Now I know you all know the difference between a pear and a pair of scissors, but obviously someone had a problem. In fact EASL people by no means have a corner of this market and I have ofter confused compliment and complement or farther and further myself, among others. These are two that I always search and double-check in a completed manuscript, knowing my propensity for getting them wrong.
Homonyms, words that sound alike, but that are spelled differently and that have different meanings, can certainly trip any of us up. Worse, spell check will not find them for you, because they spell real words and are not "mistakes" in spelling.
Below is a list of the most often confused words. Are any of your own particular bugbears on the list?
Aisle/isle
Allude/elude
Alright/all right - alright is a misspelling
Alter (n)/altar (v)
Ascent (n)/assent (v)
Awhile - never use a while
Bail/bale
Bare/bear
Bazaar (n)/bizarre (adj)
Blonde (n)/blond (adj)
Brake/break
Canvas/canvass
Cite/sight/site
Coarse (adj)/course (n)
Complementary/complimentary
Criteria/criterion - criteria is plural of criterion
Desert/dessert
Discreet (tactful)/discrete (separate)
Emigrate (leave)/immigrate (enter)
Enter/inter
Exit/exist
Farther (distance)/further
Formally (manner)/formerly (previous)
Fried/friend
Guess/guest
Hear/here
Heel/heal
Herd/heard
Imminent (about to happen)/eminent (distinguished)
Mantel/mantle
Massage/message
Naïve (adj)/naivete (n)
New/knew
Pane/pain
Peek/peak
Peel/peal
Present/presence
Quite/quiet
Roll/role
Rouge/rogue
Salvage/savage
Strait/straight
Tale/tail
There/their/there're
Thorn/throne
To/too/two
Trial/trail
Vain/vane/vein
Woman/women
Won't/want
Your/you're
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