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Commonly Confused

Affect vs. Effect

Here's the lowdown on what may be the most confusing pair of words in the English language.

Here's the lowdown on what may be the most confusing pair of words in the English language.

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play video affect vs effect
Affect vs. Effect

 

Here's the lowdown on what may be the most confusing pair of words in the English language.

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Lay vs. Lie

 

Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.

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Alright vs. All Right

 

Is 'alright' all right?

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Drive Safe: In Praise of Flat Adverbs

 

You don't have to end all your adverbs in -ly to talk right.

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Words of the Year: 1066

 

English was never the same after the Norman Conquest

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Thawing one of the mysteries of English

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How a Word Gets into the Dictionary

 

What our editors are looking for when they enter words in Merriam-Webster.

Games & Quizzes

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Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
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Commonly Confused Words Quiz Vol. 2 A quiz to (peak/peek/pique) your interest.
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