By D
orrie O’Brien | Developmental Editor, Copy Editor
Book Editing Associates | Editing-Writing.com
Homophones are words that sound alike, but differ in spelling and meaning.
Spellchecker has no idea which word you want to use when your sentence reads: “He went threw the door,” so it’s a good idea to nail your knowledge of homophones. There are hundreds more than these. Good editors (the ones on this site) will spot incorrect usage. But editors not from this site . . .? You can be sure readers will, and howl with laughter, or just groan and put your book down.
The following homophones are consistently misused in the manuscripts I read, with discreet/discrete leading the pack, followed by complement/compliment. And then piqued.
Breach: Infraction or violation of some standard or law; a break of some kind. (A breach of confidence.)
Breech: Refers to the lower or bottom part of someone or something. (A breech delivery: Baby born feet first. Tricky, though: To “break” a rifle, you open its breech by snapping the barrel away from the butt. Go figure the English language on that one.)
Cite: To quote someone or something (statistics, for instance).
Sight: To see, or something seen.
Site: A location, or space of ground.
Complement: To suit it, or to complete it.
Compliment: To praise something or someone. (But complimentary can mean to give something away for free.)
Discreet: To be modest, reserved, hidden.
Discrete: Can be separated into distinct parts. (Writers almost always choose this when they want the first one.)
Gravely: Shows up in tag lines to describe tone of voice in a serious situation.
Gravelly: Generally used to describe the sound of a rough, deep, gravel-filled voice. (The incorrect choice makes a sentence read like this: “He spoke in a gravely voice.”)
Grill: A manner of cooking, and often the burner or device used to do the cooking.
Grille: A set of bars or grating that cover an opening.
Naught: Nothing.
Not: Negation, denial, refusal, or prohibition.
Peaked: Reached the summit of something.
Peeked: Looked fast, furtively.
Piqued: Stimulated interest or curiosity. (It also means to get annoyed, have a temper tantrum, etc., but I don’t think I’ve ever had an author use it with that meaning in mind. “He peaked/peeked my interest,” are the mistakes here.)
Role: The only time you use this spelling is when someone is playing a part in a play or movie or TV show, etc.
Roll: Used any time “role” doesn’t work.
Shudder: To shake or shiver or tremble without control from fear or revulsion, not illness.
Shutter: A moveable slide or cover that shuts.
Their: Ownership, belonging to them.
There: In or at a specific place.
They’re: Contraction for “they are.”
Through: Used any time “threw” doesn’t work.
Threw: To physically propel something through the air.
To: Preposition indicating spatial relationship or relationship suggesting motion.
Too: Also, moreover.
Two: Think I’m kidding on this one, don’t you? I’m not.