# 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:** 27
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/524 "2023-07-23T18:53:02Z")
Bougie-used to the priviledged life. ---
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/525 "2023-07-23T19:25:49Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > booger - a piece of dried nasal mucous No. No, it’s not. It’s mucus, not mucous. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2023, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/526 "2023-07-24T00:19:49Z")
[https://www.reddit.com/r/tipofmytongue/comments/157nwmz/tomt\_book\_book\_about\_a\_guy\_who\_is\_forced\_to\_work/](https://www.reddit.com/r/tipofmytongue/comments/157nwmz/tomt_book_book_about_a_guy_who_is_forced_to_work/) > [@](#): > > Please help me find this fantasy novel. > > So the MC is forced to work as a executer (I think he tried to save his crush and in order to save her from execution he works as executer) his boss is nown for jumping onto people about to be hanging to give some extra weight. Executioner - someone who executes a person under sentence of death. Executor - someone appointed to carry out the provisions of a will. Executer - not a word ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2023, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/527 "2023-07-24T01:16:10Z")
Executive - someone who would do well at the end of a rope. ---
**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:** [July 24, 2023, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/528 "2023-07-24T09:55:35Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > > [@TriPolar](#): > > > > booger - a piece of dried nasal mucous > > No. No, it’s not. It’s mucus, not mucous. OK, so maybe I deserve to take partial responsibility for @TriPolar’s error. Way up thread, from almost a year ago, I had this post: > [@Words one can get confused](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/54): > > People also often confuse conscious with conscience. The latter is a noun referring to one’s internal moral compass: if you hurt someone, you may find that it weighs on your conscience. The former is an adjective referring to a state of awareness of something (or everything): I am conscious. Mucus: a noun referring to a slick/gooey material secreted by various parts of an organism. Mucous: a noun specifying some kind of connection to mucus. Mucous membranes secrete mucus. A brake (noun) i… When I wrote that post, I knew that “mucus” was a noun and “mucous” was an adjective - but I mistakenly wrote that _both_ were nouns. So, to set the record straight: **Mucus:** a noun referring to a slick/gooey material secreted by various parts of an organism. **Mucous:** an _ **adjective** _ specifying some kind of connection to mucus. Mucous membranes secrete mucus. Sorry for fomenting confusion. ---
**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:** [July 24, 2023, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/529 "2023-07-24T11:30:46Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > OK, so maybe I deserve to take partial responsibility for @TriPolar’s error. Way up thread, from almost a year ago, I had this post: Nope. All my fault. Hoisted by my own batard. ---
**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:** [July 24, 2023, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/530 "2023-07-24T11:48:39Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Hoisted by my own batard. Now I have a mental image of Shohei Ohtani smacking you skyward with a loaf of bread. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2023, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/531 "2023-07-24T13:56:40Z")
Got called out here several years ago for spelling disingenuous as disingenious. Just swap out one vowel for the other, slap an additional prefix on the front, and I had always assumed that it, like ingenious, was simply based on the root _genius_. I mean, nobody ever says someone was genuous, and I didn’t know that the stock innocent waif in a lot of plays and films and whatnot was called the ingenue. ---
**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:** [July 24, 2023, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/532 "2023-07-24T14:43:41Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I didn’t know that the stock innocent waif in a lot of plays and films and whatnot was called the ingenue. In looking up the term ingenue just now, I learned that it only applies to girls/women; the corresponding word for boys/men is ingenu (though this is not widely known and so ingenue is frequently used for either gender). ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2023, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/533 "2023-07-24T14:58:44Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > _genius_ **genius** : spirit of a person, place, etc. **genie** : a type of invisible creature **(d)jinn**: a bunch of them **jann** : singular again… ---
**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:** [July 25, 2023, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/534 "2023-07-25T19:18:17Z")
**tort** : a legal wrong or injury which may be redressed by the awarding of damages to the victim **torte** : a cake-like dessert **tart** : a pie-like dish that may be sweet or (rarely) savory **tarte** : a tart from an expensive pretentious bakery ---
**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:** [July 25, 2023, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/535 "2023-07-25T20:03:42Z")
**Torturous** : causing or involving severe agony. “This is a torturous medical procedure.” **Tortuous** : causing or exhibiting a high degree of twisting and turning. “This is a tortuous race track.” ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2023, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/536 "2023-07-25T23:07:02Z")
**imitation** : likeness, simulation **intimation** : announcement, declaration, hint ---
**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:** [July 26, 2023, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/537 "2023-07-26T00:42:30Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > **tort** : a legal wrong or injury which may be redressed by the awarding of damages to the victim > **torte** : a cake-like dessert **Taut** - tight **Taught** - educated > [@DPRK](#): > > **intimation** : announcement, declaration, hint **Intimidation** - threatening behaviour or speech ---
**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:** [July 27, 2023, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/538 "2023-07-27T00:24:19Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Executioner - someone who executes a person under sentence of death. > Executor - someone appointed to carry out the provisions of a will. > Executer - not a word Let’s invent one– An “executioner” is someone who executes professionally-- probably a guild member, maybe schooled, certified or licensed, where such is available. An “executer” [EX-e-cu-ter] is a non-professional pressed into performing an execution ad hoc. The similar word, “executor,” is stressed on a different syllable [ex-EC-u-tor]. ---
**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:** [July 27, 2023, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/539 "2023-07-27T03:12:55Z")
Darth Vader’s flagship was named the _Executor_, but I think “Executioner” would have been better. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/540 "2023-07-27T04:56:14Z")
I learned this one yesterday: amend and emend. You see these words a lot in crossword puzzles. To amend something means to change it, for any reason To emend something means to change it in order to fix an error or problem. So every emend is an amendment, but not vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2023, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/541 "2023-07-29T13:02:06Z")
**precession** : precedence; change in the motion of a spinning body **procession** : the act of progressing; people or things in sequence …and, just after I posted this, I encountered another **precede** / **proceed** mistake! ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/542 "2023-08-09T14:42:05Z")
**dogie** : a calf **doggy** : a canine **abrogate** : to annul, do away with **arrogate** : to usurp ---
**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:** [August 9, 2023, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/543 "2023-08-09T14:52:33Z")
**palpitation** : the sensation that one’s own heart is beating erratically **palpation** : medical examination by feeling parts of the body with the hands **yeah** : informal expression of agreement (“Yeah, I need to lose weight.”) **yay** : expression of happiness or excitement (“Yay, we’re getting a puppy!”) **yea** : an affirmative vote (“The yeas and nays have been counted.”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=26) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=28)