"Advice" or "advise"? "Farther" or "further"? "Principal" or "principle"? It's easy to confuse words that are similar in sound, spelling, or meaning. But with a bit of review it's also easy to clear up such confusions.

In our Glossary of Usage you'll find more than 300 sets of commonly confused words — with links to definitions, examples, usage notes, and practice exercises that should help you keep these words straight. You can test your understanding of these words at our Review Quiz: Commonly Confused Words.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

Jam and Jamb

Judicial and Judicious

K

L

M

N

O

Obsolescent and Obsolete

Official and Officious

Oral and Verbal

Ordinance and Ordnance

P

Q

R

S

T

U

Urban and Urbane

Use and Utilize

Used and Used to

V

Vain, Vane, and Vein

Vale and Veil

Vary and Very

Venal and Venial

Veracious, Vociferous, and Voracious

Vice and Vise

W

Y

Review:

Test your understanding of these words at our Review Quiz: Commonly Confused Words.