This tag is for questions about the differences in the meaning of two words.
82
votes
10answers
10k views
Differences between slang words for breasts
What is the difference between “tits” and “boobs”?
P.S. I'm not sure if this question is appropriate but as English is not my native language I really would love to know the difference.
51
votes
10answers
3k views
What's the difference between the adjectives “strategic” and “tactical”?
I recently read this sentence:
It was a strategic move rather than a tactical one.
I have trouble interpreting it. Can someone help?
50
votes
8answers
6k views
What's the difference between “null” and “void” in legal language?
In the legal term "null and void," what is the difference between null and void? Why not just use one of the two terms? And can either term be used without the other?
49
votes
6answers
2k views
How small does a land-mass have to be before you live “on” it, rather than “in” it?
I'm sure virtually everyone agrees that people live on the Isle of Wight, but in Ireland.
Apparently the usage depends somewhat on physical size, but that can't be the whole story. How exactly do we ...
48
votes
10answers
6k views
What is the difference between an Emperor and a King?
I was at a loss when I was asked recently by my grand-daughter who is a school girl about the difference between Emperor and King. She asked me why Great Britain has King and Queen, while Germany and ...
46
votes
11answers
4k views
What is the difference between “it's up to you” and “it's down to you”?
I see both "It's up to you" and "It's down to you" in conversations.
So what's the difference?
45
votes
11answers
4k views
What is the difference between “gender” and “sex”?
What is the difference between gender and sex? Wiktionary says that gender is The mental analog of sex but that's too high English for me.
Basically, I'm developing a web-application that stores ...
39
votes
6answers
7k views
Which is the correct spelling: “grey” or “gray”?
What is the difference? Or is there any? Which would be more British English?
38
votes
11answers
3k views
When to use “nude” and when “naked”
The question is quite clear.
Is there any difference (semantically or connotationally, if that's a word) between nude and naked? Nude seems more formal to me, but I'm not quite sure.
Interesting:
...
38
votes
4answers
11k views
'Made of' vs. 'Made from'
What is the basic difference between "made of" and "made from." Both expressions are used in English. For instance, "This chair is made of wood," and "Cream is made from milk." Though the question is ...
38
votes
3answers
1k views
“Toward” or “towards”?
Which one should should I use? For some reason I have always used "towards", but I see some people saying "toward", like here:
A great deal of his work in economic
theory has been directed ...
35
votes
4answers
6k views
What is the difference between “illicit” and “illegal”?
What is the difference between "illicit" and "illegal"? Are they just synonymous? Used in different contexts?
35
votes
8answers
4k views
Is it “alright” or “allright”?
In practice I find both spellings being used. From a logical point of view, "allright" (as in: "all's right — everything is fine") seems correct. However, I recall hearing that "alright" is the ...
32
votes
9answers
19k views
“Unregister” vs “Deregister”
The concept of "undoing a registration" is widely used in my line of work. While most dictionaries define unregister as the proper verb for it, several widely used and highly considered sources also ...
26
votes
12answers
3k views
“Nothing to tell” versus “nothing to say”
There's nothing to tell.
There's nothing to say.
Can anyone explain the difference between those two statements and give some examples on how they should be used? I think I do have a basic ...
26
votes
2answers
5k views
When I should use “assure” vs. “ensure” vs. “insure”?
When is it appropriate to use assure vs. ensure vs. insure?
25
votes
5answers
1k views
Are 'accuracy' and 'precision' interchangeable nouns?
The dictionary for accuracy says:
The quality or state of being correct or precise.
The ability to perform a task with precision.
And for precision:
The quality, condition, or ...
25
votes
2answers
4k views
What is the difference between “maybe” and “may be”?
What is the difference in meaning and usage between maybe and may be? Are they synonymous?
25
votes
5answers
6k views
Is there a difference between “arse” and “ass”?
From a comment here, in frequent usage, arse and ass are often interchangeable when used to refer to buttocks or to a person of dubious charms. However, although “to arse about” has a vague connection ...
25
votes
6answers
10k views
“Oriented” vs. “orientated”
What are the origins of the word orientated?
As far as I know, the correct spelling is oriented and orientated is not an alternative spelling but an error that is in common use.
Is it for example ...
25
votes
1answer
54k views
What's the difference between “requester” and “requestor”?
Both are in dictionaries. I've heard people insist "requester" is correct for a person who requests something, and that "requestor" is wrong there, leaving me to wonder how it is used. Requestor ...
24
votes
3answers
30k views
What's the difference between “eldest” and “oldest”?
When should I use "eldest" and when should I use "oldest"?
Are the differences semantic or regional? (Or both?)
(What got me wondering is the removeEldestEntry() method in Java's LinkedHashMap ...
23
votes
2answers
891 views
Why are clothes hung and men hanged?
I've heard it said that clothes can be 'hung' but men are 'hanged'. Is this correct, and, if so, why?
22
votes
3answers
17k views
22
votes
9answers
10k views
What is the difference between “complicated” and “complex”?
I can't understand: what's the difference between complicated and complex?
They seem to be used interchangeably. Are they actually different at all?
22
votes
1answer
689 views
When should “farther” and “further” be used?
I know I learned the difference between the usage of farther and further in school, but I can never remember where each one should be used. Can someone help me out here?
21
votes
9answers
3k views
Do the words “jail” and “prison” refer to different things?
In everyday speech, the terms jail and prison are used interchangeably in many situations. However, my understanding is that, at least in the US, they actually refer to slightly different things. For ...
21
votes
8answers
19k views
Distinction: “What can I do you for?” vs. “What can I do for you?”
Usually, when being served the phrase "What can I do for you?" is used but sometimes I also hear "What can I do you for?" in quite the same context. So is there a difference or is it just a slip of ...
21
votes
6answers
2k views
Using “utilize” instead of “use”?
My friend has been raising a ruckus about the abuse of the word "utilize" in place of the word "use." He complains that it just makes your sentences sound pretentious.
u·ti·lize [yoot-l-ahyz]
verb ...
21
votes
3answers
5k views
What's the difference between a gerund and a participle?
What is the difference between a gerund and a participle?
20
votes
3answers
8k views
What's the difference between using single and double quotation marks/inverted commas?
I'm quite unsure regarding the usage of single quotation marks (') and double quotation marks (") in English.
I had thought that double quotation marks were usually used to quote sentences from ...
19
votes
6answers
4k views
What is the difference between “archetype” and “prototype”?
I'm very confused by the difference between "archetype" and "prototype", and even more baffled when to use which. Can someone clarify?
19
votes
2answers
1k views
When should you write “answer” versus “response”?
In context, when would it be appropriate to use "answer" or "response"? I always tend to use "answer" personally, but I have always this nagging feeling I could be wrong.
19
votes
4answers
2k views
Difference between “artifact” and “artefact”
Is there any usage preference between artifact and artefact?
My understanding was that an artifact was properly applied to physical, historical objects, while an artefact was more correct for more ...
19
votes
3answers
692 views
What exactly are the differences between “diligent”, “assiduous” and “sedulous”?
From OALD:
sedulous (formal) showing great care and effort in your work
synonym: diligent
assiduous (formal) working very hard and taking great care that everything is done as well as it ...
18
votes
5answers
483 views
“Infer” vs. “imply” — can “infer” imply “imply”?
Okay that's a crazy title, but bear with me. Got into a good natured discussion with someone on another stack exchange site, and I was "correcting" him on the use of infer vs. imply.
(The ...
18
votes
4answers
1k views
Transform or transformation?
Is there a difference between the words transform (noun) and transformation?
Let me describe my problem. I have a mathematical model which I can transform into a better model with help of a data ...
17
votes
7answers
3k views
Is there a difference between “innocent” and “not guilty”?
I have always thought the antonym of "guilty" is "innocent", but apparently it's just "not guilty". Even juries seem to agree.
But why? Aren't they antonyms? Or is there a subtlety I'm missing here?
...
17
votes
8answers
3k views
Ripe with Opportunity? Or Rife?
The Grammarist says I should use rife with rather than ripe with.
So far so good and I agree. But is there an exception for ripe with opportunity?
Googlefight overwhelmingly prefers ripe, and I like ...
17
votes
3answers
5k views
What's the difference between “puberty” and “adolescence”?
The two words puberty and adolescence seem to be referring to one thing; what is the difference between them?
17
votes
3answers
27k views
“Which” vs. “what” — what's the difference and when should you use one or the other?
Most of the time one or the other feels better, but every so often, "which" vs. "what" trips me up.
So, what's the exact difference and when should you use one or the other?
16
votes
4answers
14k views
“Unselect” or “Deselect”?
If I want the user to revert their operation of selecting an item, should I say: "Unselect the option" or "Deselect the option"?
16
votes
3answers
1k views
What is the difference between “lay” and “lie”?
How do I know when to use lay and when to use lie, and what are the different forms of each verb? I'm always getting them confused.
16
votes
6answers
5k views
Difference between “invoice” and “bill”?
I am talking about something you should pay. "Invoice" here doesn't mean the proof of payment.
Sometimes I am told to pay my "bill", and sometimes they may refer to the similar paper (physical or ...
16
votes
3answers
887 views
What's the difference between “mistrust” and “distrust”?
Are mistrust and distrust synonyms?
And if so, how have two such similar words coexist for so long? Google N-grams suggests the two words have coexisted since the 1700's.
16
votes
4answers
4k views
Difference between “ability” and “capability”
What is the difference in usage between ability and capability?
15
votes
5answers
1k views
The use of “hey” in North America
Having had my formative years in New Zealand, I was born in South Africa. I vaguely recall when I was VERY young having someone tell me when I said "hey" that "hay is what horses eat".
I got that ...
15
votes
3answers
2k views
Difference between “delete” and “remove” [closed]
I am writing a mobile application that will, as a part of its functionality, display a list of recorded thoughts. Now I am deciding the textual content of the menus and that left me thinking whether ...
15
votes
4answers
1k views
Meaning of “My friend, who lives in Paris, is a teacher” with and without commas
Can anyone help me understand the difference in meaning between these two sentences?
My friend who lives in Paris is a teacher.
My friend, who lives in Paris, is a teacher.
To me it ...
15
votes
4answers
3k views
“Don't I know you” vs. “do I know you”
My question is about similar (for me) question forms "don't I know you" and "do I know you". Is there any difference between them or can they both be used in the same context without any exceptions?
...
