These are the same word, and most dictionaries accept both spellings—although your spell-checker may disagree! Collectible is considered more correct by many people. The difference is that collectible is considered its own word, beyond being derived from the verb collect, whereas, collectable is merely the verb collect with -able added on—in the way that we […]

These two nouns describe people, with two very different meanings. The one with two “r”s, correspondent, is a very common word, while corespondent, with one “r,” is not as common, and you may see it as a miss-spelling of correspondent.Correspondent has two meanings: (1) A person who is communicating with someone else through letters, emails, […]

Although these adjectives are related, their meanings are quite distinct and for the last two, often confused, even by native English speakers.Eminent will be easiest to remember, because it contains e- for “out” and it means something or someone that really stands out, in a good way. People may say it means “famous,” but “well […]

You may not be surprised to learn that these words are complementary; they can refer to the same person, from two complementary points of view. An emigrant is a person moving out of their country of residence, and an immigrant is a person coming into a new country for residence. The same difference is true for […]

The difference between these two nouns is subtle but important.Empathy refers to feeling what other people are feeling, or the ability to do so:  Most human beings feel empathy when they see suffering in front of them. Sympathy means caring about and understanding other people’s feelings, although one may not experience them: I have sympathy […]