This document provides examples of commonly confused word pairs in English and explains the correct meanings and usages. It discusses the differences between the words "tortuous" and "torturous", "tragedy" and "travesty", and "trustful" and "trustworthy". For each pair, it gives a short context where one of the words was used incorrectly instead of the other, and explains why the other word would have been the appropriate choice. The purpose is to help clarify the distinct definitions of words that sound similar but have different meanings.
This document provides examples of commonly confused word pairs in English and explains the correct meanings and usages. It discusses the differences between the words "tortuous" and "torturous", "tragedy" and "travesty", and "trustful" and "trustworthy". For each pair, it gives a short context where one of the words was used incorrectly instead of the other, and explains why the other word would have been the appropriate choice. The purpose is to help clarify the distinct definitions of words that sound similar but have different meanings.
This document provides examples of commonly confused word pairs in English and explains the correct meanings and usages. It discusses the differences between the words "tortuous" and "torturous", "tragedy" and "travesty", and "trustful" and "trustworthy". For each pair, it gives a short context where one of the words was used incorrectly instead of the other, and explains why the other word would have been the appropriate choice. The purpose is to help clarify the distinct definitions of words that sound similar but have different meanings.
developed out of tidivate, that is to make tidy. It is used of the final
touches to hair, to make-up or to dress, made just before appearing in company. tortuous I torturous I have just heard on the radio a reference to the experience o f a man w ho was kidnapped. There was emphasis on w hat he endured in several tortuous m onths o f im prisonment. Clearly the person w ho w rote the report thought that the w ord tortuous was connected w ith the w ord torture. But it isnt. The w ord the news w riter wanted was torturous, the adjective derived from torture. The w ord tortuous derives from the w ord tort. It refers to what is twisted, w inding or crooked, the reverse o f direct and straightforward. Thus one m ight speak of someone having to make a tortuous journey by some difficult and circuitous route. Coincidentally I read in the newspaper that it was inevitable that Danny W ilsons torturous season in charge of Sheffield W ednesday w ould take another debilitating tw ist. Plainly the w ord here should be tortuous. tragedy / travesty A travesty is an unw orthy mockery of something, farcical in its extrava gance. Yet we read this about a shrine to D. H. Lawrence in New Mexico, w hich is suffering from neglect. Its going to be lost to future generations, and that will be a travesty. This appears to be one of those blunders w hich result from confusing two words that are similar in sound. Presumably the w riter meant: and that will be a tragedy. trustful I trustworthy It seems surprising that anyone could confuse these words. Adjectives that end in -ful, such as truthful and fearful, convey the m eaning full o f truth and full of fear. Just so trustful means full o f trust. By contrast, adjectives w hich end in -w orthy, such as praisew orthy and blam ew orthy, mean deserving o f praise and deserving of blam e. Nevertheless, in a BBC Radio 4 discussion about the quality of treatment provided by the Health Service, we hear an educated voice declaring: