Commonly confused words

grateful vs thankful

The two overlap heavily and are often interchangeable. The usual difference is direction: grateful tends to po...

gratitude vs grateful

Gratitude is the noun — the feeling itself. Grateful is the adjective describing the person who feels it. You...

gray vs grey

They are two spellings of the same word, split by dialect: <strong>grey</strong> is standard in Britain, Irela...

grisly vs grizzly

Grisly means gruesome or horrifying — a grisly discovery. Grizzly means streaked with grey, and names the Nort...

gross vs net

Gross is the whole amount before anything is taken off; net is what is left after deductions. A gross salary o...

gruel vs porridge

Both are grain boiled in liquid; the difference is the ratio. Porridge is thick enough to eat with a spoon tha...

guilt vs guilty

<em>Guilt</em> is a noun — the feeling, or the fact of having committed an offence: <em>The guilt kept her awa...

hangar vs hanger

A hangar with an A is the large building housing aircraft. A hanger with an E is what you hang clothes on, or...

happiness vs contentment

Happiness is an active, often momentary feeling of joy, usually attached to something that happened. Contentme...

harbor vs harbour

There is no difference in meaning — only in spelling. <strong>Harbor</strong> is the American form (<em>boats...

hard vs hardly

Hard means with great effort or force — "she works hard and leaves late". Hardly means barely or almost not —...

hardy vs hearty

Hardy means tough and able to endure hardship — a hardy plant survives frost. Hearty means warm and enthusiast...

hart vs heart

A <em>hart</em> is a mature male deer, especially a red deer stag — a rare, literary word you will mostly meet...

haven vs heaven

A haven is a place of shelter and safety: "The reading room was a haven from the noise." Heaven is the sky, or...

hay vs straw

Hay is grass or legumes cut green and dried to feed livestock — "the horses get two slices of hay a night". St...

headache vs migraine

Headache is the general term for pain in the head, with many possible causes. Migraine is a specific neurologi...

hear vs here

Hear is a verb about sound: "I can hear the traffic from my window." Here is a place word meaning "in this spo...

hear vs listen

Hear is what happens to your ears whether you want it or not: "I heard a bang outside." Listen is what you do...

her vs hers

Her comes before a noun or acts as an object; hers stands alone with no noun following it. That is her umbrell...

heredity vs genetics

Heredity is the process — traits being passed from parents to offspring. Genetics is the field of study that i...

high vs highly

High refers to actual height or level: "The kite flew high above the field," "a high shelf." Highly means "ver...

hillbilly vs redneck

Both are American terms for rural white people, and both can be insults. Hillbilly is geographic — it refers s...

Hindi vs Hindu

Hindi is a language — one of the most widely spoken in India, written in the Devanagari script. Hindu describe...

historic vs historical

Historic means significant enough to make history: "a historic peace deal", "a historic win at Wembley". Histo...