# 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:** 14
**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 11, 2023, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/264 "2023-01-11T14:15:05Z")
Mute: an adjective meaning silent. Pronounced ‘myoot’. Moot: an adjective meaning without practical consequence. Pronounced ‘moot’. A **[moot court](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moot_court)** is a mock trial conducted to explore a legal case for academic purposes. As the “moot” descriptor implies, nobody ever goes to jail at the end of a moot court. A moot point is truth claim that does little or nothing to steer the debate in which it appears. There is no such thing as a mute court or a mute point, except maybe at Gallaudet. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2023, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/265 "2023-01-11T15:28:28Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > without practical consequence This is sometimes true, but not always. Depends what you think of those academic legal arguments 🙂 To moot literally just refers to the discussion. ---
**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 13, 2023, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/266 "2023-01-13T14:45:11Z")
Bawl: to weep or cry noisily. _His unexpected death left us bawling._ Ball: to form into a round shape. _He balled up the paper._ Alternative vulgar slang: to have sex with. _He balled her._ Shudder: to shake. _She shuddered at the thought of it._ Shutter: to close (as if by closing window shutters). _the store was shuttered some years ago._ Shear: To cut with scissors or a shear, e.g. shearing a sheep. Sheer: said of a landform, nearly vertical, e.g. a sheer cliff. Said of material, so thin as to be transparent or nearly so, e.g. sheer stockings. Said of anything else, pure or extreme, e.g. the sheer violence of the collision. ---
**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 14, 2023, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/267 "2023-01-14T02:56:01Z")
[Fazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-dope-1-13-2023-is-longtermism-the-worlds-most-dangerous-belief-system/978173/34) - disturbed Phased - gradually changed or moved Rouge - red makeup Rogue - uncontrolled ---
**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 14, 2023, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/268 "2023-01-14T04:37:05Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Moot: an adjective meaning without practical consequence. Pronounced ‘moot’. There’s another meaning: “proposed for discussion; open to argument”. I believe this meaning is more common in British English, while the “without consequences” meaning is more common in American English. ---
**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 15, 2023, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/269 "2023-01-15T19:26:40Z")
But in law school it’s what is intended in “moot court.” Students argue cases that are equivocal, not cases that are irrelevent. ETA: come to think of it, the “without consequences” is probably derived from the earlier meaning. If a case in law cannot be settled it cannot set a precedent. IANAL, but I am guessing that in certain equivocal cases with major consequences for the immediate parties, a judge can make a non-precedential ruling-- one that applies only to the parties involved, and does not affect future decisions. ---
**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 18, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/270 "2023-01-18T18:15:41Z")
Ad nauseam: referring to something that is done to a sickening degree. Ad nauseum: a misspelling of the above. Likewise, “in memoriam” refers to something intended to memorialize a person who has died; “in memorium” is a misspelling. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/271 "2023-01-19T00:05:35Z")
**acerb** vs **acerbic** ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/272 "2023-01-19T00:14:42Z")
One, I’ve never really heard the former used; second – they seem to mean the same thing? Maybe acerbic vs ascorbic. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2023, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/273 "2023-02-04T15:43:21Z")
loose: an adjective. Rhymes with “goose” or “noose.” lose: a verb. Rhymes with “choose” or “ooze.” breath: a noun. Rhymes with “death.” breathe: a verb. Rhymes with “seethe.” ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/274 "2023-02-06T13:10:54Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > > > Moot: an adjective meaning without practical consequence. Pronounced ‘moot’. > > There’s another meaning: “proposed for discussion; open to argument”. I believe this meaning is more common in British English, while the “without consequences” meaning is more common in American English. That’s right. A ‘moot’ is a meeting, or discussion; anything that is ‘moot’ is up for debate, so it need not be ‘without consequences’ or even ‘already settled’. Tolkien uses it in his word ‘Entmoot’, a meeting of the tree-like Ents which allows them to debate strategy and tactics in The Lord of the Rings. ---
**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:** [February 7, 2023, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/275 "2023-02-07T15:39:59Z")
An aspersion is an attack against someone’s reputation. Dispersion is the act of distributing things over a large area or volume (or the result of such an act). “Casting aspersions” is a thing; it basically means you’re insulting someone. “Casting dispersions” is sometimes used in lieu of the above, and is nonsensical in this context. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2023, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/276 "2023-02-08T21:45:27Z")
**foul** / **fowl** **auger** / **augur** ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2023, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/277 "2023-02-08T22:56:59Z")
Grin and bear it - To grimace and endure a situation not to your liking Grin and bare it - Don’t look, Ethel! ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2023, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/278 "2023-02-09T00:49:29Z")
I’ve read the whole thread (so I hope I didn’t do so and still missed it) and am surprised that no one has trotted out the low hanging fruit of: **Complementary** **Complimentary** I can’t tell you how many engineers stick the latter into their presentations, even though electrical circuits very seldom speak kindly of one another. ---
**Author:** ![deltogre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deltogre/32/5041_2.png) [@deltogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltogre)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2023, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/279 "2023-02-09T12:09:20Z")
I keep hearing sportscasters (In particular, but it’s bleeding out into the mainstream…) saying “verse” when they mean “versus.” It’s like nails on a chalkboard to my brain. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/280 "2023-02-13T00:04:01Z")
**evade** vs **elude** ; (indeed, the Wiktionary definition of **elude** begins “1. To evade or escape from…” ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/281 "2023-02-13T08:51:22Z")
If two words are near synonyms, then it doesn’t matter very much if you get them confused with each other, or swap them over occasionally. That is what thesauruses are for. (or is it thesauri). ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/282 "2023-02-13T12:05:11Z")
My cousin is training a new hire where she works. Apparently this person has glaucoma. A lot of people do to different extents. This person got words confused and was telling people she had… gonorrhea. 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/283 "2023-02-13T12:57:24Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > **evade** vs **elude** > [@eburacum45](#): > > If two words are near synonyms, then it doesn’t matter very much if you get them confused with each other, or swap them over occasionally. But if you use the wrong one, it messes up the rest of the crossword puzzle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=15)