Commonly Confused Words
1. Handsome & Hansom
Handsome has the following meanings:
1. Having an attractive, well-proportioned, and imposing appearance suggestive of health and strength; good-looking.
Usage example: He is thin and bony, hardly handsome.
2. Considerable, ample, or liberal in amount.
Usage example: Her grandparents left her a handsome fortune.
Hansom means a two-wheeled one-horse carriage with a fixed hood. The driver sits on a high outside seat at the rear.
Usage example: The travelers took a handsome cab from the station.
2. Hangar & Hanger
Hangar means any relatively wide structure used for housing airplanes or airships.
Usage example: The hangar was large enough to house at least six planes.
Hanger means a contrivance on which things are hung, as a hook.
Usage example: She neatly arranged her dresses on the hanger.
3. Hard & Hardly
Hard have the following meanings:
1. Firmly formed; tight.
Usage example: The floor was hard and uncomfortable.
2. Involving a great deal of effort, energy, or persistence.
Usage example: The work was hard and the conditions austere.
3. Difficult or troublesome with respect to an action, situation, person, etc.
Usage example: We had hard time collecting information about the condition of the patient.
Hardly have the following meanings:
1. Only just; almost not; barely.
We had hardly boarded the train when it started moving.
2. with little likelihood.
Usage example: There is hardly any possibility of his coming today.
3. Not at all; scarcely.
Usage example: The results of the report are hardly surprising.
Remember, hard is an adjective and hardly is an adverb.
4. Hardy & Hearty
Hardy has the following meanings:
1. Capable of enduring fatigue, hardship, exposure, etc.; sturdy; strong.
Usage example: The mountaineers are very hardy and strong.
2. (Of plants) able to withstand the cold of winter in the open air.
Usage example: The cacti are hardy little plants.
3. Bold; courageous.
Usage example: The hardy soldiers helped evacuate the flood victims.
Hearty has the following meanings:
1. Warm-hearted; affectionate; cordial; jovial.
Usage example: The warriors received a hearty welcome.
2. Substantial; abundant; nourishing.
Usage example: We enjoyed a hearty meal after a day of hard work.
3. Completely devoted; wholehearted.
Usage example: The team had the hearty support of the academy.
5. Hart & Heart
Hart is the male of the deer, esp. the red deer aged five years or more.
Usage example: A burnt hart's horn is used in preparing many powders.
Heart means the hollow muscular organ in vertebrates whose contractions propel the blood through the circulatory system:
Usage example: Obesity is a major cause of heart failure.
Heart also has the following meanings:
1. In keeping with one's taste or preference.
Usage example: The work was one which his heart desired.
2. Capacity for sympathy; feeling; affection.
Usage example: His heart was very tender; he got moved by the slightest of pain felt by others.
3. The innermost or central part of anything.
Usage example: The heart of the city was bustling with activity.
6. Haunch & Hunch
Haunch means a hindquarter of an animal.
Usage example: Our hosts had cooked a haunch of venison for supper.
Hunch means:
1. To thrust out or up in a hump; arch.
Usage example: All the students were hunched over the table.
2. A premonition or suspicion; guess.
Usage example: His hunch about the trouble brewing at the factory proved right.
7. Haunted & Hunted
Haunted means:
1. Inhabited or frequented by ghosts.
Usage example: The castle seemed haunted and eerie.
2. To visit frequently; go too often.
Usage example: He haunted the art galleries and art studios in search of classical art.
3. To intrude upon or recur to (the memory, thoughts, etc).
Usage example: Thoughts of failure haunted him day and night.
Hunted
1. To seek out and kill or capture (game or wild animals) for food or sport.
Usage example: The royal family often hunted wild boars.
2. Harassed and worn.
Usage example: He looked hunted and worn out.
8. Haven & Heaven
Haven mans a place of safety or sanctuary; shelter.
Usage example: Unrest and instability has made Afghanistan a haven for poppy growers.
Heaven is the abode of God and the angels.
Usage example: Heaven is the place of the everlasting blessedness of the righteous.
9. Hay & Hey
Hay refers to grass or clover cut and dried as fodder.
Usage example: The hay was spread out in the hayloft.
Hey is an expression indicating surprise, dismay, discovery, etc, or calling for another's attention.
Usage example: Hey, what is going on at the back!
10. Hays & Haze
Hays are various grasses, clover, etc, cut and dried as fodder.
Usage example: The farm down the road has a good stock of a variety of hays.
Haze has the following meanings:
1. Reduced visibility in the air as a result of condensed water vapor, dust, etc, in the atmosphere.
Usage example: The haze has different hues according to the temperature and humidity.
2. Vagueness or obscurity, as of the mind or perception; confused or vague thoughts, feelings, etc.
Usage example: Things happened in a haze after the tragedy struck.