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100 Confusing Word Pairs in Business English

July 6, 2026

100 Confusing Word Pairs in Business English

No. Item Definition
1. accept/except receive or exclude
2. adapt/adopt adjust or take up
3. advice/advise noun or verb for guidance
4. affect/effect influence or result
5. allude/elude refer indirectly or evade
6. alternate/alternative every other or another option
7. appraise/apprise assess value or inform
8. assure/ensure promise or make certain
9. backup/back up reserve copy or support
10. beside/besides next to or in addition
11. borrow/lend take temporarily or give temporarily
12. canvas/canvass cloth or solicit votes
13. capital/capitol money or government building
14. cite/site quote or location
15. complement/compliment complete well or praise
16. compose/comprise make up or consist of
17. continual/continuous repeated often or uninterrupted
18. council/counsel advisory body or advice
19. credible/creditable believable or deserving praise
20. definite/definitive certain or final authoritative
21. desert/dessert abandon or sweet course
22. device/devise tool or invent
23. discreet/discrete tactful or separate
24. draught/draft air current or preliminary version
25. dual/duel twofold or fight
26. economic/economical relating to economy or thrifty
27. edition/addition published version or extra amount
28. elicit/illicit draw out or illegal
29. eligible/illegible qualified or unreadable
30. eminent/imminent distinguished or about to happen
31. empathy/sympathy shared feeling or compassion
32. employee/employer worker or hiring party
33. everyday/every day ordinary or each day
34. farther/further physical distance or extent
35. fewer/less countable or uncountable amount
36. figuratively/literally nonliteral or exact sense
37. flaunt/flout show off or openly disregard
38. forego/forgo go before or do without
39. guarantee/warranty promise or product assurance
40. hoard/horde store up or large crowd
41. imply/infer suggest or conclude
42. in to/into toward inside or entering
43. incite/insight stir up or deep understanding
44. ingenious/ingenuous clever or innocent
45. inquire/enquire ask or investigate
46. its/it’s possessive or it is
47. later/latter afterward or second mentioned
48. lay/lie put down or recline
49. liable/libel legally responsible or defamation
50. licence/license noun or verb permit
51. login/log in account access or sign in
52. loose/lose not tight or fail to keep
53. marshal/martial arrange or military
54. maybe/may be perhaps or might be
55. medal/meddle award or interfere
56. mitigate/militate lessen or have effect against
57. notable/noticeable important or easily seen
58. onto/on to to a position on or onward
59. ordinance/ordnance law or military weapons
60. palette/pallet color board or platform
61. peak/peek highest point or quick look
62. pedal/peddle foot lever or sell goods
63. perquisite/prerequisite perk or required condition
64. personal/personnel private or staff
65. plain/plane simple or flat surface
66. practicable/practical feasible or useful
67. precede/proceed come before or continue
68. prescribe/proscribe order or forbid
69. principal/principle main person or rule
70. raise/rise lift something or go up
71. rebut/refute argue against or prove false
72. regimen/regime program or governing system
73. reluctant/reticent unwilling or reserved
74. respectfully/respectively politely or in that order
75. review/revue assessment or stage show
76. role/roll function or turn over
77. setup/set up arrangement or establish
78. sew/so/sow stitch, therefore, or plant
79. shear/sheer cut or complete
80. sole/soul only one or spirit
81. some time/sometime a period or at an unknown time
82. stationary/stationery not moving or writing paper
83. straight/strait not curved or narrow passage
84. tenant/tenet renter or principle
85. than/then comparison or next time
86. their/there possessive or place
87. there/their/they’re place, possessive, or they are
88. threw/through past of throw or completed
89. tortuous/torturous winding or painfully harsh
90. troop/troupe soldiers or performers
91. under way/underway in progress or moving forward
92. uninterested/disinterested not interested or impartial
93. waive/wave give up or move hand
94. wander/wonder roam or feel curiosity
95. weather/whether climate or if
96. wet/whet moisten or sharpen appetite
97. who’s/whose who is or belonging to whom
98. who/whom subject form or object form
99. wording/working phrasing or functioning
100. your/you’re possessive or you are

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