Confusing Words Clarified: Group P; Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, Synonyms, Polysemes, etc. +
(lists of "P" sections that are organized into what for some people are confusing groups of words)
If you have any problems understanding the pronunciation symbols, go to this Pronunciation Chart for clarifications.
2. To have measured a distance based on a careful walk: "He paced off the distance between the gate and the door of the barn."
2. A dough mixture that is made with a high level of fat and can be used to make pastries: "She patted the paste into the deep baking dish and filled it with apple slices before baking it."
3. A mixture of flour and water that is used as glue: "Mother made the paste for me so I could work on my notebook."
4. Jewelery that is made from glass that has a high lead content: "The paste necklace was lustrous and looked almost real."
I paced in front of the jewelery store trying to decide whether to buy the paste necklace which I admired.
I couldn't make up my mind so I went home and discovered the children had tried to paste pictures into their photograph book using a paste of flour and water.
After that, I went into the kitchen to make a paste for the apple pie I was going to bake.
2. To have created a compact bundle: "I packed my suitcase last night."
3. To have carried or to have worn: "He packed his gun when he went hunting."
4. To be capable of having a significant impact: "The hurricane packed a wallop when it came on land."
5. To leave without any expressions of farewell or good-bye: "After the quarrel with her father, she packed up without saying good-bye."
6. To have created layers which are compact: "The riverbank was packed into layers of sand, gravel, and clay."
7. An indication that someone has finished putting things into bags, boxes, etc.: "They were all packed and ready to move to their new apartment."
"They supported a nonaggression pact between the two countries."
In front of a packed audience, the two national leaders signed a pact which allowed for a conventional trade between the countries.
2. To assemble items into a compact space: "The boy packs his suitcase carefully so as not to forget anything."
3. To wear or to carry: "She always packs a lunch when she goes on holidays."
4. To cause a significant impact or impression: "The Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis pacts quite an impression when you see it for the first time."
2. A plaque or tablet containing a representation of a sacred subject and sometimes used in the Roman Catholic Mass during the pax: "At Christmas we often see the sign PAX displayed at the church."
3. In Roman mythology, Pax, the goddess of peace; identified with the Greek goddess Irene: "The Latin term pax, meaning "peace", is utilized in modern English."
Whenever the famous speaker comes to town, she packs the local assembly hall; her speech packs quite an impression; especially, if you are hearing her for the first time.
My friend always packs a lunch and a bottle of water when she attends. The theme of the speaker’s current talk is pax, urging neighbors to be friendly and forgiving.
In fact, the local church committee wants to put up a pax in the church to commemorate her visit.
"The doctor put a gauze pad over her father's wound."
2. A covering for a specific part of the body that is worn to protect that part from injury: "Football players wear a pad for each shoulder and on the hips."3. A set of paper sheets for writing or drawing which are glued or fastened at one edge: "They keep a pad and pencil, or pen, by the phone."
4. The soft part on the bottom of each foot of a dog, cat, etc.: "During freezing weather, each of an animal's foot pad, or the pads of their feet, can be painful."
5. A flat area on the ground where helicopters can take off or land: "Our city has a landing pad close to the hospital; especially, for emergency situations."
2. To make something larger, longer, or more attractive by addling things that are unnecessary, unimportant, or false: "Too many politicians tend to pad their speeches with accusations that their opponents caused the economic problems that exist in the country."
2. A group of ocean animals; such as whales, that are swimming together: "During our ocean cruise, we were thrilled to see a whale pod and even a a dolphin pod swimming next to our ship."
The scientist tried to pad the report about the whale pod; in fact he used a whole pad of paper to write about the pod.
What happened next was tragic. His dog sneaked up on his soft pads and grabbed the report and ran away with it to the nearby helicopter pad and the report was blown away by the draft created by the helicopter blades.
2. An enclosed area at a race track where horses, dogs, etc., are kept before a race: "Before the horses were brought to the race track, they were waiting in the paddock for their turn to join the race."
3. In some places, any enclosed piece of land, whether tilled (soil that has been cultivated for the production of crops, as by plowing, harrowing, hoeing, sowing, etc.) or untilled: "There is a program in Tanzania that subsidizes some herdsmen who want to replace their bramble-enclosed paddocks with fences of metal and wood so they can protect their crops from bush pigs and other animals."
The groom used a padlock to lock the paddock where the horses were stabled.
2. To have given remuneration for services provided or for property received: "I paid for my purchase at the cashier’s desk."
3. To have made compensation for; to discharge a debt: "He had paid his debt to society by doing volunteer work with street youth."
After the contractors paved the driveways, they were well paid for their fast and superior work.
2. Having a skin color that is closer to white than is usual or normal: "When he came home from the hospital, his illness left him weak and pale."
The father asked his son to bring the light-colored bucket from the garage. "Do you mean the pale pail?" the boy asked.
2. A bodily sensation characterized by discomfort and suffering: "He was in severe pain with a broken hip that was caused by the fall down the stairs."
3. An individual who annoys or is troublesome to others: "My friend's sister is a pain when she gets into my school projects."
4. An acute emotional upset or disruption: "The pain of separation broke her heart."
2. A side of a bolt head or nut: "The flat pane of the bolt made it easy to hang on to while I tightened the nut with the pliers."
If a broken glass-window were to have sense perceptions, isn't it obvious that it would feel a pain in the pane?
"The new pair of shoes had buckles on the toes."
"An extra pair of hands is just what we need to get the work done."
2. A partnership of two often engaged in a competition against another partnership of two: "Our champion pair of tennis players easily defeated the challenging pair from the other club."3. Two animals that mate together: "A pair of parrots can raise one chick each year."
"He used the clippers to pare his fingernails."
2. To remove the outer covering or skin of fruit with a knife or similar instrument: "She used the short knife to pare the apples before she made the apple pie.""Having a sweet and juicy pear is a real delight."
When the phone rang, I was busy trying to pare a pair of pears for our afternoon snack.
The cook was thinking about the pairing of roast beef with potatoes; so, she asked her helper to start paring the potatoes.
2. The sense of taste, often in reference to a refined or informed sense of taste: "He had a fine palate for tea and drank several cups each day."
2. A distinctive quality or use of color in a painting: "The palette of the artist ranged from deep reds to gold."
2. A portable platform used to move heavy objects which are placed on it: "The tractor moved the pallet loaded with boxes to the end of the loading platform."
3. A small mechanism in a time piece which ensures the movement of the pendulum: "My clock keeps losing time and I think the pallet needs to be checked so the pendulum will work properly."
The artist who was famous for her palate for fine tea, worked with a palette and brush using a wide palette of distinctive colors.
She would often stand on a small pallet which she could move around the room in order to get a better perspective of her work.
Her studio was also equipped with a day pallet for a quick nap and an antique clock, the pallet of which needed adjusting from time to time.
"The old jokes are starting to pall on the audience."
2. Something that covers up or conceals: "The smoke from the fire created a pall over the city."3. The heavy cloth that is used to drape over a coffin in which a body is lying: "At the request of the family, the pall on their grandfather’s coffin was deep red with gold embroidery."
Once the pawl began to work properly, her energy started to pall and she had to stop for a cup of tea and a muffin.
"The quality of the language used by the youth was paltry and made it difficult for the listener to understand what was being said."
2. Characterized as being narrow minded: "He appeared to be a petty individual who was not interested in new music or challenging art."
"Compared to the problems they are having, our inconveniences are trivial."
It seemed petty to argue about the paltry quality of the poultry when less trivial matters were at stake.
2. The score standard for each hole during a golf game: "When we were on the golf course, I could not remember what the par for each hole was."
3. The established value of money of one country as expressed in terms of the money of another country, using an item of standard value for comparison; for example, gold: "The exchange rates at the bank indicated my money was on par with that of the country I was going to visit next week."
2. Young salmon before they migrate to the sea: "The salmon are known as parr that live in fresh-water streams before they swim out to the ocean, become adults, and then return to breed and lay eggs in the streams that they left."
The length of the parr which we caught was par for the time of year; so, we threw it back into the water and continued our golf game, shouting PAR when we reached the next hole.
2. A fortified strip or boundary usually protecting a military position: "The soldiers were defending the perimeter of their camp for several days."
The parameter of his job was clear; that is, he was to build a new fence marking the perimeter of the pasture.
Confusing Words: Homonyms, Homophones, and Homographs; explained and demonstrated.
Confusing Words: Units, Groups A to Z.
Confusing Words: Vocabulary Quizzes Listed.
