Are you using the correct words?
Our written communications have potential to impact reputations – our own, those of our colleagues, and those of our employers. A homophone is one of two or more words that sound similar yet with different meanings and/or spellings. Scroll down, and you’ll see I’ve built a list of some of these words that are commonly misused.
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A sampling of homophones
A homophone is one of two or more words with the same pronunciation but different meanings or spelling. When we use AI to dictate work, we want to check whether the appropriate word has been recorded. Even when we’re using the keyboard, autocorrect functions may sometimes skew our meaning.
Here are some examples of homophones. If you rely on autocorrect functions, double check the results when inserting homophones. When in doubt as to which word is appropriate, check a dictionary.
accede, exceed
accept, except
affect, effect
allowed, aloud
are, hour, our
bare, bear
board, bored
cache, cash
cite, sight
complement, compliment
discrete, discreet
ensure, insure
hear, here
higher, hire
accede, exceed
incite, insight
its, it’s
led, lead
new, knew
passed, past
principal, principle
sole, soul
stationary, stationery (think “e” for envelopes and paper)
than, then
their, there, they’re
two, too, two
wary, weary
weather, whether
who’s, whose
you’re, your
