливый, навязчивый):
an officious letter complaining about the noise from my neighbour’s radio.
14. rise to rise means to increase or go up to a higher
position, but to raise means to move someone or something to a higher position:
They raised the curtain and the play began.
15. receipt is a written statement that one has received money,
but recipe is a set of instructions for cooking a dish: a recipe for making
bread, [fig] a recipe for a happy marriage.
16. degree is a title given by a university, but title is
a name given to a book, etc., or a word before a person’s name: Mr., Doctor, Colonel.
17. masterly means showing great skill
(мастерская), but masterful means having an ability to control others
(властный).
18. episode is an account in a play of one separate
event, but serial is a written or broadcast story appearing in parts at fixed
times.
19. average is a level or standard regarded as usual or
ordinary: He is above/below average in his lessons. On the average we receive 3 letters
each day. Middle is the central part, point or position: in the middle of the
month; middle is also used in expressions: middle age/class/Ages/East.
20. denied to deny means to refuse to accept as a fact
(отрицать), but to refuse means not to accept (отказываться): The
prisoner refused to give his name.
21. neither is used when they are only two, but: None of my
friends come to see me.
22. advertising is the business of making known to people what
is for sale and encouraging them to buy, especially by means of advertisements.
23. affected to affect means to change or influence, but
to effect means to produce (совершать, осуществлять): The new
President hopes to effect changes in the government’s policy.
24. lend to lend means to give someone the possession or
use of something for a limited time (давать взаймы), but to borrow
means to take something for a certain time (брать взаймы): Can I borrow
$1,000 from the bank?
25. tall people and things are those that are narrow as well as
high (a tall tree), but: a high building/ceiling/mountain.
26. canals are waterways dug in the ground, esp. to allow ships
or boats to travel along it (the Panama Canal), but channels mean the
deepest parts of a river, harbour or sea passages: The English Channel separates
England and France.
27. classical [here] means that the music was written with
serious artistic intentions; classical can also mean that something is in
accordance with ancient Greek or Roman models in literature or art (classical
literature), but classic means having the highest quality or belonging to an
established set of standards (a classic style of dress/example/case).
28. economics is the science, but economy is an example
of the careful use of money, time, goods, etc.
29. economical [here] means using petrol without waste
(экономный), but economic means connected with trade, industry; or
concerning economics.
30. historical characters or events are those that have
really existed or happened (the local historical society), but a place is historic
if it has a long history, and an event is historic if it will be remembered in history
(a historic meeting between two great leaders).
31. eligible means having the right to do something by law
(имеющий право), but illegible (not legible) which cannot be read
(неразборчивый): illegible handwriting.
32. topical means being a subject of present interest
(актуальный), but actual means existing as a real fact
(действительный, фактический): The actual cost of repairs was
a lot less than we had expected.
33. imminent which is going to happen very soon, but eminent means
famous and admired of people (an eminent doctor).
34. altered to alter means to (cause to) become different
(заменить, переделывать): Can you alter your travel plans? To
change means to make or become different: In autumn (AmE fall) the leaves change
from green to yellow. She changed her dress.
35. trained to train means to give teaching and practice
in a profession or skill (обучать): She is training to be a doctor, to educate means
to teach, train the character or mind (давать/получить
образование): He was educated at a very good school.
36. monastery is a religious establishment where monks (men)
live, but convent is the place where nuns live (женский монастырь).
37. facilities are means to do things (средства,
услуги), but amenities are things which make life pleasant
(удобства): The house is close to local amenities (a park and a swimming pool).
38. contemptuous ... contemptible contemptuous means
feeling or expressing contempt, a lack of respect (презрительный): She
gave a contemptuous laugh. Contemptible means deserving to be treated with
contempt (не уважительный, презренный): That was a contemptible
trick to play on a friend!
39. return a tax return is an official statement given in
answer to a demand (декларация о налогах), but declaration means
a statement, giving information in an official manner: Please make a written
declaration of all the goods you bought abroad.
40. testament means the written wishes of a person in regard to
sharing his property after his death (завещание), but testimony is a
formal statement, as made by a witness in a court of law (показание).
41. accident means something, esp. something unpleasant,
undesirable, or damaging that happens unexpectedly or by chance (несчастный
случай, авария), but incident is an event, esp. one in a story: In a
recent incident two bombs exploded.
42. comfortable in this sentence means having and providing
comfort (a comfortable chair), but a convenient train means one which runs
at suitable times (a convenient seat is not hard to reach in a bus or theatre (AmE
theater).
43. room [here] means a space that could be filled, or that is
enough for any purpose: Is there any room for me to sit down in here? A place is
a single particular piece of space: There is a place for you in the corner.
44. space ... space means something measurable in length,
width, or depth: Is there enough space at the table for 10 people?
Compiled by Vladimir Pavlov
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