Elusive Words

This section of Exploring English describes troublesome English words.

Some words are more difficult than others to spell and use correctly. The following list presents some words and word pairs that often cause a great deal of trouble.

affect / effect
allude / elude
anybody / any body
can / may
disinterested / uninterested
principle / principal
that / which

The list of troublesome words is arguably the size of the English language itself! The inclusion of any particular words here must be arbitrary and limited. Please become familiar with the regular use of a good dictionary. Most style manuals contain discussions of 'elusive' words.

• See The Gregg Reference Manual
• See The Elements of Style
• See Harper Dictionary of Contemporary Usage

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Last Modified April 08, 2003