Oxymoron

Oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two contradictory terms are combined.

All alone: He was locked up all alone in a dark room.

Found missing: Tom was found missing from his trailer.

Oxymoron

Oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two contradictory terms are combined.

Awfully good: The pudding tasted awfully good.

Pretty ugly: She looked pretty ugly in her new attire.

Oxymoron

Oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two contradictory terms are combined.

Deafening silence: The auditorium was filled with a deafening silence.

Exact estimate: The Manager wanted an exact estimate of the project’s cost.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia refers to the formation of words, which (when spoken aloud) imitate the sounds related with the things/actions they refer to.

Creak: High-pitched squeaking sound.

Splash: Sound of something falling into liquid.

The door creaked eerily in the middle of the night.

The car fell into the river with a big splash.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia refers to the formation of words, which (when spoken aloud) imitate the sounds related with the things/actions they refer to.

Boom: Bang, explosion, resound, etc.

Purr: Low continuous vibratory sound (especially of a cat), whirr, drone, etc.

The fireworks’ boom frightened the baby.

The cat purred when his master patted him.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia refers to the formation of words, which (when spoken aloud) imitate the sounds related with the things/actions they refer to.

Sniff: Smell, breath, sound of inhaling air through nose, etc.

Tweet: Chirp, chirrup, chatter of a young bird, etc.

The dog was sniffing the biscuit tin.

The birds were tweeting noisily in their nests.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia refers to the formation of words, which (when spoken aloud) imitate the sounds related with the things/actions they refer to.

Beep: Short, high-pitched sound.

Flutter: Wave, fly, flap, flicker, etc.

They had no idea from where the beep sound was coming.

The beep of the car horn woke him up.

The dove fluttered its wings in pain.

The clothes fluttered in the breeze.  

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia refers to the formation of words, which (when spoken aloud) imitate the sounds related with the things/actions they refer to.

Chatter: Click together repeatedly, babble, rant, etc.

Buzz: Low murmuring sound, hum, drone, etc.

My teeth were chattering in the cold.

We woke up to the chattering of monkeys.

The Chairman’s arrival ended the buzz in the conference room. 

The buzzing of the doorbell was maddening.

Homophones

Homophones are words that sound alike, may have the same spelling, but differ in meaning.

Imminent means impending, forthcoming, about to happen, etc.

Eminent means well-known, renowned, notable, outstanding, reputed, famous, prominent, etc.

The soldiers were unaware of the imminent danger of being ambushed.

He was an eminent member of the society.

He is an eminent surgeon.

Homophones

Homophones are words that sound alike, may have the same spelling, but differ in meaning.

Pole means a rod, stick, opposite, extreme, etc.

Poll means vote, survey, census, etc.

He used a long pole to jump the boundary wall.

They are twin brothers, but their characters are poles apart.

The politicians resort to widespread campaigning just before the polls.

Homophones

Homophones are words that sound alike, may have the same spelling, but differ in meaning.

Wonder means doubt, curious, surprise, astonishment, amazement, etc.

Wander means to stroll, roam, walk, stray, etc.

I wonder what Tom was doing all these years.

We wondered at Jack’s intelligence for his age.

The kid was found wandering alone in the park.

Homophones

Homophones are words that sound alike, may have the same spelling, but differ in meaning.

Discreet means cautious, careful, wary, etc.

Discrete means separate, distinct, detached, etc.

The cops should have been more discreet with their undercover operation.

The bank had discrete sections for each function.

Homophones

Homophones are words that sound alike, may have the same spelling, but differ in meaning.

Drought means dry, arid, famine, dearth, lack, etc.

Draught means air current, a dose of liquid, etc.

The farmers of the drought-hit areas sought help from the Government.

His gold medal ended his country’s decade-long international medal drought.

The cold draught was coming from a hole in the roof.

He had a draught of ale in the morning.

Homophones

Homophones are words that sound alike, may have the same spelling, but differ in meaning.

Real means actual, true, genuine, authentic, etc.

Reel means coil, roll, stagger, stumble, spin, etc.

That movie is based on real events.

His real name is not Jack.

A reel of wire was found by the roadside.

The company is reeling under debts.

Homophones

Homophones are words that sound alike, may have the same spelling, but differ in meaning.

Principal means main, primary, key, leader, headmaster, etc.

Principle means rule, law, code, standard, notion, etc.

Coconut was the principal ingredient in that recipe.

The Mayor arranged a meeting for all the principals in town.

He never compromises on his principles.

Both these devices work on the same principle.

Homophones

Homophones are words that sound alike, may have the same spelling, but differ in meaning.

Desert means arid or barren region, wasteland, abandon, leave, quit, etc.

Dessert means sweet course at the end of a meal.

The Sahara Desert is in Africa.

He deserted his family and went abroad.

We had ice cream for dessert.

Homophones

Homophones are words that sound alike, may have the same spelling, but differ in meaning.

Ordinance means order, regulation, command, law, etc.

Ordnance means weapons, arms, artillery, armaments, etc.

Violation of traffic ordinances is a punishable act.

Ordnance factories cater to the demands of the Army, Air Force, and Naval establishments.

Homophones

Homophones are words that sound alike, may have the same spelling, but differ in meaning.

Decent means polite, honest, respectable, civilized, etc.

Descent means fall, decline, drop, plunge, crash, origin, lineage, etc.

Dissent means to disagree, differ, oppose, rebel, etc.

Please help me to find a decent home.

He is from a decent family.

The aircraft made a steep descent.

That lady is of Irish descent.

A few Board members dissented from the majority on the new project.

Homophones

Homophones are words that are pronounced alike, may have the same spelling, but differ in meaning.

Acetic means of, containing or derived from acetic acid.

Ascetic means austere, abstainer, hermit, monk, etc.

Acetic acid has a sour taste.

He gave up all luxuries and led his life like an ascetic.

Confused Words

Brake and Break

Brake means to slow down, reduce speed, etc.

Break means to shatter, smash, crack, interval, gap, etc.

He had to put sudden brakes to avoid hitting the kid.

The kids broke the window glass.

The cops had to break the door to get in.

He took a break from work.

Confused Words

Scrap and Scrape

Scrap means bit, piece, fragment, cancel, abandon, etc.

Scrape means to rub, scratch, grate, etc.

She scribbled her address on a scrap of paper.

The live telecast plan was scrapped at the last moment.

He scraped the mud off his car tyres.

She scraped the carrots.

Confused Words

Rote and Wrote

Rote means by heart, memorize, routine, etc.

Wrote is the past tense of write.

The teacher asked the students to rote the poem.

He wrote his name and address in the form.

Confused Words

Pour and Pore

Pour means to spill, flow, dispense, transfer, etc.

Pore means hole, aperture, ponder, etc.

He poured the water into the jar.

The rain poured quite heavily.

The rock had many pores in it.

He pored over last night’s events.

Confused Words

Quite and Quiet

Quite means rather, somewhat, entirely, very, fully, etc.

Quiet means still, calm, silent, serene, gentle, peaceful, etc.

It’s quite hot outside.

He is quite rich.

He just wanted to have a quiet nap.

The kids were very quiet, which was rather unusual.

Confused Words

Pale and Pail

Pale means faint, dim, light, fade, colorless, etc.

Pail means a bucket, tub, container, etc.

She looked pale after she heard about the accident.

The curtains had pale patterns.

She dropped the pail of water.

The pail is too heavy to be carried by a single person.