Vocabulary

Commonly Confused Words flashcards

4 decks · 300 cards · built into Willys · free samples below

Written against: 150 pairs and trios that usage guides list as commonly confused; mainstream American usage, with disputed points attributed. Updated 2026-10-10.

What's in it

Every deck follows the course outline, with tags you can study or suspend topic by topic. Open a deck to study its free sample right here.

Learn · 4 decks · 300 cards

Concepts, mechanisms and the questions a course or exam asks about them.

Set 1 Seventy-five commonly confused pairs and trios, from affect and effect to maybe and may be: the difference in one line, an example for each word and a memory hook. 10 free · 75 cards in the app Which One Fits?, Set 1 One sentence for each of the 75 pairs and trios in Set 1: choose the word the clues call for, then read why it fits and the other doesn't. 10 free · 75 cards in the app Set 2 Seventy-five more commonly confused pairs and trios, from capital and capitol to setup and set up: the difference in one line, an example for each word and a memory hook. 10 free · 75 cards in the app Which One Fits?, Set 2 One sentence for each of the 75 pairs and trios in Set 2: choose the word the clues call for, then read why it fits and the other doesn't. 10 free · 75 cards in the app

Study guide

Topics covered

The decks follow the order of the course outline. Numbers are cards per topic.

Sound-Alikes 100
Look-Alikes 60
Near Meanings 80
Grammar Pairs 34
One Word or Two 26

A study plan

11 new cards a day covers everything in a month, leaving the last weeks for review.
6 new cards a day covers everything in two months, leaving the last weeks for review.
5 new cards a day covers everything in three months, leaving the last weeks for review.

Willys schedules reviews for you (FSRS spaced repetition), so the daily number above is only for new cards; reviews of what you have learned come back on their own. Study a topic's cards right after you meet it in class, suspend topics you have not reached yet, and use the app's quiz mode in the final two weeks.

How to get these decks

Install Willys on your iPhone, iPad or Mac — App Store. 14-day free trial, then $14.99 a year.
In Willys, tap Exam Library at the top of your Decks (or Browse Exam Library… under the + button), find the exam on its shelf or by search, tick it and tap Add.
Study. The exam comes in as its own collapsible folder, every card scheduled by FSRS spaced repetition. Nothing you already have is changed.

Every deck is built into Willys

All 4 Commonly Confused Words decks (300 cards), with FSRS spaced repetition, quizzes and mock tests, on iPhone, iPad and Mac. 14-day free trial, then $14.99 a year.

Get the app

In Willys, tap Exam Library at the top of your Decks (or Browse Exam Library… under the + button), find the exam on its shelf or by search, tick it and tap Add.

About these cards

Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.

Checked against:

Usage checked against Merriam-Webster.com usage notes, The American Heritage Dictionary (5th edition, ahdictionary.com), the Oxford, Longman and Cambridge learner's dictionaries and standard American style guides; all explanations, examples and memory hooks are original.
Pair selection is our own; no publisher's list is reproduced.
Usage checked against Merriam-Webster.com usage notes, The American Heritage Dictionary (5th edition, ahdictionary.com), the Oxford and Cambridge learner's dictionaries and standard American style guides; all explanations and examples are original.
Usage checked against Merriam-Webster.com usage notes, The American Heritage Dictionary (5th edition, ahdictionary.com) and the Oxford and Cambridge learner's dictionaries; all explanations and examples are original.

These are independent study notes written for Willys. They are not official exam material, may contain mistakes, and are no substitute for your course, your teacher or the exam owner's own publications. Found an error? Tell us — corrections ship as a new version of the deck.

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