There are similar words that have different meanings and they are often confused with one another. Raise your hands if you’ve ever mixed up ‘dateline’ and ‘deadline.’

Here are some of them:

Bully and bullish

These two words might seem similar, but they actually have different meanings.
‘Bully’ is an action of or a person who is intimidating those who seem more vulnerable.
‘Bullish’ is of someone who has personal qualities that resemble a bull: strong, assertive, and confident.

Childish and childlike

‘Childish’ means having personal qualities like a child but in an immature context.
‘Childlike’ means similar to a child in an adorable and innocent way.

Dateline and deadline

Some of us might have used ‘dateline’ to describe the latest time by which something should be completed, whilst we should have used ‘deadline’ instead.
‘Dateline’ is a line at the head of a news article that shows the time and place of when and where the article was written.
‘Deadline’ is the latest time by which something should be completed.

Exhausted and exhaustive

‘Exhausted’ means tired, drained, or spent.
‘Exhaustive’ means thorough or detailed.

Fiend and friend

Ever heard of or read the word ‘fiend,’ fellas? It looks similar to ‘friend,’ right? It actually has a completely different meaning because a ‘fiend’ is an evil spirit or a demon.
A ‘friend’ is a companion.

Handy and handful

These two words came from the root ‘hand.’
Something is ‘handy’ if it is useful.
Something is ‘handful’ if it has the quantity that fills our hands.
Someone is ‘handful’ if they are difficult to deal with.

Invisible and invincible

Something is ‘invisible’ if it cannot be seen.
Something is ‘invincible’ if it cannot be defeated.

Vile and veil

‘Vile’ is of someone who is extremely unpleasant, morally bad, or wicked. ‘Vile’ is synonymous with ‘evil.’
‘Veil’ is a piece of clothing that covers the face, usually worn by a woman.

Compiled by @alicesaraswati for @EnglishTips4U on Thursday, 24 September 2020.

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