heroine, heroin

Heroine or heroine means the female protagonist or main character of a story, movie, or book--
The heroine of romance novels is often a young governess who marries the lord of the manor.
She dreamed of being the heroine of every romance novel she ever read.
A heroine may also be a female who does a brave deed--
The real-life heroine saved two children from a burning building.

Heroin or heroin ( rhymes with heroine ) means the illegal narcotic related to opium and morphine--
The criminal in police shows is often a heroin addict.
He is an in-patient at a hospital, being treated for heroin addiction.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The heroine of this news story risked her own safety to have a heroin pusher arrested."

leaf, lief

Leaf or leaf means one of the growing parts of a tree, shrub, or plant, now turning orange, red, and yellow--
She tried to preserve the pretty leaf by pressing it between sheets of waxed paper.
She drew a fall scene and colored each leaf with a different crayon.
Leaf may also mean a thin sheet of metal--
The statue was covered in gold leaf.
Leaf may mean one sheet of paper from a book, with or without printing on it--
He tore a leaf from the book to write a note.
Leaf may also be used figuratively--
He promised to turn over a new leaf, and to behave better in the future.

Lief or lief ( rhymes with leaf  ) means willingly or gladly--
I'd as lief walk home as ride with a drunk driver.
She would as lief stay home as go on vacation, most years.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"He would as lief go outside to admire each colorful leaf as go to a party or football game."

Note--"leaves" may be the plural ( more than one ) of "leaf"--
The leaves are starting to change color.
"Leaves" may also be the third person singular ( he, she, it ) form of "leave", meaning to depart or go away--
She leaves for work every morning at nine.
Note #v 2--a "leaflet" is a small brochure or pamphlet--
They distributed a leaflet to announce the opening of their new business.
A "leaflet" may also be a small leaf, just beginning to grow from a branch or stem--
She checked the little plant every day, to see if it had made a new leaflet yet.

local, locale, lo-cal

Local or local describes something nearby, or within a close range--
Do you know where the local hardware store is?
She did most of her shopping at the local market, instead of driving to the shopping center.
Local means specific to a particular place--
They heard music, and found there was a local festival going on.
Is he a local, or from out of town?
Local may mean a train that only goes a short distance, or that makes a lot of stops--
Is this train a local or an express?

Locale or locale ( rhymes with lo-cal ) is a noun ( thing or idea ), meaning a setting, as for a movie or show--
The locale is a small town in the old west.
The film crew  had to move to a different locale, where there was more sun for outdoor shooting.

Lo-cal  or lo-cal is an abbreviation ( short form ) of low calorie--
I'd like a cup of coffee with lo-cal sweetener.
This says lo-cal, so I guess it won't break my diet.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The local cafe made a great locale to film the commercial  for lo-cal soda."

Note--"location" is a noun ( thing or idea ), meaning a place or site--
This would be a fine location for a home or business.
"Location" may mean one of a set of places, as with a chain store or fast food--
We don't offer that service at this location.
"On location" means shooting a film in a real setting, instead of on a set built to look real--
They shot most of the film on location in the desert.
Note # 2--"locality" is a noun ( thing or idea ), meaning a general place or district--
There are already three fast-food outlets in this locality.
Note # 3-- "locally" describes an action as happening nearby, or within a close range--
The "greens" are urging us to shop locally.

breath, breathe, breadth

Breath or breath ( rhymes with death ) is a noun ( thing or idea ), meaning the air we inhale and exhale--
He had been running, and was out of breath.
It's so cold out that you can see your breath.

Breathe or breathe ( rhymes with seethe ) is a verb ( action word ), meaning to inhale or exhale air--
Open a window. I can hardly breathe in here.
He collapsed and couldn't breathe, so we called an ambulance.

Breadth or breadth ( bread-th ) is a noun ( thing or idea ), meaning width, or distance across--
"I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach..."
Its breadth was nearly twenty feet.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"He was short of breath, and while he struggled to breathe, the breadth of his chest seemed to nearly double."

Note--the verb forms of "breathe" sound like "breathe"--
He is breathing better now.
It hurt every time he breathed.
When she breathes, she gets a pain in her side.
Note #2--"breaths" sounds like "breath", and means more than one "breath"--
She took little breaths of air, but still felt faint.
Note # 3--"breather" sounds like "breathe", and means a short break--
I think it's time for a breather.
Note # 4--"breathy" sounds like "breath", and describes a voice with a strong sound of air or breath in it--
She had a hoarse, breathy voice that got everyone's attention.
"Breathier" ( breath ee err ) describes a voice more "breathy" than another--
Her voice was breathy, but his was breathier.

cornet, coronet

Cornet or cornet means a horn something like a trumpet or bugle--
"Seventy-six trombones led the big parade, with a hundred and ten cornets right behind..."
He practiced playing his cornet until he was good enough to join a combo.

Coronet or coronet means a sort of tiara or crown, a small one that doesn't make a complete circle--
British stamps and money show the queen wearing a coronet.
A coronet is usually only worn by royalty.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"A page playing a cornet announced the entrance of the queen wearing her coronet."

Note--a "cornet" is sometimes called a "cornetto"--
When he saw the old cornetto in a shop window, he knew he wanted to learn to play it.
Note # 2--a "cornet" is also a paper cone used to hold candy, or a pastry cone used to hold ice cream--
The tree had a cornet of candy for each child.
Note # 3--a "cornet" or "cornette" is also a cone-shaped headdress or hat--
She wore a medieval princess costume, complete with a cornette and veil.

concur, conquer

Concur or concur ( cun CURR ) means to agree or to go along with--
The doctor hoped that the specialist would concur with his diagnosis.
On rare occasions, the father would concur with his son's opinion on a political issue.

Conquer or conquer ( CON kurr ) means to defeat, literally or figuratively--
Our well-prepared troops are sure to conquer the enemy.
He worked with a therapist to conquer his fear of heights.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"He strove to conquer his urge to concur with everything his boss said."

Note--"conker" ( CONK urr ) means a horse chestnut--
While walking in the woods, he picked up a conker and put it in his pocket.
"Conkers" is a children's game played with horse chestnuts--
If we each find a nut, we can play conkers.

count, account, a count

Count or count means to find out the number of something, or how many somethings there are--
Count the forms to make sure that everyone has turned one in.
A count also means a tally; an enumeration--
After a count of the party hats and favors, I was sure we had enough.
Count or count is also a title of nobility in some countries, equal to a British earl--
The count and countess hosted the county ball each September.
He will be a count when his uncle dies.

Account or account, used with "for", means to explain--
How do you account for his attitude at the last meeting?

Account is also a noun ( thing or idea ), meaning a statement or record of expenditures or debts, and money received--
We need to update our expense account.
Account also means a business relationship with a bank or credit company, or with a store or service provider--
Your bank account is overdrawn.
His credit card account listed a charge he didn't recognize.
Would you put that on my charge account?
Your account is past due.

Account also means a tale, or a version of a story--
His account of what happened didn't match what the other witnesses saw.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The count and countess opened a charge account at a local store, according to an account from an eye witness."

Note--an "accountant" keeps financial records, for a business or for an individual--
You'll have to take that up with our accountant.
Note # 2--"viscount" ( vigh count ) is another title of nobility, below a count or earl and above a baron--
The viscount was accused of a crime, and tried in the House of Lords.
A "countess" is the wife of a count or earl--
When her son married, she became the dowager countess.
Note # 3--to be "called to account" means to have an explanation demanded of you--
He tried to charm his way out of it, but his boss called him to account.
Note # 4--"account" ( one word ) means a record of finances, or of a financial relationship--
His account with the phone company appeared on his credit record.
Not to be confused with "a count " ( two words ) meaning one earl or noble--
He will be a count when his father dies.
Or one adding or numbering of a set of things--
I did a count of the students, and they are all here.
Note # 5--"on a count of" means an enumeration of, or a numbering of--
Everyone start to run on a count of three--one, two, three, go!
Not to be confused with "on account of", an informal expression meaning because of--
On account of his leg, he was excused from gym class.