Word Couples Commonly Confused

by Krista

Almost like twins or siblings, similar words and their correct spellings often get confused.

In this lesson, we’ll be looking at 5 commonly mistaken word couples as I’d like to call them and go through how they’re different and how you can make sure to tell them apart.

1. Deserts and Desserts

Most English speakers understand that deserts, with the accent on the first
syllable, are a dry, arid lands, while desserts, with the accent on the
second syllable, are a sweet things to eat after a meal. What is often
confused is that when one gets what one is deserves, good or bad, one is
getting one’s “just deserts,” accent on the second syllable but spelled like
the dry, arid lands.

Remember that the tasty treats deserve a little more and tack on that extra s. Keep a weary eye out on dessert menus at restaurants, I’ve seen this one spelled incorrectly too many times. It’s really worth a chuckle when you come across it!

2.Discrete and Discreet

Discrete means “discontinuous” or “individually distinct.” Discreet means
“judicious.” The words are understandably often confused, but they should
remain distinct. Discrete reminds me of the word “discredit” meaning to discount or to give up. In the same way “discrete” means separate. Whereas “discreet” is a word associated as a quiet, suspicious and something that is not supposed to be exposed.

You can think of the word discreet as the creek of a door trying to hide something. Whereas discrete is something that you’re supposed to dis-tance as something that is unique.

3.Flaunt and Flout

Flaunt means “display ostentatiously.” Flout means to “disobey openly
and scornfully” or “show contempt for.” Some use one for the other, but
confusing the two words is still widely seen as an error and best avoided.

Think of “flaunt” like a big red boa wanting to be shown off to the world, whereas “flount” is a negative word meaning to oppose or to be bitter.

4. Imply and Infer

Imply means to “hint or suggest without stating directly.” Infer means
“reach an opinion from facts or reasoning.” The two terms are sometimes
mistaken to be interchangeable. In actuality, they are quite distinct. The
sender of an indirectly stated message is doing the implying, while a
receiver that reasons what the message is is doing the inferring.

To imply is to be sneaky whereas to infer is to use research to find an answer. You may come across these terms a lot when doing research or writing a research report.

5. Passed and Past

Passed is a past tense verb. As in “the dog passed the bone to his owner”. Past can be a noun, adjective, adverb,
or preposition — never a verb. An example of this is is “the dog ran past the owner as he threw the bone to play fetch”.

These words are easily confused. Remember that “to pass” is the mean of the verb pass. To use that in its past tense would be “passed”. However when talking about time in most cases they are referring to the word using “past” aka. pastime, time as past, it’s past your bedtime.

Ask-the-Experts