# 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:** 41
**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:** [February 8, 2024, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/804 "2024-02-08T01:36:31Z")
And **baleful** , as in full of threat, ill-omens, and foreboding. Which suggests yet another meaining for “bale” itself. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2024, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/805 "2024-02-08T01:40:50Z")
> **[baleful | Etymology of baleful by etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/word/baleful)** > > "dire, wicked, cruel," with -ful + bealu "harm, injury, ruin, evil, mischief, wickedness,… See origin and meaning of baleful. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/806 "2024-02-08T01:58:04Z")
So, **baleful** : dire, wicked, cruel **baneful** : deadly ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/807 "2024-02-13T02:50:20Z")
**mask** : a covering for the face **masque** : a type of histrionic entertainment; a masquerade **fairy** : land or home of the fays; a type of supernatural being **peri** : a more Persian type of superhuman being or sprite ---
**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:** [February 13, 2024, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/808 "2024-02-13T04:25:03Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > **peri** : a more Persian type of superhuman being or sprite **Perry** - a cider made from pears instead of apples. ---
**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 13, 2024, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/809 "2024-02-13T13:51:27Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > **fairy** : land or home of the fays; a type of supernatural being > **peri** : a more Persian type of superhuman being or sprite **Ferry** : a boat that carries people and/or vehicles back and forth between two or more ports. **Peri peri:** A type of **[hot pepper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peri-peri)**. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/810 "2024-02-14T13:35:20Z")
Contemptuous: expressive of contempt Contemptible: deserving contempt (I’m sure I’ve come across similar pairs of adjectives that get confused with each other, but no other examples come to mind immediately) I ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/811 "2024-02-14T22:04:43Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > (I’m sure I’ve come across similar pairs of adjectives that get confused with each other, but no other examples come to mind immediately) [Bertie Wooster and Jeeves say:](https://princetonlibrary.bibliocommons.com/v2/quotation/620420367) 😉 incredulous: unbelieving, skeptical, lacking credulity incredible: unbelievable, implausible, lacking credibility ---
**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:** [February 15, 2024, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/812 "2024-02-15T02:08:28Z")
_Nauseated_ (of a person) feeling sick to one’s stomach, as if about to vomit _Nauseous_ (of an object or event) causing a person to feel nausea This is the traditional distinction, but in modern usage, especially in US English, “nauseous” is often used as a synonym for “nauseated”. Most dictionaries accept this change, although some prescriptive style guides still advise against using “nauseous” to mean “nauseated” and claim that a sentence like “I feel nauseous” is erroneous (unless you mean that you feel that you’re causing someone else to feel nausea). ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/813 "2024-02-15T16:46:08Z")
Just heard another confusion (in an episode of Foyle’s War no less, I’d have thought Anthony Horowitz - and the character he wrote the line for - knew better): **Benefactors** : people who do good for others **Beneficiaries** : people who benefit from what their benefactors do. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/814 "2024-02-15T21:14:28Z")
People who can’t distinguish between entomology and etymology bug me in ways I cannot put into words. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2024, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/815 "2024-02-15T21:46:15Z")
LOL! 😆 ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/816 "2024-02-18T06:17:08Z")
**pimple** : a small skin infection. **pimpernel** : a type of flower. When I saw the book [The Scarlet Pimpernel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scarlet_Pimpernel) I wondered why anyone would read a whole book about a pimple. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2024, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/817 "2024-02-18T08:31:47Z")
You are S. Baldrick and I claim my five pounds. ---
**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 18, 2024, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/818 "2024-02-18T15:25:39Z")
or a pimp. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/819 "2024-02-18T22:21:21Z")
**gorilla** : largest of the apes **guerrilla** : small independent military troop ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/820 "2024-02-19T11:04:09Z")
**peak** : the highest point of something (e.g., a mountain or an achievement) **peek** : a glimpse of something, usually sought out, and often somewhat furtively ---
**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:** [February 19, 2024, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/821 "2024-02-19T13:53:33Z")
**peke** : abbreviated name for Pekingese dogs ---
**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 19, 2024, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/822 "2024-02-19T14:15:18Z")
**Pique** : to stimulate (appetite, interest, or curiosity). ---
**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:** [February 19, 2024, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772/823 "2024-02-19T18:06:20Z")
So if you get a glimpse of an interesting looking dog on a mountain top, can you say that the peek at the peke on the peak piqued your interest? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=40) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-one-can-get-confused/971772.md?page=42)