Commonly Confused Words, Grades 11–12: List 5

He instantly recognized that the bones did not belong to any extant species and hence must be very old. 1491

For the first time since the start of the fire, the light of day allowed everyone to see and feel the true extent of damage. The Great Fire

Elegantly shot and edited, the movie closely tracks the new factory’s growing pains, which turn increasingly factious as the company’s management practices clash with the expectations of American workers accustomed to hard-won labor rights. New York Times

It’s full of rage, a fractious child screaming, “I hate you” at a parent. Educated

But she nonetheless felt “very, very fortunate” to have lucked into a job that paid her three times her salary as a teacher. Hidden Figures

The fact that the big Oscar nominations reveal fell right in the middle of the Paris couture shows was a coincidence, but a fortuitous one. New York Times

America's nuclear gambit had kept Stalin in check, but the crisis in Berlin underscored the need to anticipate the USSR's next move. Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia

“Our participants really run the gamut from professional writers to people who write cookbooks to people who just keep a diary.” Washington Post

There’s a carefree attitude to his comedy, a sense that even when faced with the most difficult or prejudiced situation, he can escape with a quick gibe. New York Times

Because he possessed what seemed to be an unusually reliable memory, I was particularly interested to hear how his version of the events jibed with my own. Into Thin Air

Once again, two paths had opened before me, and I could take the expedient one, or the one that required courage. The Shakespeare Stealer

Furthermore, the 21st century is an expeditious time, with new and rapid technological advances in medicine, space engineering, and other fields. Washington Post

If you don’t specify a predicted event precisely, there are an indeterminate number of ways for an event of that general kind to take place. Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences

As expected, on January 24, 1873, a grand jury indicted Anthony for “knowingly, wrongfully, and unlawfully” voting. Votes for Women!

In the same letter, she also says: "Pray excuse my bad writing and inditing, for all tell me I am too old to write letters." Benjamin Franklin, Self-Revealed, Volume 1

He sprinkled the pages with cider to make them more inflammable, touched a match to them, and a little jet of flame curled upward. A Separate Peace

Then President Snow, trying to use me to put out the flames of rebellion, only to have my every move become inflammatory. Mockingjay

Next, she rigged up an equally ingenious system whereby I could switch on the light whenever I entered a room at night. The Witches

Uncomplicated, brightly colored and almost childlike in style, the animations lend ingenuous sweetness to a difficult situation. Los Angeles Times

Gradually, however, like Jekyll and Hyde, one personality began to predominate. Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography

Over the past 13,000 years the predominant trend in human society has been the replacement of smaller, less complex units by larger, more complex ones. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies