Afterward and Afterwards are both adverbs that mean “later,” and differ only in spelling; they are equally acceptable, although one is more popular than the other in various countries. They can only be used as sentence-level adverbs, not directly on verbs. Here’s an example to illustrate: Correct: Afterward(s), we ate ice-cream.Incorrect: We afterward(s) ate ice cream. Although […]

Agression and Egression have entirely different meanings. Aggression can refer to any hostile behavior, such as an insult or attack: Your aggression is intolerable; stop attacking me! Egression means the “process or method of leaving or emerging from somewhere.” And while aggression is a very common word, egression is a very rare word, probably because it […]

Drier and Dryer are the same word when used as a noun, just spelled differently. The primary meaning of this word is someone or something that makes things dry, especially a clothes dryer or a hair dryer. My clothes are dry in the dryer.Mom took out my laundry from the dryer and hung it up to […]

A widow is a woman who’s husband has died. A widower is a man whose wife has died. Yes, this seems a little strange, considering the -er ending for widower, suggesting a weird and outdated sort of active/passive relationship. In reference to same-sex or gender-fluid couples, any woman who has lost her partner to death would […]

Ware and wear sound the same but have unrelated meanings.Ware Ware is a noun, meaning “goods” or “merchandise,” “items for sale.” Wear is a verb with two unrelated meanings:  “to have clothing on” and “to erode (eat away) a material.” Ware is a simple word, only meaning “merchandise”—what a person is selling. Its grammar is a little […]