Confusing Words Clarified: Group M; Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, Synonyms, Polysemes, etc. +
(lists of "M" 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. An object used to create a certain shape: Trisha has a baking mold in the form of a tree which she uses at Christmas.
The potter used his hands to mold the clay into a beautiful vase.
The bread was covered with mold, so Lenora had to throw it away and get some fresh bread for her family's dinner.
As a potter, Charles uses a mold to mold pots and containers in which to put garden mold for his balcony garden. He sometimes tries to feed the birds on his balcony, throwing them bits of bread which he was not going to eat because it had some mold on it.
2. A massive, usually stone wall constructed in the sea, used as a breakwater and built to enclose or to protect an anchorage or a harbor: The local docking facility was enclosed by a mole or bulwark.
3. A machine designed for boring through hard materials such as rock: The huge mole was brought to the work site when it was time to dig the new tunnel.
It is easy to see how a construction mole got its name; it acts like a garden mole, burrowing through the soil and rocks.
During a construction project, after the mole had bored through the rock, the broken and crushed rock was hauled to the harbor to reinforce the original mole.
Elisa, who also worked with Jim on a project, had a small mole on her cheek; and she said that after a hard day's work, she and her friends would often go to a restaurant to have chicken with a mole sauce.
In a momentary flash of genius, Keith thought it would be a momentous occasion if the mayor invited the retired astronaut to speak at the unveiling of the new monument in the town square.
2. An informal British term for "Mother", used especially by children: Timmy asked, "Where's my mummy?"
The first principle of Egyptian archaeology is for mommy to find the mummy.
The construction of the new play was interesting in that it created a unique balance between each monologue every brilliant dialogue.
2. When capitalized, a board game developed in the 1930s involving money, purchase of property, etc.: The family decided to play Monopoly after dinner.
One advantage of a polypoly, or polyopoly, market situation is the limited possibility of a monopoly developing among the buyers or sellers.
The cow mooed contentedly because she was in a good mood.
2. The small moveable device that is used to control and to move the cursor on a computer screen: The mouse for Henry's laptop is very sensitive to movement.
Is it possible that a moose and a mouse both would like to have mousse for dessert?
Thomas told about driving down a winding road with his wife when he had to swerve suddenly to avoid hitting an animal with antlers.
As he and his wife recovered from the startling situation, she turned to her husband and said, "Now, that was really a near moose collision!"
2. Regarding something not worth talking about; no longer important or worth discussing: Francine said that that argument was a moot point and not relevant to the topic they were trying to resolve.
2. Relating to something which does not contribute anything to the overall sound or pronunciation of a word: The e at the end of the word mute is silent.
Abigail was asked to use the remote control to mute the excessive loudness of the TV.
Although Marla's uncle was a mute, he could play the trumpet, including using a mute to muffle the sound. In the family, it became a moot point to argue whether her uncle could communicate because he was able to do it to some degree through his music.
2. Pertaining to what a person thinks is right and good: Marjorie felt that she had a moral obligation to help the poor people in her community.
James is a man with strong moral convictions who believes strongly that some things are proper and others are not appropriate!
The company has been improving with its profits which has resulted in greater morale for its employees.
The company management felt that it was their moral duty to plan events to improve the morale among the office staff. One activity was to plan a morel hunt, contracting with the local morel hunters to explain the hunt, the secrecy among the hunters, etc.
In a produce market, the manager instructed one of his employees: "Just tell customers that we have unpackaged mushrooms and stop saying, We have loose morels!"
"In a Tiny Montana Town, the Hunt for Mushrooms Can Be a Morel Imperative"
2. Conformity to the ideals of interpersonal relationships: Marissa's standards of morality were very high and she refused to compromise on her ideals.
The death of Jim's brother reminded him of his own mortality.
When Karen's friend died mysteriously, the circumstances of David's death led her to consider her own mortality and to think about the morality of her relationships with certain questionable characters.
2. Characteristic of or induced by disease: The conditions in the slum were morbid and caused many people to be ill.
Josie had to be moved to a supervised home because the 100-year-old woman was living in a sordid situation.
The public often displays a morbid curiosity about the sordid facts of life in the slums as described by socially conscious authors; such as, Charles Dickens.
2. Boggy, infertile land typically covered with grasses: Eric walked across the moor when he was on a walking holiday in England.
Lucinda and Arthur wanted to go one more time to the art gallery; so, they rowed their boat across the river to moor it near the gallery gardens. They noticed that the lawn mower had been busy and the grass was cut; resulting in the gardens complimenting the Moor style architecture of the gallery.
Mike's mother died during the night and so it was not until the next morn that anyone could mourn her passing.
Trudy and Alisa discussed the situation that morning and they will get together the next morning to see if they can solve the problem.
2. Great sadness that is felt because someone has died: There was a period of deep mourning in memory of the death of the scientist.
Little did Mike and Dorothea know that they would be mourning in the morning until they discovered that their dog had died during the night.
Confusing Words: Homonyms, Homophones, and Homographs; explained and demonstrated.
Confusing Words: Units, Groups A to Z.
Confusing Words: Vocabulary Quizzes Listed.
