Commonly confused words

die vs. dye die (stop living) The man who lives by hope will die by hunger.  His grandfather died four years ago.   dye (change the color of something) She wants to dye her hair blonde. I think you should dye your T-shirt.   die vs. dye – English Vocabulary

devote vs. devout devote (set apart, dedicate) We must devote more time to that project. I devoted most of my spare time to hiking.   devout (very religious) She is a devout Buddhist. The devout man prays every day.   devote vs. devout – English Vocabulary

device vs. devise device (a machine or piece of equipment that does a special job) The electronic device opens the door automatically. This device can find metal under the ground. devise (invent a new way of doing something) We must devise a new system for dealing with problems. We need …

detract vs. distract detract (make something seem less good) The peeling wall detracts from the beauty of the house. The scandal will detract from his fame.   distract (to draw someone’s attention away from what they are doing) Don’t distract my attention. I’m trying to study. The movie distracted me …

  dessert (sweet food that you eat at the end of a meal) I would like some ice cream for dessert. After dinner, we had apple pie for dessert.   desert (a large area of land where there is almost no water, rain, trees, or plants) This part of the country …