Wednesday’s Words & Woes: “A” for Effort!

Frequent readers of my blogs know that each Tuesday I publish a “Tuesday Tricksters” list of miserable words — known as homophones (words that sound the same, or nearly so) — because they’re so easy to misuse!

One of my LI readers (Asesh Datta) asked if I could just remind folks of the perils of word pairs where one of the pair starts with an “a” and the other doesn’t. If English isn’t your first language — heck, even if it is — these words can cause you to think you’re writing one when you’re writing the other.

Thanks to Asesh for the suggestion!

Some of the word pairs listed below do share a common understanding, and that makes them even more difficult. If the definitions of a few of them are too close for your liking, find a synonym and use it.

Here is a short list of some to be careful of:

Abide (v.): to put up with; tolerate (John can’t abide incompetence.); to stay with or remain (Abide with me.)
Bide (v.): to stay; continue; to dwell; reside, to wait (to bide one’s time)

Across (prep.): on, at, or from the other side of (The houses are across from each other.); (adv.) on the other side or from the other side (Jan is walking across the bridge.)

Cross (v.): to go from one side to another (I will cross the street.); to mark with an “x” (I will cross that out.); (adj.): annoyed (I was cross with her.); (n.): a crucifix

Arise (v.): to get up, as from a sitting or prone position; to awaken and get up (I will arise at dawn.); to move upward; ascend; to come into being; originate (He hoped that a new spirit of freedom was arising.); to result, issue, or proceed (Some mistakes arise from a basic misunderstanding.)

Rise (v.): to move from a lower to a higher position; ascend (Hot air rises.); to increase in size, volume, or level (The river rises every spring.); to increase in number, amount, or value (Prices are rising.); to increase in intensity, force, or speed (The wind has risen.); to increase in pitch or volume (The sound of their voices rose and fell.)

Alone (adj.): entirely separated from others (She was alone in the park.)

Lone (adj.): a singular a thing or person (a lone rider; the Lone Ranger)

Awake (adj.): not sleeping (I was awake when she called at 5 a.m.!); (v.): to rouse from slumber (I usually don’t awake at dawn.)

Wake (v.): to rise up out of slumber (I usually wake up around 7.); (n.): a preburial vigil of a corpse; the track or trail left in the water by a moving ship or boat

Aware (adj.): on one’s guard; vigilant; knowing or realizing; conscious; informed (She is always aware of her surroundings.)

Ware (n.): a good or a thing (goods or things) that can be bought or sold, or pottery made from clay; usually used in the plural form (wares)

And just to make things a little more difficult, remember that ware is a sound-alike of where and wear.

You’re welcome. :-)

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If you ever have difficulty with any of these or other English words, do consult an online dictionary, such as YourDictionary.com, which is the one I use for my Tuesday Tricksters. It compiles words, their definitions, and examples from many dictionaries, so you can find slightly different definitions, one of which might be exactly what you’re looking for!

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