# Words one can get confused **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 18, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772 "2022-09-18T20:10:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2022, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/244 "2022-12-29T19:36:24Z")
I don’t know if this counts as a word people get confused with another word, but a lot of people misunderstand “penultimate” as being “even better than ultimate.” As in, Such-and-such a person is the ultimate example of beauty-- no, she’s the _penultimate_! "Penultimate actually means second to last. “Ultimate” means last, “penultimate” is the first runner-up. You hear it in linguistics a lot, when people talk about the “penultimate” syllable in a word. In “Oklahoma,” “ho” is the penultimate syllable. ---
**Author:** ![EnolaStraight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@EnolaStraight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnolaStraight)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/245 "2023-01-02T01:50:31Z")
Accomplish and Achieve. To Accomplish means to successfully complete a task. To Achieve means to successfully reach a superior level. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/246 "2023-01-02T02:02:45Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > The OED gives only one pronunciation for antimony, /ˈæntɪmənɪ/, which is different than either of the ones proposed in this thread. It has the vowels of an-TIM-uh-nee (with a schwa, not a long O in the third syllable), but with the accent on the first, not the second syllable. Yes, that’s the only one I’m familiar with as a Brit. But I thought that was the pronuncation @california_jobcase was referencing when they said it rhymes with matrimony. I guess that begs the question of how you pronounce matrimony. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/247 "2023-01-02T02:08:24Z")
> [@EnolaStraight](#): > > Accomplish and Achieve. > > To Accomplish means to successfully complete a task. > To Achieve means to successfully reach a superior level. I agree that there’s a subtle difference, but is it quite that simple/strict? These seem to contradict your paradigm, and they sound okay to me: I have achieved what I set out to do. Black belt in karate is a fine accomplishment. And to further complicate matters: I have achieved what I set out to accomplish. To achieve black belt in karate is a fine accomplishment. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/248 "2023-01-02T03:04:16Z")
Ah, good point! I didn’t realize there’s a UK/US difference in the pronunciation of “matrimony”, but apparently there is. The OED says “matrimony” is pronounced /ˈmatrᵻməni/ in the UK, but /ˈmætrəˌmoʊni/ in the US. Note the long O (/oʊ/) in the third syllable with secondary stress in the US pronunciation. I don’t know which one @california_jobcase was referring to. (Yet another example of the confusion that results when people write about pronunciation without using IPA.) Actually I’m not sure if the /oʊ/ phoneme occurs in UK English. All the words that I think of as having a long O are listed in the OED with different pronunciations in US vs. UK English. “Pony” is /ˈpoʊni/ in the US but /ˈpəʊni/ in the UK. Same for “phoney” (/ˈfoʊni/ vs. /ˈfəʊni/), “joke” (/dʒoʊk/ vs. /dʒəʊk/), “post” (/poʊst/ vs. /pəʊst/), etc. However these differences are not the same as the one between the two pronunciations of “matrimony”, whose third syllable has a schwa in the UK rather than the /əʊ/ in these words. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/249 "2023-01-02T03:29:05Z")
Well, according to the online Oxford Learner’s dictionary, ˈmætrɪməʊni is how it’s pronounced in the U.S. and what I meant. So, ˈæntɪməʊni is the U.S. pronunciation that rhymes with it. Neither pronunciation given is how Martha pronounced it! I’m guessing ænˈtɪmənɪ is how she said it. I got this by copying the antinomy pronunciation and swapping the places of the n and m in it. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/250 "2023-01-05T12:10:49Z")
[quote=“RivkahChaya, post:244, topic:971772”] "Penultimate actually means second to last. “Ultimate” means last, “penultimate” is the first runner-up.[/quote] This. The “pen” prefix basically means “almost”. It’s also used in the word “peninsula”, where the “insula” part shares the same etymological roots as “insulate”, one definition of which is “to make into an island.” So “peninsula” means “almost an island.” Moving on: **Populace:** a noun referring to the people of a country or region. **Populous:** an adjective used to describe an area as being densely populated. Examples: “The pandemic affected the entire populace of New York.” “New York is a very populous city.” ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/251 "2023-01-05T18:18:07Z")
Autobahn = German highway system with no speed limit in some places. Audubon = A society for bird conservation named after John James Audubon. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/252 "2023-01-05T18:42:29Z")
I’m not sure anyone ever got those two confused, but if we’re doing words that have absolutely no connection but by weird coincidence sound almost alike, that’s a winner! ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/253 "2023-01-05T18:51:27Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > I’m not sure anyone ever got those two confused I’m pretty sure I got them confused when I was a child, when I was old enough to have heard of the German autobahn, but didn’t know what the Audubon Society was. So I thought there was an Autobahn Society, which I assumed must be a club for people who liked to drive fast. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/254 "2023-01-05T18:54:20Z")
Ah, gotcha. I did something similar as a kid with Pacific and specific. I knew something specific was small in some sense, so I couldn’t figure out why the biggest ocean was called the Specific Ocean. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/255 "2023-01-05T23:12:55Z")
**Casual** - informal **Causal** - relating to a cause ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/256 "2023-01-05T23:16:46Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > This. The “pen” prefix basically means “almost”. It’s also used in the word “peninsula”, where the “insula” part shares the same etymological roots as “insulate”, one definition of which is “to make into an island.” So “peninsula” means “almost an island.” Sicilia insula est. Italia insula non est. Italia paeninsula est. Roma caput Italiae est. Vita in Roma dura est. First lines of my Latin primer freshman year of high school. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/257 "2023-01-06T18:03:33Z")
Depreciate means to lower the value of something. Deprecate means to express disapproval, or (often in relation to computers) to indicate that some construct is obsolete and should no longer be used. Both the spelling and the meaning are close enough that they are often confused. I frequently see someone say that a programming construct is “depreciated”. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/258 "2023-01-06T20:13:20Z")
To go low, there’s defect and defecate. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/259 "2023-01-06T20:40:03Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Roma caput Italiae est. Vita in Roma dura est. Rome is caput, like Italy? Vito is a hard man who lives in Rome? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2023, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/260 "2023-01-10T11:23:20Z")
Viscous: The adjective form of “viscosity,” a property of a fluid that makes it resistant to deformation. Honey is more viscous than water. Vicious: cruel and/or violent. Wolves are vicious predators. “Vicious circle” is a common expression describing a sequence of reciprocal adverse events that reinforce each other. “Viscous circle” is a misspelling of “vicious circle.” ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2023, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/261 "2023-01-10T13:33:46Z")
Did we already do Calvary and cavalry? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2023, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/262 "2023-01-10T15:11:43Z")
You can use the search tool (click on magnifying glass at top right of the page), then click on “in this topic” to restrict the search to just this specific thread, and then search for Calvary or cavalry. When I do that, I see that yes, somebody has already brought it up: > [@Words one can get confused](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/31): > > @JaneDoe42; speaking of hills, Calvary: The hill near Jerusalem on which Jesus was crucified. Cavalry: Soldiers who fight on horseback. I hear and read folks mixing these two up constantly, it gives me a chuckle every time they do. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2023, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/263 "2023-01-11T13:31:55Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > You can use the search tool (click on magnifying glass at top right of the page), then click on “in this topic” to restrict the search to just this specific thread Thanks — ignorance fought! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=14)