The differences in meaning between these words are subtle. Both words mean “not interested” but in different ways.Uninterested describes an attitude towards a topic. One must be uninterested in something: I am uninterested (in playing video games). Disinterested can be used in the same way, or to mean “neutral” or “without personal investment”: Decisions of […]

These two adjectives have quite different meanings. They should be easy to remember because ingenious is related to genius, while ingenuous is related to genuine.Ingenious means “very clever.” Clever is not the same as intelligent. It implies creativity and efficiency, but not necessarily the ability to score high on an IQ test: His solution to […]

These two nouns are similar in meaning. Both refer to contrasts (differences) and both carry negative connotations.A discrepancy is a negative difference between what is expected and the reality— between what you asked for and what you got: The contractor charged us more money than we expected and did not explain the discrepancy. A disparity […]

These two adjectives have quite unrelated meanings. Discreet means “not drawing attention” and implies caution and politeness: Please be discreet if you enter the theater after the play has started. Discrete means “separable” or “clearly different”: How many discrete ways are there to use this word? You may also have heard the term discrete mathematics, […]

These words are nearly the same, but not quite.  Discomfort, as a noun, means “a state or feeling of uneasiness, the opposite of comfort”: We usually think that discomfort is bad, but sometimes discomfort leads to change. (Discomfit is not used as a noun).  As verbs, both words can mean, “to cause discomfort or uneasiness.” Discomfit, however, also […]