The different meanings of these words are important to understand. Not only are they often misunderstood, but these misunderstandings affect the way we see and treat people, both personally and officially; these words can be connected to issues of discrimination, prejudice, and social justice.Accent is easy to understand; an accent is a pattern of pronunciation […]
Accede, Concede, and Exceed – Here are the Differences in Meaning [+ Usage in a Sentence]
Accede: to agree to a request or to give consent Concede: to admit or relinquish hesitantly Exceed: to go beyond a limit; to be greater than The root word cede that we see in all of the above words (with different spelling in exceed) means “go,” which also appears in words such as precede and recede. The […]
Abstruse or Obtuse? Here is the Difference in Meaning with Sentence Examples
Abstruse means difficult to understand; obscure. Obtuse refers to an angle exceeding 90 degrees but less than 180 degrees. It also can refer to someone who is slow to understand, lacking sharpness or quickness of intellect. These words can be easy to confuse, since abstruse means “difficult to understand” and obtuse can mean “stupid” among other […]
Abstemious vs. Abstinent: What’s the Difference?
Abstemious means not self-indulgent, especially when eating and drinking. Abstinent means not doing or having something, often referring to sex or alcohol. (i.e, self-restraint or self-denial). He hopes that an abstemious lifestyle will improve his health and wellbeing. I have abstained from drinking alcohol for over ten years. These words are both adjectives and both begin with […]
A part vs Apart? Which should you use?
Apart means “separated.” Please take this car apart and put it back together. I want to move the fighters apart into separate corners. A part means “a portion of something.” That is only a part of the story. The movie has a part where the little boy makes friends with Godzilla.Apart is an adverb and can only be used in adverb position. In contrast, a […]