Take a look at these two sentences – one of them contains a mistake:

I poured over book after book.

We pored over the catalogues.
Are you uncertain which one is right? There are a lot of words in English that look or
sound alike but have very different meanings, such
as pore and pour or flaunt and flout. It’s easy to get them confused and most
electronic spellcheckers won’t be much help in this type of situation: they can tell you if
a word has been spelled wrongly but they can’t generally flag up the misuse of a
correctly spelled word.
Here’s a quick-reference list of pairs of words that regularly cause people problems. The
words follow the accepted British English spelling. Some of them do have alternative
American spellings and you will find these at the main dictionary entry on this website.

Confusable
Meanings
s
accept to agree to receive or do
except not including
adverse unfavourable, harmful
averse strongly disliking; opposed
advice recommendations about what to do
advise to recommend something
affect to change or make a difference to
effect a result; to bring about a result
aisle a passage between rows of seats
isle an island
all together all in one place, all at once
altogether completely; on the whole
along moving or extending horizontally on
a long referring to something of great length
aloud out loud
allowed permitted
altar a sacred table in a church
alter to change
amoral not concerned with right or wrong
immoral not following accepted moral standards
appraise to assess
apprise to inform someone
assent agreement, approval
ascent the action of rising or climbing up
aural relating to the ears or hearing
oral relating to the mouth; spoken
balmy pleasantly warm
barmy foolish, crazy
bare naked; to uncover
bear to carry; to put up with
bated in phrase 'with bated breath', i.e. in great suspense
baited with bait attached or inserted
bazaar a Middle Eastern market
bizarre strange
berth a bunk in a ship, train, etc.
birth the emergence of a baby from the womb
born having started life
borne carried
bough a branch of a tree
bow to bend the head; the front of a ship
brake a device for stopping a vehicle; to stop a vehicle
break to separate into pieces; a pause
breach to break through, or break a rule; a gap
breech the back part of a gun barrel
broach to raise a subject for discussion
brooch a piece of jewellery
canvas a type of strong cloth
canvass to seek people’s votes
censure to criticize strongly
censor to ban parts of a book or film; a person who does this
a grass producing an edible grain; a breakfast food made from
cereal 
grains
serial
happening in a series
chord a group of musical notes
cord a length of string; a cord-like body part
climactic forming a climax
climatic relating to climate
coarse rough
course a direction; a school subject; part of a meal
complacent smug and self-satisfied
complaisant willing to please
complement to add to so as to improve; an addition that improves something
compliment to praise or express approval; an admiring remark
council a group of people who manage or advise
counsel advice; to advise
cue a signal for action; a wooden rod
queue a line of people or vehicles
curb to keep something in check; a control or limit
kerb (in British English) the stone edge of a pavement
currant a dried grape
current happening now; a flow of water, air, or electricity
defuse to make a situation less tense
diffuse to spread over a wide area
desert a waterless, empty area; to abandon someone
dessert the sweet course of a meal
discreet careful not to attract attention
discrete separate and distinct
disinterested impartial
uninterested not interested
draught a current of air
draft a first version of a piece of writing
draw an even score at the end of a game
drawer a sliding storage compartment
dual having two parts
duel a fight or contest between two people
elicit to draw out a reply or reaction
illicit not allowed by law or rules
ensure to make certain that something will happen
insure to provide compensation if a person dies or property is damaged
envelop to cover or surround
envelope a paper container for a letter
exercise physical activity; to do physical activity
exorcise to drive out an evil spirit
fawn a young deer; light brown
faun a mythical being, part man, part goat
flaunt to display ostentatiously
flout to disregard a rule
flounder to move clumsily; to have difficulty doing something
founder to fail
forbear to refrain
forebear an ancestor
foreword an introduction to a book
forward onwards, ahead
freeze to turn to ice
frieze a decoration along a wall
grisly gruesome, revolting
grizzly a type of bear
hoard a store
horde a large crowd of people
imply to suggest indirectly
infer to draw a conclusion
loath reluctant, unwilling
loathe to hate
loose to unfasten; to set free
lose to be deprived of; to be unable to find
meter a measuring device
metre a metric unit; rhythm in verse
militate to be a powerful factor against
mitigate to make less severe
palate the roof of the mouth
palette a board for mixing colours
pedal a foot-operated lever
peddle to sell goods
pole a long, slender piece of wood
poll voting in an election
pour to flow or cause to flow
pore a tiny opening; to study something closely
 the use of an idea or method; the work or business of a doctor,
practice
dentist, etc.
practise
to do something repeatedly to gain skill; to do something regularly
prescribe to authorize use of medicine; to order authoritatively
proscribe to officially forbid something
principal most important; the head of a school
principle a fundamental rule or belief
sceptic a person inclined to doubt
septic infected with bacteria
sight the ability to see
site a location
stationary not moving
stationery writing materials
storey a level of a building
story a tale or account
titillate to arouse interest
titivate to make more attractive
tortuous full of twists; complex
torturous full of pain or suffering
wreath a ring-shaped arrangement of flowers etc.
wreathe to surround or encircle
yoke a wooden crosspiece for harnessing a pair of oxen
yolk the yellow center of an egg

1. Historic and historical are used in slightly different ways. Historic means ‘famous or

important in history’, as in a historic occasion, whereas historical means ‘concerning history or
historical events’, as in historical evidence; thus a historic event is one that was very
important, whereas a historical event is something that happened in the past.

2. Although when spoken these two words sound somewhat similar, their meanings are
quite different. Allude is to suggest or indirectly call attention to something, for example:
She had a way of alluding to Jean but never saying her name.
Whereas elude means to escape from or avoid someone or something:
The thief eluded the authorities for months.
Or the failure to achieve or attain something:
After three years, the cup still eluded them.

3. Generally speaking, especially and specially both mean ‘particularly’. The

preference for using one word instead of the other is down to particular conventions of
use rather than any deep difference in meaning. There is little to choose between:
I made it especially for Jonathan. 
or:

I made it specially for Jonathan. 

On the other hand, especially means ‘to single out one person, thing, or situation
above all others’ so it would be used correctly in the following sentence, where it would
not be appropriate to use specially:
He despised them all, especially Sylvester. 
In the following sentence, specially is correctly used as it means ‘for a special purpose’:
The cake was specially made for the occasion. 
The use of especially would be considered somewhat unusual.
Overall, especially is by far the more common of the two, occurring twenty times as
frequently as specially in the Oxford English Corpus.

4. The two words adverse and averse are related in origin but they do not have the
same meaning. Adverse means ‘unfavourable or harmful’ and is normally used of
conditions and effects rather than people, as in adverse weather conditions. Averse, on
the other hand, is used of people, nearly always with to, and means ‘having a strong
dislike or opposition to something’, as in:
I am not averse to helping out.
A common error is to use adverse instead of averse, as in:
He is not adverse to making a profit.

5. The traditional distinction between the verbs enquire and inquire is that enquire is

to be used for general senses of ‘ask’, while inquire is reserved for uses meaning
‘make a formal investigation’.
In practice, however, enquire, and the associated noun enquiry, are more common in
British English while inquire (and the noun inquiry) are more common in American
 English, but otherwise there is little discernible distinction in the way the words are
used. Some style guides require that only inquire or only enquire be used.
 Could I enquire about your mother's health?
 She inquired about the library's rare books collection.
 Every enquiry is very welcome.
 Adam helped the police with their inquiries.
Both words derive from the Old French enquerre, from a variant of the Latin inquirere,
based on quaerere 'seek'. The same root word can be seen in various modern English
words, including acquire, require, conquer, quest, request, inquest, and question.

6. The two words adverse and averse are related in origin but they do not have the
same meaning. Adverse means ‘unfavourable or harmful’ and is normally used of
conditions and effects rather than people, as in adverse weather conditions. Averse, on
the other hand, is used of people, nearly always with to, and means ‘having a strong
dislike or opposition to something’, as in:
I am not averse to helping out.
A common error is to use adverse instead of averse, as in:
He is not adverse to making a profit.