More Confusing Words: C and D

Image by Jan Helebrant from Pixabay

And we continue on our tour through confusing words and word pairs….today, the rest of C and all of D. Next week, the quiz. Then we will take a little break and talk about something else fun! Wow, I just wrote a bunch of sentence fragments! Refer back to the posts on A words, B words, and C words.

Ten more for you:

1 Censor/Sensor – (Yup, we already did censor/censure) To censor something is to ban it. It is generally a verb, but can be a noun. Sensor is always a noun and is a device that is sensitive to something and transmits information about that something. It is obviously related to the verb sense.  The library does not like to censor any books. The motion sensor causes the light to go on whenever something or someone moves near it. 

2. Cite/Site/Sight – Cite is a verb that means to mention. Site is a noun and refers to a place. Sight is a noun (or can be a verb and even an adjective), and you know what that one means. I will cite some well-known authors in my speech. The construction site is dangerous to enter. Sight is one of our five senses.

3. Come/Go – These two verbs go in opposite directions (kind of like bring and take). You come toward something, and you go away from it. He went to Europe last year (went is the past tense of go). He came home in June. 

4. Conscience/Conscious – These are both tricky to spell! One has the word science at the end. Conscience is a noun, and you can have a guilty one. Conscious is an adjective that means aware of what is going on.

5. Copyright/Copy write – Besides noting the difference in meaning, note that one is two words and the other is a single word. Copyright is a noun or verb, and you get one (or do it) to protect your work. Copy write is a verb meaning to write copy. You can be a copywriter, which is one word. Copy write as the verb is not too commonly used. I always copyright my work. He wants someone to copy write the summary on the back cover of his book. He is hiring an experienced copywriter.

6. Credible/Creditable – Credible is an adjective that means believable. Creditable, also an adjective, means worthy of credit or honor.  I think her alibi is credible. She has done a creditable job as a senator.

7. Desert/Dessert – Dessert with two s‘s is the sweet one (noun). Desert with one s is the dry, hot one (noun). But desert is also the verb that means to leave.  I will have cake for dessert. There is no cake in the desert, nor is there water. He deserted me, and I was alone in the desert.

8. Different from/Different than – The correct phrase is different from and is used in comparison. This plant is different from that one. 

9. Discreet/Discrete – Both are adjectives. If you are discreet, you won’t tell my secret to anyone. If you are separating your socks by color, you might be putting them into discrete (separate) piles according to color. 

10. Disinterested/Uninterested – Yes, there is a big distinction here. Uninterested means having no interest. Disinterested means impartial.  I am uninterested in most team sports. We need disinterested judges for the book contest.

Stay safe. Stay home. Wear a mask. Social distance — Unless you are in a place that has conquered the virus. I am not.