Commonly confused words

litigation vs lawsuit

A lawsuit is a single case — one claim brought by one party against another. Litigation is the whole process o...

loath vs loathe

Loath, without the E, is an adjective meaning reluctant — I am loath to interrupt. Loathe, with the E, is a ve...

loose vs lose

Loose is usually an adjective meaning not tight or not secured, and it rhymes with goose: "the handle is loose...

lose vs loose

Lose, with one O, is a verb meaning to misplace something or be defeated — don't lose your keys. Loose, with t...

Lucifer vs Satan

Satan is a title meaning "the adversary" and is used throughout the Bible for the opponent of God. Lucifer is...

lynx vs bobcat

A bobcat is a lynx — it belongs to the genus Lynx, which contains four species: the bobcat, the Canada lynx, t...

Macedonia vs Greece

Macedonia names both a region of northern Greece and a separate country to its north, now officially North Mac...

magna cum laude vs summa cum laude

Both are Latin honours awarded at graduation, and summa outranks magna. The full ladder runs cum laude, then m...

mail vs male

<em>Mail</em> is letters, parcels and the system that carries them — "the mail arrives before nine", "I'll mai...

mainframe vs supercomputer

They are optimised for different things. A mainframe is built for throughput and reliability — processing enor...

maki vs sushi

Sushi is defined by the rice, not the fish. Any dish using vinegared sushi rice is sushi, with or without seaf...

manga vs anime

Manga is printed — comics and graphic novels, usually black and white, read right to left. Anime is animation...

mantel vs mantle

A mantel is the shelf above a fireplace — also written mantelpiece. A mantle is a cloak, and figuratively a ro...

many vs much

Use <em>many</em> with things you can count individually: 'How many emails did you get?' Use <em>much</em> wit...

marine vs maritime

Marine describes the sea itself and the things that live in it: marine biology, marine mammals, a marine engin...

marital vs martial

Marital relates to marriage — marital status, marital problems. Martial relates to war or the military — marti...

Mars vs Ares

The Roman and Greek gods of war, identified with each other as the two mythologies merged — but they were not...

marshal vs marshall

Marshal with one L is the rank and the verb — a field marshal, marshal your arguments. Marshall with two is no...

marshal vs martial

Marshal is a noun for an official and a verb meaning to gather and organise; martial is an adjective meaning r...

massage vs message

A message is information sent from one person to another. A massage is the rubbing and kneading of muscles. On...

mastodon vs mammoth

Both are extinct proboscideans, but they are not close relatives. Mammoths were closely related to modern elep...

maternal vs material

Maternal means relating to a mother — or motherly. Material is the stuff something is made of, or as an adject...

maternal vs fraternal

Maternal relates to a mother — maternal instinct, or the maternal side of a family. Fraternal relates to broth...

mature vs maturity

Mature is an adjective or a verb: "she is very mature for fifteen", "the wine matures in oak". Maturity is the...