38 Similar Words Meaning OR Confusing Words

👉Accident and Incident

Accident means mishap; while Incident means a minor occurrence; as,

Example:

A bus accident took place near Delhi.
No noteworthy incident took place in the examination hall.

👉Alter and Change

To Alter means to change in parts, make some difference by adding and reducing. To Change means to substitute one thing for another; as,

He made many alterations in my plan.
He changed his ideas and came back.

👉Banish and Exile

To Banish means to send a person out of a country, whether a native or a foreigner. To Exile means to send a man out of the country of his birth; as,

Rama was sent into exile for fourteen years.
The duke was banished from the country.

👉Battle and War

A Battle means a single engagement of troops; a War means a whole series of battles from the beginning of hostilities to the restoration of peace; as,

A severe battle was fought between Babar and Ibrahim Lodhi at Panipat.
The Indo-Pak war of 1971 lasted for fourteen days.

👉Beat and Strike

Strike means to hit repeatedly and Beat means to strike; as,

He beat the hot iron on the anvil with a hammer.
The blow he struck made on his opponent fall down like a log of wood.

👉Bring and Fetch

Bring means to take a thing from one place to another. Fetch means to go and bring it; as,

Bring me a tumbler of water, please.
Fetch some water from the well.

👉Cheat and Deceive

To Cheat means to obtain something by deceiving, while to Deceive means to give one a false idea and to make one believe what is not true; as,

Sohan cheated me of ten rupees.
Sharif deceived his father by telling him lie.

👉Compare and Contrast

To Compare is to find points of likeness, to Contrast is to bring out points of dissimilarities; as,

You may compare one wise man with another; but between a fool and philosopher there is nothing but contrast.

Compare and Contrast Akbar and Aurangzeb.

👉Confess and Admit

Confess means to acknowledge guilt (used in bad sense); while Admit means to accept (used in good sense); as,

The thief confessed his guilt.
I admit that he is an intelligent student.

👉Contagious and Infectious

Contagious means communication of diseases from one person to another by touch. Infectious means communication through water or atmosphere; as,

Small-pox is a contagious disease.
Cholera is an infectious disease.

👉Contented and Satisfied

We are Satisfied when our desires are fulfilled, but we may be Contented even our desires remain unfulfilled; as,

A contented mind is a great blessing.
I was satisfied when my due share was given to me.

👉Cost, Value and Price

Cost is the money spent upon the purchase or production of a thing; Price is the money demanded by the seller and Value means worth or utility of a thing; as,

The cost of the book is one rupee. Its price is two rupees and I value it more than a heap of gold.

👉Crime, Vice and Sin

Crime means a violation of the law of the country, Vice means violations of law the society; and Sin means a violation of religious laws; as,

Stealing is a crime.
Gambling and drinking are vices.
It is a sin to tell a lie.

👉Deny, Refuse and Decline

Deny means to rebut a change;Refuse means to give a negative reply to an offer; Decline means to refuse to accept an invitation; as,

He denied the charge.
He refused to lend me the book.
He declined the invitation.

👉Defend and Protect

To Defend means to save from a present danger; to Protect means to save from what may happen at any time; as,

Chand bibi defended the fort when it was besieged by Prince Murad.
The high wall protected the city against sudden attacks.

👉Desert and Leave

We Leave a place with the intention of returning; we Desert a person or a place for good; as,
He left his work incomplete.

He has deserted his friends.
We found the place deserted.

👉Devoted and Addicted

The former is used in good sense and the latter in bad sense; as,

I am devoted to my studies.
He is addicted to gambling.

👉Election and Selection

Election means by choosing by votes; Selection means a choice of excellence; as,

Kailash stood for election to the Parliament.
Let us make a selection of some useful books.

👉Freedom and Liberty

Freedom means non-slavery; Liberty means a right to do as one pleases; as,

Indian has won freedom.
You have a liberty to do whatever you like.

👉Hope and Expect

Expect denotes that an occurrence is probable, whether it is desired or not; while the Hope denotes pleasurable expectation or wish; as,

I expect there will soon be outbreak of war between India and Pakistan.
I hope he will send you a present on your birthday.

👉Hear and Listen

To Listen implies attention, while Hearing may be accidental; as,

I listen to his story very carefully.
I have heard the case and shall pronounce judgement tomorrow.

👉Habit and Custom

A Habit generally concerns and individual while Custom denotes what is commonly practised in a society or a country; as,

Smoking is a bad habit.
In some parts of India, it is still a custom for the brides to hide their faces from their fathers-in-law.

👉Invent and Discover

We Discover what exists already, and we Invent when we make something new; as,

Columbus discovered America.
Galileo invented the telescope.

👉Look and See

We say Look when we intend to draw attention to a particular spot or object, while Seeing has a general sense; as,

Look at the bird sitting on that mango tree.
I saw the gentleman today.

👉Probable and Possible

Probable means likely to be or happen, Possible means that something can happen; as,

It is possible he may come (and just as possible that he may not)
It is probable (it is likely) that the valley may have a snowfall someday this week.

👉Receive and Takes

To Take means to obtain a thing by effort, while to Receive means to be given by another; as,

The thieves took away whatever they could lay their hands upon.
I received a letter from Sanjay yesterday.

👉Remember and recollect

The former means to have in mind, and latter to call to mind; as,

I remember the days gone by.
I cannot recollect your name at present.

👉Roof and Ceiling

Ceiling means the inner roof, whereas the Roof means the entire covering; as,

The ceiling of the roof was of plaster.
The roof of this room leaks now and then.

👉Say, Tell and Speak

Say is used to make a statement or declaration; as,

I say you are a thief.

Tell is used to give orders, narrate a story, or make a communication; as,

Tell him to bring me some water.

Speak means to make a speech; as

He spoke aloud. He spoke on Politics.

👉Rent and Hire

Rent is a tenant’s payment to the landlord for use of house etc., while Hire is wages for use of a thing for personal services; as,

I got a house at a rent of Rs. 10000 per month.
I hired a tonga. I hired a taxi.

👉Scatter and Spread

Scatter means to through or place a number of things in different directions, and to Spread means to cover a certain area with a given thing or substance; as,

He spread butter on the toast.
The wind scattered the leaves.

👉Shade and Shadow

We sit in the shade of a tree.
The tree casts its shadow on the ground.

👉Sink and Drown

Drown is used for living beings only, while Sink is used for lifeless things; as,

The boy was drowned.
The ship sank in the sea.

👉Swim and Float

Swim is for living beings, and Float for lifeless things; as,

A boy is swimming in the tank.
A piece of wood is floating in the river.

👉Tedious and Irksome

A work is Tedious when it is difficult, long and unpleasant; it is Irksome when we have not taste for it; as,

This is a tedious piece of work.
It is very irksome to me to go and talk to him.

👉Tomorrow and on the morrow

Tomorrow means the day after today, on the morrow means the day following that day; as,

I shall reach here tomorrow.
He left the island on the morrow.

👉Transitory and Fleeting

The former is used for the life the world and its pleasures, and latter for the time; as,

Worldly pleasures and joys are transitory.
Time is fleeting.

👉Wear and put on

To Put on denotes single action, and to Wear denotes a continuous action or a habit; as,

He wears a long coat and a white hat.
He put on his hat and went out.