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Principal vs. Principle

Principal and principle are often confused as they have the same pronunciation, but have different meanings. In non-legal usage, principle...

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Counsel vs. Council

Do not confuse counsel with council. Counsel means a legal advisor. In the U.K., the term is used for barristers...

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Advise vs. Advice

Advise can be a noun meaning to give advice, counsel, warn, recommend, or simply inform. It is also used as...

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Effective vs. Efficient

Effective and efficient both mean generally “having effect” but specifically, effective meanings having a high degree of effect, e.g. “The...

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Consequent and Subsequent

Perhaps because of the logical fallacy post hoc ergo propter hoc (“after this, therefore because of this”), consequent is frequently...

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Disburse vs. Disperse

Though they are not homophones, when they are heard out of context “disburse” and “disperse” are easily confused. Disburse is...

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Qualify

Qualify has many meanings, including to provide with necessary skills, knowledge or credentials. In law qualify means to certify as...

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Wholly owned subsidiary

Disregarding the presence of any parenthetical modifier, adverbs ending in ‘ly’ always modify the word immediately following them. Thus, they...

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Affect vs. Effect

Affect means to have an influence on or cause a change in. For example, “Intense lobbying affected the vote.” Affect...

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Accede vs. Exceed

Due to the size of the English language – the number of words exceeds 800,000 – it is quite easy...

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