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abjure
adjure

“Abjure” means “to renounce an oath” or “to abandon or abstain from”. By contrast, adjure means “to command by exacting an oath” or, more commonly now, “to request earnestly”. eg He had abjured all religious beliefs. They were all shouting at once, adjuring each other to have a pint.

adverse
averse

are related in origin but do not have the same meaning. “Adverse” means “unfavourable or harmful” and is normally used of conditions and effects. “Averse” is used of people, nearly always with “to”, and means “having a strong dislike or opposition to something”. The crew had to deal with adverse weather conditions. She is averse to change.

amoral
immoral

While “immoral” means “not conforming to accepted standards of morality”, “amoral” implies “not concerned with or ignorant of morality”. The client pays for the amoral expertise of the lawyer. The council judged the film to be immoral and obscene.

biannual
biennial

“Biannual” means “twice a year”. “Biennial” means “taking place every two years”. A biennial plant lives a two-year cycle, flowering and producing seed in the second year. To avoid confusion, rephrasing is often better. Congressional elections are a biennial phenomenon. The solstice is a biannual event.

bravado
bravery
bravura

“Bravado” means “ostentatious courage or boldness”, often concealing fear or reluctance, whereas “bravery” is a general word for “courageous action or character”. “Bravura” is a brilliant or showy style of playing music or of performance in some other field. His defiant words were mere bravado. The knight was renowned for his bravery. The recital ended with a blazing bravura display.

complacent
complaisant

are similar in pronunciation and both come from the Latin verb complacere “to please”. In English, “complacent” is commoner and means “smug and self-satisfied”. “Complaisant” means “willing to please”. With his complacent attitude, he was no fun to work with. The people in our village proved complaisant and cordial.

complement
compliment

As a verb “complement” means “to add to something in a way that enhances or improves” (it is related to “complete”). “Compliment” means “to admire and praise someone for something”. Complimentary means “expressing a compliment”. From this comes the sense of “given free”. The relaunched website will complement the radio programmes. He paid her a charming compliment. Honeymooners receive complimentary fruit and flowers.

decry
descry

“Decry” means “to belittle or disparage”. “Descry” means “to catch sight of”. He takes every opportunity to decry contemporary morality. She descried two figures on the horizon.

dependence
dependency

“Dependence” means “a state of depending”; “dependency” can mean this but is more usually “a country or province that is dependent on another”. The use of dependency to mean dependence has been popularised by the term “dependency culture”, “a way of life determined by being dependent on state benefits”. His dependence on his mother’s support was pathetic. Gibraltar is a British dependency.

derisory
derisive

“Derisory” usually means “ridiculously small or inadequate”. “Derisive” is used to mean “expressing contempt”. His reaction to the derisory salary increase was a derisive laugh.

discrete
discreet

are pronounced in the same way and share an origin but they do not mean the same thing. “Discrete” means “separate”, while discreet means “careful and circumspect”. A finite number of discrete categories. You can rely on him to be discreet.

elicit
illicit

“Elicit” is sometimes confused with “illicit” because both words are pronounced the same. “Elicit” is a verb meaning “to extract (an answer, admission, etc.)”, whereas “illicit” is an adjective meaning “unlawful, forbidden”. She managed to elicit a confession out of her cheating husband. After his wife had thrown him out of the house, he got arrested for illicit drinking.

endemic
epidemic

An “endemic” disease is one regularly or only found among a particular people or in a particular region, whereas an “epidemic” disease is a temporary but widespread outbreak. Both words have extended meanings in relation to things other than diseases. Skiving and malingering have reached epidemic proportions. Corruption is endemic in many financial institutions.

esoteric
exoteric
exotic

“Esoteric” has the meaning “intended for the initiated few, obscure”; “exoteric” (a rare word) means the opposite, ie, “intended for people generally”. However, it is sometimes confused with “exotic”, meaning “coming from or associated with a foreign country” (often with connotations of the remarkable or bizarre). His poetry is wilfully esoteric. Unlike his poetry, the detective novels he wrote were exoteric. Most of these novels took the reader on a journey to exotic locations.

exalt
exult

“Exalt” means to “to raise, elevate” or “to praise highly”, and is often used in the participial form “exalted”, meaning “grand, noble”. “Exult” means “to feel great joy or triumph”, and is common in its adjectival form “exultant”. A man in his exalted position. As the election results came in, her mood became exultant.

fateful
fatal

both have to do with the workings of fate. In essence, “fateful” means “having far-reaching consequences”, which may be good or neutral as well as bad. “Fatal” means “causing death” and, by extension, “bringing ruin”. The closest synonyms to fatal in this meaning are “catastrophic”, “disastrous”, or “ruinous”. The fateful day on which I first met my wife-to-be. There were three fatal flaws in the strategy.

fervent
fervid

Although both words mean “ardent, intense”, “fervent” has positive connotations, whereas “fervid” can sound disapproving; the difference is rather like that between “warm” and “feverish” when applied to feelings. Note also that “fervent” but not “fervid” can be applied to people. She is a fervent defender of free speech. They displayed a fervid interest in sex.

gourmand
gourmet

both can be used to mean “a connoisseur of good food”, but “gourmand” is more usually used to mean “a person who enjoys eating and often eats too much”. “Gourmet” can be used as an adjective. I wouldn’t say he is a real gourmet eater – he’s more of a gourmand.

impracticable
impractical

“Impracticable” means “impossible to carry out”. “Impractical” tends to mean “unrealistic” or “not sensible”. Poor visibility made the task difficult, even impracticable. In windy weather, an umbrella is impractical.

insure
ensure

The main meaning of “insure” is the commercial sense of providing financial compensation in the event of damage; “ensure” has the more general meaning of “to make sure”. My last bike was stolen, so I insured this one. The system is checked regularly to ensure a good quality of service.

loath
loathe

are often confused in writing. “Loath” is an adjective meaning “reluctant or unwilling”, whereas “loathe” is a verb meaning “feel intense dislike or disgust for”. “Loath” can also be written “loth”, which is also correct. I was loath to leave. She loathed him on sight.

mitigate
militate

“Mitigate” means “to make less severe”, while “militate” is nearly always used in constructions with “against” to mean “be a powerful factor in preventing”. Drainage schemes have helped to mitigate flooding. These disagreements will militate against the two communities coming together.

obsolete
obsolescent

Something is “obsolete” when it is outdated and no longer used. It is “obsolescent” when it is falling out of use, ie, is becoming obsolete but is not yet actually so. The food-processing plant was using obsolescent equipment; soon it would become obsolete.

prudent
prudential
prudish

“Prudent” is a judgmental word meaning “circumspect, judicious”, whereas “prudential” is merely descriptive in identifying actions and attitudes to do with prudence. “Prudish” is an entirely distinct word meaning “affecting extreme modesty or propriety in sexual matters”. She earned the Prime Minister’s gratitude for her prudent handling of the scandal. He abstained mainly for prudential reasons. We thought he was a bit of a playboy; actually, he was quite prudish.

sceptic
septic

A “sceptic” is a habitual doubter; “septic” means “relating to disease or putrefaction caused by bacteria”. She was a sceptic when it came to parliamentary reform. The wound became septic. .

sensuous
sensual

are frequently used interchangeably to mean “gratifying the senses”, especially in a sexual sense. Traditionally, “sensuous” was a neutral term, meaning “relating to the senses rather than the intellect”, while “sensual” relates to gratification of the senses, especially sexually. The word “sensuous” is thought to have been coined by the poet John Milton in 1641, to avoid the sexual overtones of “sensual”. Swimming is a beautiful, sensuous experience. George gave me a sensual massage.

slosh
sludge
slush

“Slosh” is a verb meaning “to move with a splashing sound”. “Sludge” is usually applied to less liquid substances, such as mud or slime. “Slush” typically describes thawing snow or melting ice. In the course of his journey, he had waded through the thick sludge of Amazonian swamps, dragged his feet through the slush on the Icelandic tundras and sloshed about in the turquoise waters of the Caribbean.

specious
spurious

“Specious” began its life meaning “having a fine outward appearance”, but acquired the unfavourable meaning of “plausible but wrong”. “Spurious” means “not genuine, not being what it purports to be”. A “specious claim” is one that is attractive but insubstantial whereas a “spurious claim” is based on false evidence. Yours is a specious argument. Their allegation turned out to be spurious.

tortuous
torturous

“Tortuous” means “full of twists and turns”. “Torturous” means “involving or causing torture”. In extended senses, however, “tortuous” is used to mean “excessively lengthy and complex” and hence may become indistinguishable from “torturous”: something that is “tortuous” is often also “torturous”, as in a tortuous piece of bureaucratic language. We took a tortuous route. Those five days of fitness training were torturous.

turbid
turgid

“Turbid” means “opaque and cloudy”, and “turgid” means “swollen and overflowing”. In their figurative meanings, both refer to styles of writing. “Turgid”, meaning “inflated, bombastic”, is the more common, whereas “turbid” means “confused or muddled”. The river was slow and turbid. A turgid and fast-moving river.

venal
venial

“Venal” and “venial” are sometimes confused. “Venal” means “bribable, corrupt”, whereas “venial” is used to refer to a sin or offence that is excusable or pardonable, as opposed to a mortal sin. Venal consulate officials have reportedly swindled untold thousands. He made a venial mistake.

vicious
viscous

“Vicious” means “nasty, aggressive, or cruel”, whereas a “viscous” liquid is one that is thick and slow-flowing. They were plagued by vicious mosquitoes. Stir the flour into the milk until you have created a viscous liquid.

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