Common / Commonplace
Common: shared
or used by many; commonplace: ordinary and not very
interesting.
e.g. Smoking in an
enclosed area is common nuisance.
e.g. To be healthy and
wealthy is a common New Year’s resolution.
e.g. Running may be
a commonplace sport for many.
Approve / Approve of
Approve means pgive consent to; approve of means think well of.
e.g. Your proposal will not be approved by
the committee.
e.g. We approve of our
daughter’s marriage to that promising young man.
A few / Few
A few: not many with a
more positive meaning; few: not many with a more negative
meaning.
e.g. A few people might
ask for your help (some, not too many).
e.g. We were
disappointed that only few people
showed up (hardly any).
Defuse / Diffuse
Defuse: decrease the
danger, such as deactivate a bomb; diffuse: spread over a wide
area.
e.g. It is difficult
to defuse the
conflicts in the Middle East .
e.g. Once you open the
bottle of fragrant herbs, their scents will diffuse.
Read / Peruse
Read: look at and understand; peruse: read thoroughly.
e.g. Don’t just read through
the document; you have to peruse it
to see if there is any hidden code.
Masterful / Masterly
Masterful: determined, strong-willed, like a master; masterly means having good skills.
e.g. He has
demonstrated that he is a masterful personality.
e.g. This is a masterly piece
of performance
Afflict: cause someone to suffer; inflict: punish or put a burden on someone.
e.g. For years, he has been afflicted with muscle pain.
e.g. The tyrant had inflicted punishment on those
who opposed him.
Farther / Further
Father: refers to greater distance; further: with more or greater intensity.
e.g. Our new house is farther from the lake than from the river.
e.g. The demonstration only led to further racial
tension.
Stephen Lau
Copyright© by Stephen Lau
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