Words in English. Wordmall. Dictionary.com. Wordnik. Urban Dictionary. TagCrowd. Fun With Words: Commonly Confused Words. Abjure and Adjure Abjure means to "renounce" or "repudiate. " Adjure means "request earnestly. " The words have little in common other than their rarity and similarity of spelling, so they should not be confused. Adopted and Adoptive Adopted and adoptive both mean "acquired through adoption," but they are not synomyms.
Adverse and Averse Adverse means "antagonistic. " Affect and Effect These words are commonly confused, and the rules given to tell them apart are often wrong. Many try to differentiate between the two by saying that affect is a verb, while effect is a noun. Aggravate and Annoy Aggravate means "worsen. " Allude and Refer Allude means to refer to something indirectly or covertly. Anxious and Eager Anxious means "troubled" or "worried. " Chafe and Chaff Chafe means "to make sore by rubbing" or "irritate or annoy" or "become annoyed. " Compliment and Complement Compliment is a "remark of praise.
" Continual and Continuous Deserts and Desserts Discomfort and Discomfit Discrete and Discreet. Adventure of English (video) The Adventure of English is a British television series (ITV) on the history of the English language presented by Melvyn Bragg as well as a companion book, also written by Bragg. The series and the book are cast as an adventure story, or the biography of English as if it were a living being, covering the history of the language from its modest beginnings around 500 AD as a minor Germanic dialect to its rise as a truly established global language.
In the television series, Bragg explains the origins and spelling of many words based on the times in which they were introduced into the growing language that would eventually become modern English. 1. Birth of a Language. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Watch the full documentary now (playlist - ) Story of English (video) The Story of English is the title of an Emmy Award winning nine-part television series, and a companion book, both produced in 1986, detailing the development of the English language.
A little bit old but very good. The book and the television series were written by Robert MacNeil, Robert McCrum and William Cran. The book has been revised twice, once in 1993, and again in 2002. The documentary series was directed by William Cran, and originally broadcast on BBC and PBS. Related documentary on this subject at TDF is The Adventure of English. Encompassing history, geography, sociology, drama, language, arts, and more, The Story of English takes viewers on an unforgettable journey through the history of the English language. Episodes included in the playlist: 1.
Tagul. World Wide Words. Wordle. The Phrase Finder. Word Spy.