These words, both adjectives, are almost synonyms, meaning “low cost.” When talking about prices, they can be synonyms, though cheap is often considered cheaper than inexpensive: Computers are never really cheap, but some are relatively inexpensive. Inexpensive can mean just as cheap as cheap, but it is more polite, since cheap can have negative connotations. Besides […]

These words both have material and non-material meanings.Concrete (noun) is a material used in much urban architecture. Large buildings and sidewalks are usually made of concrete—a mixture of cheap minerals (stone), such as sand or gravel. We sometimes call urban environments a “concrete jungle.”Cement, in contrast, is a similar material but has some more specific […]

Strangely, these two verbs do not have similar meanings. They are originally related, but their modern meanings in English are not.Capitulate means “to give in, yield, or surrender” – i.e. to declare that you are incorrect in an argument, to agree that you have lost a contest, or that you will try no longer: I […]

Capital has many meanings, while capitol has only one, so let’s start with capitol . . . A capitol refers to the building where a legislative body meets. The Capitol is the building where the United States Congress meets. (The Congress is the Senate and House of Representatives—the law-making body of the United States.)Capital has two major […]

Canvas is a heavy cloth—usually waterproof and air-proof—made of cotton, hemp, or flax, which is traditionally used for the sails on boats, as the backing for paintings, or in tents and other protective cloth coverings.  One can call the piece of canvas behind a painting, “a canvas,” but in other cases it refers to the general […]