Commonly Confused Words, Grades 9–10: List 2

Learn the correct meanings and usages of these commonly confused words for ninth- and tenth-grade students.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. disillusion
    the act of freeing from false belief
    It is possible that I was mistaken and I do not willfully invite any disillusions at this point in my life. Nine Stories
    To see more usage examples of "disillusion," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "disillusion" and "dissolution," click here.
  2. dissolution
    separation into component parts
    Immediately upon it came the thunder: a high, tearing noise, as though some huge thing were being ripped to pieces close above, which deepened and turned to enormous blows of dissolution. Watership Down: A Novel
    To see more usage examples of "dissolution," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "disillusion" and "dissolution," click here.
  3. gorilla
    largest anthropoid ape
    Our closest living relatives include chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
    To see more usage examples of "gorilla," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "gorilla" and "guerrilla," click here.
  4. guerrilla
    a member of an irregular army that fights a stronger force
    Some of the guerrillas were actual North Korean soldiers who crossed over to recruit, mostly kidnap, young South Korean men. Finding Junie Kim
    To see more usage examples of "guerrilla," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "gorilla" and "guerrilla," click here.
  5. hero
    a person distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility
    Campbell said that a hero is an ordinary human being who does "the best of things in the worst of times." The Boy on the Wooden Box
    To see more usage examples of "hero," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "hero" and "protagonist," click here.
  6. protagonist
    the principal character in a work of fiction
    I think my students will be able to identify with the teen protagonists in all of the books I’ve selected. The Freedom Writers Diary
    To see more usage examples of "protagonist," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "hero" and "protagonist," click here.
  7. marital
    of or relating to the state of marriage
    Some wives were happier at the prospect of marital relations than others. The Underground Railroad: A Novel
    To see more usage examples of "marital," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "marital" and "martial," click here.
  8. martial
    suggesting war or military life
    As Calixte had bemoaned, most of the theories were martial ones, involving conquest, weapons, and defense. Strange the Dreamer
    To see more usage examples of "martial," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "marital" and "martial," click here.
  9. paradox
    a statement that contradicts itself
    “So a Socratic paradox is about something that probably isn’t true, but you make it sound true?” Ask the Passengers
    To see more usage examples of "paradox," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "paradox" and "oxymoron," click here.
  10. oxymoron
    conjoined contradictory terms
    Healthful candy might sound like an oxymoron, but in this case it’s a delicious reality. Washington Post
    To see more usage examples of "oxymoron," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "paradox" and "oxymoron," click here.
  11. parameter
    any factor defining a system and determining its performance
    I had to find an approach, figure out if we could land there, figure out the performance parameters, and tell the company what we were doing. Outliers
    To see more usage examples of "parameter," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "parameter" and "perimeter," click here.
  12. perimeter
    the boundary line or area immediately inside the boundary
    Thick hedges created a rectangular perimeter along the property line. The Last Last-Day-of-Summer
    To see more usage examples of "perimeter," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "parameter" and "perimeter," click here.
  13. parody
    a composition that imitates or misrepresents a style
    When the French artist Marcel Duchamp drew a mustache on a copy of the Mona Lisa, he made the most famous parody in art history. The Mona Lisa Vanishes
    To see more usage examples of "parody," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "parody" and "parity," click here.
  14. parity
    functional equality
    Whites outnumbered slaves two to one in North Carolina, but in Louisiana and Georgia the populations neared parity. The Underground Railroad: A Novel
    To see more usage examples of "parity," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "parody" and "parity," click here.
  15. pitiable
    deserving or inciting a feeling of sympathy and sorrow
    There must have been something desperate or pitiable in my voice, for he slung his coat back over the partition. Native Speaker
    To see more usage examples of "pitiable," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "pitiable," "pitiful," "piteous" and "pitiless," click here.
  16. pitiful
    inspiring mixed contempt and sorrow
    He pushes my pitiful linoleum block aside and gently sets down an enormous book. Speak
    To see more usage examples of "pitiful," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "pitiable," "pitiful," "piteous" and "pitiless," click here.
  17. piteous
    deserving or inciting a feeling of sympathy and sorrow
    Runt began to whimper, a piteous sound that made Pax want to comfort him, but Bristle warned him to keep away. Pax
    To see more usage examples of "piteous," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "pitiable," "pitiful," "piteous" and "pitiless," click here.
  18. pitiless
    without mercy or sympathy
    His pitiless and hate-filled eyes locked with mine as he threw the daisy garland to the floor and crushed it with his foot. Ophelia
    To see more usage examples of "pitiless," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "pitiable," "pitiful," "piteous" and "pitiless," click here.
  19. prescribe
    issue commands or orders for
    “Did the doctor prescribe any treatments for you, Mother?” Fever 1793
    To see more usage examples of "prescribe," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "prescribe" and "proscribe," click here.
  20. proscribe
    command against
    In Britain, 39 local authorities proscribed it, with a Cornish councillor demanding that all of those involved in its production should be locked up in Broadmoor. The Guardian
    To see more usage examples of "proscribe," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "prescribe" and "proscribe," click here.
Created on Wed Jan 03 17:07:37 EST 2024 (updated Mon Mar 04 09:33:05 EST 2024)

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