Certain words in the English language are confusing—they either sound the same but have different meanings or they have similar spelling but different meanings. When choosing the word that best expresses your intent, avoid mistaking one word for another.

Incorrect word usage not only reflects poorly on you, it muddies your message. Here's a list of frequently misused words and phrases, along with their actual meanings.

assure	to pledge or give confidence to someone
	(She assured me that she would attend.)
ensure	to guarantee or make certain - use in
	cases other than when referring to people
	(The new packaging will ensure that the
	goods arrive safely.)
insure	to make certain or protect against loss
	(This policy will insure your home for
	$1,000,000.)
awhile	adverb - for a brief time
a while	noun phrase frequently used after prepositions
bad	adjective used to define nouns and after
	verbs such as "feel" and "look".
badly	adverb used to define verbs
because of	by reason of or on account of
due to	attributable to
beside	preposition - at the side of
besides	adverb - in addtion to
can	to be able to
may	indicates permission or possibility
cannot	should never be spelled "can not"
capital	city that is the official seat of government;
	capital letter; amount of money
capitol	building in which a legislature assembles
center around	the expression doesn't make sense - use
	the word "on" or "upon" instead of "around"
choose	is present tense (Choose carefully.)
chose	is past tense (She chose not to go with them.)
compare to	comparing different things
compare with	comparing similar things

complement	verb - to make complete
	noun - something that completes
compliment	verb - to congratulate; noun - praise
continual	recurring frequently
continuous	without interruption
comprise	to encompass or include (not "is comprised of")
convince	to cause someone to believe something
persuade	to cause someone to do something
data	when used with facts - it is plural
	when used with information - it is singular
datum	singular form has fallen out of popular use
decades	should be written without apostrophes: 1990s
discreet	adjective - tactful, modest, trustworthy
discrete	separate, individual, distinct
disinterested	means impartial
uninterested	means indifferent
bored	means tired by dullness or repetition
everyday	adjective - usual, commonplace, ordinary
every day	daily, on each day
everyone	pronoun - every person (refers only to people)
every one	refers to each individual person, object, idea, etc.
e.g.	from Latin exempli gratia, meaning "for example"
i.e.	from Latin id est, meaning "that is"
etc.	from the Latin et cetera, meaning "and others";
	use "such as" or "for example" and then mention
	several specifics
farther	refers to physical distance
further	means "to a greater degree or extent" and refers to
	matters in which physical measurementis impossible
fewer	use when items can be counted
less	use with quantities that cannot be counted
forego	to go before
forgo	to give up

former	refers to the first of two items mentioned
latter	refers to the last of two items mentioned
forth	out, onward
fourth	ordinal number for four
good	is an adjective: (She has good skills.)
well	is an adverb: (She uses her skills well.)
hanged	refers to people (He was hanged in the movie.)
hung	refers to things, not people (He hung the
	picture on the wall.)
hear	refers to sound
here	refers to location
hours	time
ours	possessive pronoun indicating ownership
imminent	something that is about to occur any second
eminent	something that is famous or well-known
impact	means to drive or press closely into something; do
	not use as a verb meaning "to affect" or "influence"
in	within (The letter is in the file.)
into	indicates motion (She walked into the room.)
infer	when a listener/reader figures something out
	based on some evidence.
imply	when a speaker/writer hints at or indicates

	something
insure	only for insurance policies
ensure	is roughly equivalent to make sure
inter-	prefix meaning between (intercity—between cities)
intra-	prefix meaning within (intracity—within one city)
irregardless	incorrect usage; not a word - correct word is
	regardless
regardless	without regard for or attention to
its	possessive pronoun indicating ownership
it's	contraction of it is
lay	verb - past tense of to lie, meaning to recline
	verb - present tense of to lay, meaning to place
lie	verb - to tell a falsehood (lie, lied)
	verb - to recline (lie, lay)
	noun - a falsehood
like	means "similar to"; not acceptable as a conjunction
as	means in the same way or manner
loose	adjective - not fastened or confined
lose	verb - past tense of lost
numbers	Spell out the numbers one through ten and use
	numerals for those over ten. If a numeral over ten
	appears at the beginning of a sentence, spell it
	out. Always write page numbers as numerals.
presently	means soon
at present	means now
principal	noun - person with position or authority, most
	specifically in an educational institution or a
	business; sum or money in a loan or fund

	adjective - the most important
principle	noun - law, doctrine, rule or guideline
principled	adjective - based on a principle or principles
really	if used to modify an adjective, substitute very
regard	means about, having to do with or esteem
regards	means best wishes
right	correct
rite	noun - ceremony or ritual
wright	noun - person who makes
write	verb - to compose
seasons	don't capitalize the seasons of the year, unless
	they are at the beginning of a sentence or part
	of a proper noun
should	implies ought to, a belief
will	is a prediction
site	noun - place
sight	noun - refers to vision
cite	verb - refers to the act of including a citation
	(You must cite sources to avoid plagiarism.)
speak to	to tell; to greet
speak with	to discuss
stationary	immovable; immobile
stationery	writing material
that	used with a restrictive clause - a clause absolutely
	necessary to the meaning of the sentence
which	used with a non-restrictive clause - a clause that is
	not necessary to the meaning of the sentence
their	possessive pronoun indicating ownership
there	adverb - indicating where
they're	contraction of they are
time	write a.m. and p.m. with lowercase letters
	and periods
to	preposition: She walked to the door
too	adverb - also, in addition
two	a number
ultimate	means last
penultimate	means next to last
unique	means one of a kind - no superlatives are needed;
	"so unique", "really unique', "most unique" are
	gramatically incorrect
use to	incorrect usage
used to	correct usage
very	overused; either omit it or find a better adjective
	or adverb
who	use as a substitute for she, heor they
whom	use as a substitute for her, him or them
who's	contraction of who is
whose	possessive pronoun indicating ownership
yore	noun meaning time long past
your	possessive pronoun indicating ownership
you're	contraction of you are