vicious, viscous

Vicious or vicious means extremely mean and nasty, spiteful or malicious--
The ugly witch cast a vicious spell on her ex-lover when he told her he could never love her warts.
That was a vicious thing to say!

Viscous or viscous means thick or sticky, when describing a liquid--
The witch concocted a viscous, bubbling green potion in her cauldron, intending to poison her victim.
The liquid was so viscous that it wouldn't pour out of the jar.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"If your drink seems especially viscous this Halloween, check your bartender for warts to make sure you're not about to be the victim of a vicious witch."

Note--"viscose" is a type of fiber made from cellulose, used to make rayon and cellophane--
The tag says it's made of viscose, but I don't know if it's washable.

object, abject

Object or object means thing, or something visible or tangible--
Can you find the hidden object in this picture?
Can you tell me what this object is used for?

Object may mean the person or thing to which thought or action is directed--
His celebrity made him an object of curiosity wherever he went.
She became the object of scandal-mongering when her husband  disappeared.

Object is also a grammar term, meaning the person or thing upon which an action is performed--
When I say "Susie likes ice cream," "Susie" is the subject and "ice cream" is the object.
Find the object in this sentence: "He threw the ball."  "Ball" is correct.

Object may also mean goal or purpose--
The object of this exercise is to help the members of our group get to know one another.
Finding the hidden treasure is the object of our excursion.

Object may also mean to disagree or offer an argument in opposition to--
A lawyer may object to the use of hearsay evidence by the opposing counsel.
I object to the way this meeting is being run!

Abject or abject means hopeless, demoralizing, or wretched, --
Some animals kept in cages live in abject misery.
Will the goal of eliminating abject poverty ever be achieved?

Now that you know that, you can say
"The poor man lived out his days in abject despair after the object of his affections left him."

destiny, density

Destiny or destiny means fate or predetermined fortune--
He became convinced that losing was his destiny.
She believed in destiny, and was sure that her fate was already decided.

"Destiny", used as a proper noun ( always capitalized ),
 means the power that determines fate, usually represented as a woman or goddess--
He prayed to Destiny to change his fortune.

Density or density means a measure of how crowded or compact something is--
The government is doing a study of population density.
The density of the structures leaves no room for gardens.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The researcher feared it was his destiny to spend his life studying population density."

diary, dairy

Diary or diary means a book used to record the personal events of the day--
She wants a diary for her birthday.
She has a blue diary, with a little key.

Diary also means such a daily record in general--
This diary makes an important historical record.
He keeps a diary, full of the details of his days.
Her diary became a historical record, read by many students.

Dairy or dairy means a farm for milk cows, or a place where milk is bottled--
When we drive by the dairy, look for the cows.
Dairy also means a place where cheese and butter are made or sold--
We stopped at the dairy and bought some fresh butter and cheese.

Dairy also describes products made of milk--
Dairy products are part of a healthy diet.
Milk, cheese, yogurt, and butter are all dairy products.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"He records what he eats in his diary, including  dairy products, fruits and vegetables, and meat."

casually, casualty

Casually or casually means informally, or happening by chance--
He always looks very proper, even when he is dressed casually.
They dated casually for years, whenever they were both unattached.
Casually or casually also means with indifference or coolness-
He surveyed the scene casually, and tried to hide his boredom.
He referred to her casually, as though he hadn't been searching for her everywhere.

Casualty or casualty is a military term, meaning one of the dead, missing, or wounded--
Their son was a casualty of the last war.
It was nearly impossible to account for every casualty.

Casualty or casualty also describes a insurance against accidents--
You'll want casualty insurance, in case anyone is injured on your property.
Our casualty insurance will pay for the damage to his car, but we don't have property insurance to pay for our own.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"They learned that he was a war casualty two years ago, and now they speak of it casually."

Note--not to be confused with "causality", a physics term meaning the circumstances or conditions that make up cause and effect--
"The temperature drops in both cases, but the causality is different."

ferment, foment

Ferment or ferment means to allow bacteria, yeast or mold to grow, as in the making of wine or beer,or bread, or sauerkraut, until sugar is converted to gas, acid, or alcohol--
It will take a couple of weeks for the sauerkraut to ferment.
You'll need to keep that at just the right temperature if you want it to ferment.

Ferment or ferment also means civil disturbance or turmoil--
The country has been in a state of religious ferment since the arrest of the popular preacher.
The ferment subsided after a few days.

Foment or foment means to incite or instigate--
The prosecutor claimed that he meant to foment revolution with his inflammatory speech.
He is charged with attempting to foment a riot.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The separatist group meant to foment a riot that would become a nationwide political ferment."

Note--"foment", when used as a medical term, means to apply heat or a hot poultice to--
The doctor used a cloth soaked in hot vinegar to foment the affected area.

touchy, touché

Touchy or touchy means easily annoyed or upset--
What's wrong with him? He's very touchy today.
Have I said something to offend her, or is she just touchy?

Touché or touché is a French exclamation meaning "touched", in fencing or sword-fighting, as in "your sword has touched me", or, more generally, "you got me", used as a figurative "ouch", or "that hit the mark"--
Touché! You're right, I am making a fool of myself!
Touché! I do turn into an imbecile whenever she enters the room!

Now that you know that, you can say--
"Touché! I am being touchy and out-of-sorts because I had a fight with my girlfriend."

Note--"touchy" is also used in the expression "touchy-feely" to mean phychojargon or babble about emotions--
"The children have too much touchy-feely stuff inflicted on them in school."

etymology, entomology

Etymology or etymology means the study of the derivation or origin of a word, or the study of the change in language over time--
The etymology of a word can help us to understand its meaning.
Does this dictionary include the etymology of a word with each entry?
Students find the medieval readings the most difficult part of the etymology course.

Entomology or entomology means the study of insects--
The student brought live beetles in a jar for his report on entomology.
The children are studying entomology, and are particularly interested in the social insects.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The entry on the etymology of entomology says that it is Greek for the study of insects."

banquet, banquette

Banquet or banquet means a feast, or an elaborate meal--
There will be more than a hundred people at the banquet.
Does this restaurant have banquet facilities?

Banquette or banquette means an upholstered bench, usually set against a wall--
There he is, waving at us from the banquette in the back.
There is a banquette running along the wall, and chairs on the other side of each table.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"There were so many people at the banquet that we had to squeeze in extra people on the banquette."

Note--"banquette" may mean sidewalk, in the American South--
They stood on the banquette talking, as if there wasn't another person in the world.
"Banquette" also means a kind of ledge, built inside the parapet of a fort--
The soldiers walked up and down the banquette.

pulse, impulse

Pulse or pulse means the heart beat, as it can be felt at the neck, wrist, or other points of the body--
His pulse and blood pressure are normal.
Did you check his pulse?
Pulse may also mean a  beat or throb, in a general sense--
The pain in his head had a pulse, like the beat of his heart.
Each brief pulse of light made the entire scene as bright as day.
Pulse may me a verb ( action word ), meaning to throb or beat--

He seemed to pulse with emotion whenever he remembered the incident.
Pulse may also mean the will or animating spirit, in a figurative sense--
He has his finger on the pulse of the buying public.

Impulse or impulse means a sudden urge or inclination--
Beware of impulse buying if you want to stay on a budget.
She had a sudden impulse to slap someone, and left the party in a hurry.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The nursing student had to resist the impulse to check everyone's pulse."

bald, balled, bawled

Bald or bald means having no hair, or having no hair on one's head--
He started to go bald at a very young age.
He wears his hair that way to hide his bald spot.
Bald may describe something that looks like it is missing hair or covering on the top--
The bald eagle is a symbol of the United States of America.

Balled or balled ( rhymes with bald ) is the past tense ( yesterday, or some time ago ) of "ball", meaning to crumple up into a round shape--
I found your homework balled up and thrown on the floor.
Make sure to fold your clothes; they'll be a mess if you leave them balled up that way.
The baby balled up his fist and stuck it in his mouth.

Bawled or bawled ( rhymes with bald ) is the past tense of "bawl", meaning to cry loudly--
The baby bawled when his brother took the toy away from him.
The baby bawled so loudly that the neighbors wondered what was wrong.
Bawled is also the past tense of "bawl", used in the phrase "bawl out" to mean chastise or rebuke--
The boss bawled them out for being late.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"He balled up his fists and  bawled like a baby when he realized that he was going bald."

tortuous, torturous

Tortuous or tortuous means full of twists and bends, literally or figuratively--
Their horses were worn out after making the tortuous ascent to the top.
The tortuous plot of this movie is impossible to follow.

Torturous or torturous means inflicting great pain, physically or mentally--
Some mental hospitals still inflict torturous cures on patients, such as electroshock therapy.
Blasting noise at people all day is a torturous method of interrogation.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"Using tortuous logic, they decided that the torturous methods used on the prisoners were legally justifiable."

Note--"torture us" ( rhymes with torturous ) means to inflict great pain on the speaker and one or more others--
They threatened to torture us, so we signed a confession.

census, senses, sense us

Census or census means an enumeration or count of the population--
The United States government takes a census every ten years.
Our census is for congressional reapportionment, although it was once used for a per capita tax.

Senses or senses is the plural ( more than one ) of "sense", meaning one of the faculties used to take in physical information--sight, hearing, taste, smell, or touch--
The children are learning about the five senses.
Some philosophers believe that we only know what we can apprehend with out physical senses.

Senses is also the third person singular ( he, she, it ) form of "sense", meaning to perceive without conscious use of the physical senses, or to perceive emotionally or intuitively--
He senses that she is angry, but she won't admit it.
If he senses our nervousness, he'll ask where we've been.

Sense us or sense us ( two words, rhymes with census ) means to perceive ( sense ) two or more persons ( us ), one of whom is the speaker--
I'm sure the dog can't hear us, but can he sense us?
The dog won't sense us if we don't move.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The census taker used all of his senses in an effort to sense us, but he didn't find us."

Note--"consensus" means a general agreement--
The committee argued for hours before reaching a consensus.

apart, part, a part

Apart or apart ( one word ) means separated, in space or in time--
They write to each other every day when they're apart.
The two sisters were born a year apart.

Apart also means in pieces, literally or figuratively--
He took the clock apart, and now he can't put it back together.
"You're tearing me apart!"

Part or part means a section or piece, literally or figuratively--
He finished part of the job, but then he quit.
He ate part of his lunch, but left the rest.
Part of this is his fault!

Part or part also means to separate or divide--
I have something to say before we part.
He asked the barber to part his hair in the middle.

Part may also mean a role in a play or film, or a role in a real life--
This time he has a speaking part.
This part will be easy to learn.

A part or a part ( two words ) means only one ( a ) section or piece, literally or figuratively--
We need a part to fix the car.
He felt like he had left a part of himself behind, in his old home town.
"You'll always be a part of me."

A part may mean a role on a film or play--
He got a part in the new play.
He hopes to get a part in a movie.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"They don't like to be apart, but loneliness is only a part of their problem--the other part is immaturity."
 

amend, emend, mend

Amend or amend means to make better or improve--
He made a resolution to amend his behavior, especially his drinking.
This party is dull; maybe some music will amend the situation.

Emend or emend means to edit or correct text--
This paper has a lot of errors; it will take hours to emend.
Make sure to emend your paper before handing in the final draft.

Mend or mend means to fix or repair--
Will the dry cleaner mend the hole in your suit?
"How can you mend a broken heart...?"

Now that you know that, you can say--
"In an effort to amend his irresponsible behavior, and mend his reputation, he hired a professional to emend his report."

Note--"amend" is sometimes used to refer to written statements, particularly in the sense of altering the wording to make it more clear, or adding to the original text--
We can amend this by adding a a paragraph describing how the funding should be used.
Note # 2--"amend" is used as a noun in the familiar phrase "make amends", meaning to fix a social or personal argument or disagreement--
He hoped to make amends by sending her flowers.

win some, winsome

Win some or win some ( two words ) means to gain the prize; to come in first, as in a race; or to gain the victory ( win ); in part, or part of the time ( some ) --
He hopes to win some money in the sweepstakes.
Oh, well--you win some; you lose some.

Winsome or winsome ( one word ) means charming or beguiling--
She batted her eyes and gave him a winsome smile.
That child has a winsome manner, and always seems to get her way.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"She was at her winsome best when she asked the judge if he thought she might win some of the prizes."

moraine, murrain

Moraine or moraine means a piece of ground scattered with rocks and gravel, left by a retreating glacier--
Wear sturdy shoes or boots, because we have to walk across a moraine.
A glacier left this moraine after the last ice age.

Murrain or murrain ( almost rhymes with moraine ) means a disease that infects cattle--
Ancient sorcerers threatened their neighbors with a murrain that would kill their cows.
Anthrax is a well-known murrain.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"Some of the cows hurt their hooves crossing a moraine; we'll have to watch for signs of a murrain among them."

cycle, sickle

Cycle or cycle means a set of events or stages that recur or repeat, literally or figuratively--
He wrote a long poem about the cycle of the seasons.
He seemed trapped in a cycle of bad behavior and remorse.
Cycle is sometimes used to refer to one event in a series--
Add the fabric softener to the rinse cycle.

Cycle may also be a short form of bicycle or motorcycle--
He needs a new tire for his cycle.
Cycle may also mean to travel by bicycle--
We are going to cycle down to the lake tomorrow.
We could walk, but we'll get there faster if we cycle.

Sickle or sickle means a farm implement used to reap crops by hand, shaped like a letter "c" with a handle--
The hammer and sickle formed the emblem of the Soviet Union.
It once took days to reap crops with a sickle.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"We want to do a painting of the cycle of the seasons, and were thinking of a sickle to represent Summer."

coal, cole

Coal or coal means the mineral dug from a mine and burned for fuel--
People all over the country watched  the rescue of the men trapped in a coal mine.
Some electric power plants burn coal.

Cole or cole ( rhymes with coal ) means cabbage--
We are making potato salad and cole slaw for the party.
Cole may mean any vegetable that resembles a cabbage.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The coal miners had a picnic, with cole slaw and barbecue."

Note--"kohl" ( rhymes with coal ) means a brown powder used as eye shadow--
Her eyes looked smoky, from the kohl she used as eye shadow.
Note # 2 --"coal" is sometimes a verb ( action word ), meaning to load coal--
They stopped to coal the ship.
The past tense ( yesterday, or some time ago ) of "coal", the verb, is "coaled"--
They coaled the ship before leaving the harbor.
Not to be confused with "cold", meaning very chilly--
It's cold outside; wear your mittens.

traffic, traffick

Traffic or traffic means the movement of vehicles or people through a space or along a street--
There was a lot of traffic on the way home.
Pedestrian traffic will move over this bridge; cars will go under it.
We got stuck in a traffic jam.

Traffick or traffick ( rhymes with traffic ) means smuggling or dealing in illicit cargo or goods--
They are have asked us to meet with them to discuss the traffick in illegal arms.
The government is hoping to stop the drug traffick at the border.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"With all the traffic at the border, it is difficult to detect an attempt to traffick in drugs or weapons."

Note--"traffick" is a verb ( action word ), with the regular verb forms--
He trafficks; they traffick; they are trafficking; they trafficked.

forbid, forebode, forbidding, foreboding

Forbid or forbid means to prohibit; to refuse to allow something--
He's grounded. We want him to go with us, but his parents forbid it.
He forbid the children playing in his office.
I forbid you to throw things!

Forebode or forebode means to predict or portend, especially something evil or disastrous--
The gloomy weather seemed to forebode an unhappy afternoon.
Some people still believe that owls forebode bad luck.

Forbidding or forbidding is a participle of "forbid", meaning to prohibit or refuse to allow--
The management is now forbidding all coffee breaks.
They are thinking of forbidding smoking on the patio.

Forbidding or forbidding also means hostile or sinister--
The gloomy old house had a forbidding aspect.
The deserted town seemed forbidding in the moonlight.

Foreboding or foreboding means a presentiment of evil or catastrophe--
Every noise frightened her; she couldn't shake a feeling of foreboding.
The accident later seemed a foreboding of worse things to come.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"It was no use forbidding them to go in the forbidding old house; even an eerie feeling of foreboding didn't stop them."
"If the signs forebode evil, the old woman will forbid the trip they've planned."

Note--"forbidden" is an adjective ( describes a thing or idea ), meaning prohibited, or not allowed--
The first humans were banished from paradise because they ate the forbidden fruit.
Running in the halls is forbidden.
Note # 2--"forbade" is a past tense ( yesterday, or some time ago ) of "forbid"--
Yesterday his parents forbade him going to the movies.
The more commonly used past tense of "forbid" is simply "forbid"--
Yesterday his parents forbid him going to the movies.

a cute, acute

A cute or a cute ( two words ) means one ( a ) person or item that is "cute", meaning charming or pretty--
I saw a cute baby dress in the store window.
What a cute puppy!
Cute may mean coy or affected--
He just gave me a cute answer, and now I'm even more angry.

Acute or acute ( one word ) means sharp or ending in a point, literally, or sharp, severe or intense, figuratively--
This street comes to an acute angle at the end; it's hard to make a turn there.
That was an acute perception; small details can be important.
He has an acute case of appendicitis.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"I want a cute gift that will cheer up a child with an acute case of laryngitis."

Note--"astute" means clever or wise, or having a real understanding--
He was an astute judge of character, and never hired anyone who wasn't an asset to the firm.

exasperate, exacerbate

Exasperate or exasperate means to wear out the patience of; to infuriate--
When the child failed to exasperate her, he stopped whining and became quiet.
Doesn't that barking dog exasperate you?

Exacerbate or exacerbate means to make worse or to aggravate, said of a disease or condition--
The doctor said that smoking would exacerbate his symptoms.
He had to interfere, just to exacerbate the problem.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The mother's yelling only served to exacerbate the situation; she could exasperate a saint."