Commonly Confused Word Quiz

A list of proofreading tips, which was posted on my Facebook feed recently directed me to the Oxford Dictionaries List of Commonly Misused Words, a useful list of pairs of words which often get confused with each other. 

Not only is this very handy for anyone in the process of proofreading, but I found, as I read through it, that some of the pairs of definitions, read without the words they related to, made an odd kind of sense. Some of them even made me chuckle.

From here, I went on to think, I could make a list of them, and then, what a brilliant quiz this would make for writers and word nerds.

So here it is. How many of these commonly confused words can you spot without cheating and clicking on the link above?

1. A foot-operated lever to sell goods.
2. A person inclined to doubt, infected with bacteria.
3.  A dried grape happening now.
4. To refrain an ancestor.
5. To do physical activity to drive out an evil spirit.
6. Not moving writing materials.
7. Control or limit the stone edge of a pavement.
8. To draw out a reply or reaction not allowed by law or rules.
9. The roof of the mouth, a board for mixing colours.  
10. A Middle Eastern market  - strange.
11. Forming a climax relating to climate.
12. To cover or surround a paper container for a letter.
13. Reluctant, unwilling to hate.
14. A type of strong cloth to seek people’s votes.
15. Foolish, crazy, pleasantly warm.
16. To make certain that something will happen to provide compensation if a person dies or property is damaged.
17. To turn to ice a decoration along a wall.
18. The ability to see a location.  
19. A fight or contest between two people having two parts.
20. (Finally, my personal favourite) A long, slender piece of wood voting in an election.

Scroll

Down

For 

The 

Answers

The Answers:

1. Pedal/peddle. 2. Sceptic/Septic. 3. Currant/current. 4. Forbear/forebear. 5. Exercise/Exorcise. 6. Stationary/stationery. 7. Curb/Kerb. 8. Elicit/illicit. 9. Palate/Palette. 10. Bazaar/bizarre. 11. Climactic/climatic. 12. Envelop/envelope. 13. Loath/loathe. 14. Canvas/canvass. 15. Barmy/Balmy. 16. Ensure/insure. 17. Freeze/frieze. 18. Sight/site. 19. Duel/dual. 20. Pole/poll.

Results

Less than 10: You're not one of those people who gets you/you're, their/there, to/too mixed up as well, are you?

10 -15: Pretty normal.

16-18: Word nerd. Especially if you're not British and you got number 7.

19/20: Supreme word nerd.