A Helpful List of Commonly Confused Words

The English language is a bit tricky, and as a result, there are many words that are often confused for one another! This may be because the words sound alike, look alike, are spelled alike, or are closely related with different meanings. Either way, identifying these commonly confused words and learning some tips and tricks to deal with them can really help you be a successful writer. Here is a list of commonly confused words:

  • Accept/Except
  • Advice/Advise
  • Affect/Effect
  • Complement/Compliment
  • Defuse/Diffuse
  • Ensure/Insure
  • Imply/Infer
  • It’s/Its
  • Lay/Lie
  • Principal/Principle
  • Then/Than
  • Their/There/They’re
  • To/Too
  • Your/You’re
  • Which/That
  • Who’s/Whose

While this list does not include all commonly confused words, it does contain some of those I’ve seen most often with my students. If you have a commonly confused word you would like to share and get clarity on, please post a comment!