# 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:** 18
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2023, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/344 "2023-04-24T13:54:04Z")
**confident** = very sure of something **confidant** = someone in whom one confides (in fact, used to be spelled “confident” just like in French) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2023, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/345 "2023-04-24T14:03:39Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > In non-mathematical contexts, “multiply” does always (?) involve increasing. It can mean more than one layer. The use of a hyphen for clarity is recommended. Also the layers are not hens. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/346 "2023-04-25T10:36:25Z")
**lucubrate** : to study late into the night **lubricate** : to make something slippery **anomie** : lack of laws and standards **anomia** : the inability to remember names **anæmia** : reduced capacity of the blood to transport oxygen ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2023, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/347 "2023-04-26T12:50:45Z")
**stator** : the stationary part of a motor **stater** : one who states ---
**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:** [April 26, 2023, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/348 "2023-04-26T16:45:09Z")
**Bizarre:** weird, strange. **Bazaar:** A marketplace ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2023, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/349 "2023-04-26T22:01:53Z")
**Flak** : anti-aircraft fire or severe criticism. From a German acronym of _Flugzeugabwehrkanone_ (“airplane defense cannon”); hence, flak jacket, flak tower, etc. **Flack** : a press agent or publicity agent. Possibly derived from the name of Gene Flack, a onetime advertising executive. I recently read an article on 538 saying Dianne Feinstein is receiving a lot of “flack” for not resigning. Some dictionaries allow _flack_ as an alternate spelling of _flak_ but I think they should be spelled differently. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2023, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/350 "2023-04-26T23:27:41Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > **lucubrate** : to study late into the night New word! Thanks. ---
**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:** [April 27, 2023, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/351 "2023-04-27T00:18:36Z")
That’s because the more common form, diabetes mellitus, is shortened to just diabetes, but the word simply means “siphon” in Greek, and “mellitus” is the relevant term-- it means “sweet.” When you have diabetes mellitus, your body dumps, or “siphons” sugar into your urine. “Insipidus” means “tasteless,” and I don’t want to know he details, but people whose urine has a very high water content (and they are thirsty a lot, and have to pee a lot) have diabetes insipidus. Their urine is mostly plain water. It can be caused by kidney disease, but also be pituitary dysfunction, because there actually is a hormone that tells your body how much urine to make. It’s kinda like how anorexia almost always refers to anorexia nervosa, or appetite loss due to a nervous condition. There are lots of other types of anorexia. It can be caused by pregnancy, an auto-immune disorder, an infection or the side effect of a medication. It just means loss of appetite. Ironically, of all types of anorexia, people with anorexia nervosa are the only ones who actually experience hunger, they just refuse to eat. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2023, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/352 "2023-04-27T01:21:47Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Ironically, of all types of anorexia, people with anorexia nervosa are the only ones who actually experience hunger, they just refuse to eat. Not really - I am on a medication that suppresses my appetite ( I am not taking it for that purpose) That doesn’t mean I am not hungry - I _am_ hungry. I just have no desire to eat because without any appetite, I might as well be eating People Chow. So I end up forcing myself to eat a couple of times a day. “Appetite” and “hunger” are not the same thing but they get confused. ---
**Author:** ![jerseymule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jerseymule/32/3155_2.png) [@jerseymule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerseymule)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2023, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/353 "2023-05-06T20:52:58Z")
**Perennial** - a plant that “comes back” every year **Perineal** - the area between the genitals and the anus I wouldn’t have thought these would be confused until I saw the following post on Reddit: [### Favorite spot to buy native perineal plants](https://www.reddit.com/r/StLouis/comments/139ym2p/favorite_spot_to_buy_native_perineal_plants/) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/354 "2023-05-07T16:03:43Z")
**disillusion** / **dissolution** **grisly** / **grizzly** **taught** / **taut** **phase** / **faze** **populous** / **populace** **rational** / **rationale** **naval** / **navel** **precede** / **proceed** **bait** / **bate** **farther** / **further** ---
**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:** [May 8, 2023, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/355 "2023-05-08T16:56:28Z")
**Raise:** To lift, make higher. Or to construct, as in to raise a barn. **Raze:** To demolish. ---
**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:** [May 10, 2023, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/356 "2023-05-10T11:33:22Z")
**heroin** : a drug **heroine** : a female hero ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/357 "2023-05-10T15:42:42Z")
**lax** - “not sufficiently strict, severe, or careful” **lackadaisical** - “lacking enthusiasm and determination; carelessly lazy” **laxadaisical** - not a word ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/358 "2023-05-10T16:00:43Z")
I am amazed by the number of people who seem to think that “ **where** ” is the past tense of “to be”. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/359 "2023-05-10T16:00:49Z")
Nobody mentioned these? **Straight** - Moving or extending in one direction, as a ‘straight line’ **Strait** - A narrow passage of water connecting two large bodies of water Also: **Bow** - Used to shoot arrows **Bough** - A tree limb **Beau** - A boy friend **Bo** - Maybe the the Beau’s first name ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/360 "2023-05-10T16:11:23Z")
**Bow** - the forward end of a vessel or airship **Bows** - the exterior of the forward end of a vessel ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/361 "2023-05-10T17:44:54Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > The words “lead” and “led”. To confuse this issue some more, we might bring up the slightly slangy term “LEDE,” pronounced like it looks, or /lid/ in IPA, which is used mostly by journalists to mean the opening paragraph or idea of a story. Off the top of my head, I think this is cognate with “lead” as in “lead-in” in the sense of starting a story, but they spell it LEDE to avoid confusion with the word LEAD as in the metal used in typesetting (/lɛd/), which is itself still a common term in the printing and journalism world. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/362 "2023-05-11T03:22:12Z")
> [@AppallingGael](#): > > “Defuse” and “diffuse”. Permit me to expand a bit. Diffuse (verb): - 1 a: to pour out and permit or cause to spread freely. - b: extend, scatter. - c: to spread thinly or wastefully. Defuse: You literally defuse a bomb. You metaphorically defuse a highly charged situation to keep it from metaphorically blowing up; you do not diffuse it, because that makes no sense. ---
**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:** [May 11, 2023, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/363 "2023-05-11T07:08:22Z")
Device (noun): a mechanism or tool used for some sort of task. Devise (verb): to develop or design something, e.g. a plan, solution, or even a device. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=19)