COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS—HOMONYMS

Diposkan pada oleh Skeptical Inquirer

HERE’S A HINT TRICKY VERBS

These verbs confuse even native speakers of English. To keep them straight, think
about which verb in a pair needs an object (a noun or pronoun that’s acted on by
a verb). Practice using these verbs in context and you will become more comfortable
with them.

raise.jpg

You already know many homophones and commonly confused words inside and out. The ones you don’t know, you simply need to memorize. The question is, how do you remember these differences in meaning, especially when the words seem so much alike? The key is to capitalize on the differences in the words. And when it comes to frequently confused words, mnemonic devices come in especially handy. Take the commonly confused pair ingenious and ingenuous, for example:

➥ ingenious: marked by inventive skill or creativity; showing inventiveness
and skill, remarkably clever

➥ ingenuous: 1. not cunning or deceitful, unable to mask feelings; artless,
frank, sincere. 2. lacking sophistication or worldliness

The only difference in the spelling of these words is the i/u. You can use this difference to remember key words in the definition of each word.

➥ ingenious: inventive
➥ ingenuous: unable to mask feelings

Similarly, the difference between disinterested and uninterested is the prefix. Use this to help you remember the meaning: a disinterested person is distanced from the situation and is therefore impartial.

  • allude (a˘·’lood) v. to make an indirect reference to
  • elude (i·’lood) v. 1. to escape from or evade, especially by cleverness, daring, or skill. 2. to be incomprehensible to, escape the understanding of
  • appraise (a˘·’prayz) v. 1. to evaluate. 2. to establish value or estimate the worth of
  • apprise (a˘·’pr¯z) v. to give notice or information to; to make aware of, inform
  • ascent (a˘·’sent) n. 1. an upward slope. 2. a movement upward, advancement
  • assent (a˘·’sent) n. agreement; concurrence; consent
  • censor (‘sen·so˘r) v. to forbid the publication, distribution, or other public dissemination of something because it is considered obscene or otherwise politically or morally unacceptable. n. an official who reviews books, films, etc. to remove what is considered morally, politically, or otherwise objectionable censure (‘sen·shu˘r) n. expression of strong criticism or disapproval; a rebuke or condemnation. v. to criticize strongly, rebuke, condemn
  • sensor (‘sen·so˘r) n. a device that receives and responds to a stimulus such as
    light, smoke, etc.
  • cue (kyoo) n. 1. a signal, such as a word or action, given to prompt or remind someone of something; a hint or suggestion. 2. a line of waiting people or vehicles; a queue
  • queue (kyoo) n. 1. a line of waiting people or vehicles. 2. (in information processing) an ordered list of tasks to be performed or sequence of programs awaiting processing
  • decent (‘dee·se˘nt) adj. 1. conforming to what is socially or morally suitable or correct. 2. meeting acceptable standards; sufficient, adequate
  • descent (di·’sent) n. 1. the act of descending or moving downward; a downward slope or movement. 2. hereditary derivation; lineage
  • dissent (di·’sent) v. 1. to differ in opinion, disagree. 2. to withhold approval or assent. n. 1. a difference of opinion. 2. nonconformity
  • deprecate (‘dep·re˘·kayt) v. to express disapproval of; to belittle, depreciate
  • depreciate (di·’pree·shi·ayt) v. 1. to diminish in price or value; to lessen the worth of. 2. to think or speak of as being of little worth; to belittle disburse (dis·’burs) v. to pay out
  • disperse (dis·’spurs) v. 1. to separate and scatter in different directions; to cause to do so. 2. to distribute widely, disseminate
  • elicit (i·’lis·it) v. 1. to call forth or draw out; to provoke. 2. to deduce or derive by reasoning
  • illicit (i·’lis·it) adj. illegal, forbidden by law; contrary to accepted morality or convention
  • eminent (’em·˘·ne˘nt) adj. towering above or more prominent than others, lofty; standing above others in quality, character, reputation, etc.; distinguished
  • imminent (‘im·˘·ne˘nt) adj. about to occur; impending
  • emanate (’em·a˘·nayt) v. to come or issue forth, as from a source
  • extant (‘ek·sta˘nt) adj. still in existence; not extinct, destroyed or lost
  • extent (ik·’stent) n. the range, distance, or degree to which something reaches or extends. 2. a wide and open space or area
  • fain (fayn) adv. with joy; gladly
  • feign (fayn) v. to pretend, to give the false appearance of
  • faux (foh) adj. artificial, fake; not genuine or real
  • foe (foh) n. an enemy, adversary, or opponent
  • hoard (hohrd) n. a hidden store or stock, cache. v. to collect and lay up; to
    amass and store in secret
  • horde (hohrd) n. a large group or crowd; a vast multitude
  • incredible (in·’kred·˘·be˘l) adj. 1. implausible, beyond belief. 2. astonishing
  • incredulous (in·’krej·u˘·lu˘s) adj. skeptical, unwilling to believe
  • ingenious (in·’jeen·yu˘s) adj. marked by inventive skill or creativity; showing inventiveness and skill, remarkably clever
  • ingenuous (in·’jen·yoo·u˘s) adj. 1. not cunning or deceitful, unable to mask feelings; artless, frank, sincere. 2. lacking sophistication or worldliness
  • meddle (‘med·e˘l) v. to intrude in other people’s affairs; interfere
  • mettle (‘met·e˘l) n. courage, fortitude, spirit
  • peak (peek) v. to reach its highest point or maximum development, activity, or intensity. n. 1. the sharp end of something tapering to a point. 2. the pointed top of a mountain, summit. 3. the highest possible point of development,
    activity, or intensity
  • peek (peek) v. to glance quickly or peer at furtively. n. a brief or furtive look. pique (peek) v. 1. to cause annoyance or irritation; to vex or create resentment. 2. to provoke or arouse
  • persecute (‘pur·se˘·kyoot) v. to oppress, harass, or mistreat, especially because
    of race, religious or political beliefs, or sexual orientation
  • prosecute (‘pros·e˘·kyoot) v. 1. to bring a criminal action against. 2. to carry on, continue, practice
  • prescribe (pri·’skr¯b) v. 1. to issue commands, order something to be done; dictate. 2. to order a medicine or other treatment
  • proscribe (proh·’skr¯b) v. to prohibit, forbid by law
  • raise (rayz) v. 1. to lift, make higher; put in an upright position 2. to increase in size, quantity, intensity, degree, or strength. n. 1. the act of raising or increasing. 2. an increase in salary
  • raze (rayz) v. 1. to level to the ground, demolish completely. 2. to erase, obliterate team (teem) v. to join together so as to form a team. n. a group organized to work together; a cooperative unit teem (teem) v. to be full of; to be present in large numbers
  • waive (wayv) v. 1. to give up (a right or claim) voluntarily, relinquish. 2. to refrain from enforcing or insisting upon (a rule, penalty, standard procedure, etc.); dispense with
  • wave (wayv) v. 1. to move up and down or back and forth; undulate. 2. to signal with an up and down or back and forth movement of the hand. n. 1. a ridge or swell on the surface of a body of water. 2. a back-and-forth or upand- down movement, especially of the hand. 3. a surge, rush, or sudden great rise

Tinggalkan komentar

Diterbitkan oleh Skeptical Inquirer

• Central For Inquiry (CFI) • Skeptical Inquirer • Free Inquiry • Point of Inquiry ------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Yang nyata ialah manusia itu sendiri bukan tuhan, bukan manusia pikiran tuhan, tetapi tuhan adalah pikiran manusia, agama tidak merubah kenyataan dan mengukir sejarah, tetapi manusia itu sendiri yang merubah dan mengukirnya. Bukan tuhan yang menciptakan manusia tetapi tuhan adalah angan-angan manusia. Agama tidak merubah kenyataan tetapi menusia bisa merubah kenyataan. 2. Agama ialah proyeksi manusia : tuhan, neraka, surga, malaikat. Kenapa? Karena manusia butuh tempat untuk mencurahkan keluhan karena dunia tanpa hati, jadi penderitaan tempat lahirnya tuhan. Dengan demikian agama disebut keterasingan manusia dari kehidupan karena struktur masyarakat tidak mengizinkan secara penuh perealisasian diri sendiri, sehingga manusia membangun kerajaan angan-angan (agama). Dalam kenyataan manusia menderita lalu ia mengharapkan surga 3. kenapa agama khayalan, karena agama tidak inderawi, sedangkan manusia inderawi, manusia penuh dengan kepastian sedangkan agama berbau unsur spekulatif, unsur yang tidak bisa diterima secara ilmiah 4. Jadi agama dan tuhan ialah ciptaan manusia itu sendiri, tetapi manusia itu sendiri lupa dengan ciptaanya (seperti pada zaman jahiliyah dahulu sebelum nabi muhamad dating : orang-orang kafir zaman dahulu mengukir tuhan dari kayu dan batu, yang kemudian disembahnya, sama seperti kita kini yang memproyeksikan tuhan lalu menyembahnya). Agama penyembahan tuhan terhadap dirinya sendiri. Agama penyembahan manusia terhadap ciptaanya sendiri 5. Sehingga khayalan atau angan-angan itu mempunyai eksistensi realitas yang membuat manusia takut dan harus menyembahnya dan tuhan mempunyai hakikat lain yang manusia harus sembah. Sifat-sifat itu yang membuat manusia egois. 6. Penderitaan manusia ialah tempat lahirnya tuhan, penderitaan yang memaksa manusia mengasingkan diri ke dalam agama, itulah dasar yang menyebabkan manusia merasa butuh agama dan tuhan 7. Teologi harus diganti menjadi antropologi dan agama ialah candu rakyat. 8. Kritik agama hanya meruska bunga khayalan pada rantai, bukan bunganya yang harus dipatahkan tetapi rantai itu sendiri. Rantai (factor yang menyebabkan manusia mengasingkan diri ke dalam agama) 9. Kita seperti wayang dengan penuh kesadaran dan kemauan tetapi kita tidak bisa lepas dari tangan sang dalang. 10. Kalau semua ini benar, maka manusia bukan merealisasikan keinginanya tetapi mengharapkan berkah dariNYA (proyeksi manusia itu sendiri/perubahan pasif) 11. agama ialah keterbatasan: agama melarang kita bergaul dengan duniawi, sehingga kita hanya memikirkan surgawi Tanpa agama kita bisa hidup lebih baik, tanpa mengaharapkan hibah/welas asih dariNYA, hanya mengandalkan kenyataan dan diri sendiri. 12. Kepasrahan adalah kelemahan agama 13. Tuhan seperti halnya dengan setan, bila ia terus diyakini dengan adanya exsistensinya maka semakin berkuasalah ia, kita seperti member roh kepadanya dengan keyakinan kita. GROUP : https://www.facebook.com/groups/scientistsecularist