This pair of words is one that many people learning English struggle to remember—in fact, it’s very often mixed up by native speakers as well. Principal has several meanings. The first is the one that school children surely know: “the director of an American public primary (elementary) or secondary school (high school).” Principal can also refer to […]

Straight is an adjective or adverb meaning “direct, linear, not curved or bent, extending from one point to another directly”—like a road without turns. Straight can describe a shape or a manner of travel (direct, without stops or side-trips): Mountain roads are never straight. (shape/adjective) We are not going straight to Paris; we go to Madrid first, […]

Timber refers to wood before it is treated for use in building—either wood still inside trees, or trees that have been cut into long pieces, but not prepared otherwise. Timbre refers to a property of sounds, especially musical sounds, although all sounds have timbre. Also known as sound quality, timbre is the difference in sound between two different […]

Both of these adverbs mean “with regret” but in very different ways. Regretfully means that the action of the verb is performed with regret; i.e., the person acting wishes they did not perform their action: We regretfully said goodbye to our friends. Regrettably (regret-able-ly) means that the action could and should be regretted (by anyone) – but not […]

These two words sound the same but have very different meanings. Shear has many uses related to cutting or separating—the kind of cutting done with scissors, not with a knife. Sheer is mainly an adjective meaning absolute or pure, but it has other meanings,such as steep and diaphanous (more explanation below). That’s a brief overview, but much […]