The difference between eminent and imminent The eminent scientist’s visit is imminent. eminent Eminent means distinguished, famous or highly respected. She is an eminent scientist in her field. imminent Imminent means soon, about to happen. Rain is imminent. If these words confuse you, use simpler words. She is highly respected scientist in her field. Rain is likely. Learn […]
You can use focused or focussed She focused/focussed her attention on the details. Do you use focused or focussed? Both focused and focussed are acceptable. Similarly, you can use focusing or focussing. My preference is focused because I think it looks cleaner. Did you know that we tend to double the consonant with verbs of two […]
Fake news is inauthentic and unauthentic Inauthentic and unauthentic both mean the same thing: ‘not authentic’, i.e. not genuine or real. Her apology was inauthentic. Her apology was unauthentic. A lot of the news on Facebook is inauthentic. A lot of the news on Facebook is unauthentic. Other in- and un- negatives also mean the same […]
The difference between imply and infer imply Imply means to suggest indirectly. You implied you were coming. infer Infer means to deduce or come to a conclusion. I inferred from what you said that you were coming. I think distinction between these two words may be dying out. Read more about the differences. Learn more […]
The difference between homed and honed She honed her writing skills by writing every day. She homed in on her memories of dark times. Homed and honed are often confused. homed Homed means to proceed towards a specific target. The missile homed in on the target. honed Honed means to sharpen, refine or make more acute. […]
Three words that many people hate are: got, but and that. Got I have never understood why got receives such bad press. I agree you can often use more specific words to replace it: I got a book out of the library. I borrowed a book from the library. But it is a versatile little word […]
One bird is different from/than/to the rest. Which of the following sentences do you prefer? Your opinion is different from mine. Your opinion is different to mine. Your opinion is different than mine. Does it matter? Traditionally, different from was regarded as Standard English, but different to and different than are becoming increasingly common. I don’t think […]
The difference between elicit and illicit Through questioning, she elicited that the material was illicit. elicit Elicit means to draw out or evoke. It can only be used as a verb. She elicited a response. illicit Illicit is an adjective that means unlawful or forbidden. Alcohol was illicit during Prohibition. Memory jog Think of something […]
The difference between disorganised and unorganised Dis- as a prefix often implies the reversing of the action of the verb (e.g. disagree, disown, distrust). Un- as a prefix means ‘not’ (e.g. unable, unusual, untidy). Disorganised and unorganised are often used interchangeably to mean not arranged in an orderly way. His desk is disorganised. His desk is […]
The difference between dependent and dependant The children are dependants who are dependent on their parents for care. British, Australian and New Zealand English distinguish between dependant and dependent. The distinction doesn’t exist in US English, which uses dependent for both the following meanings. dependant A dependant is someone who relies on someone else for support. […]