Different meanings

Words that look or sound alike but mean different things.

66 guides

Appraise / Apprise Appraise is about assessment; apprise is about informing. Open guide
Precedent / precedents / Precedence Precedents are earlier examples; precedence is priority. You set a precedent, but one consideration takes precedence over another. Open guide
Complement / complementary / Compliment / complimentary Complement and complementary are about completing or enhancing; compliment and complimentary are about praise. Complimentary can also mean free of charge. Open guide
Principal / Principle Principal can mean chief or most important; principle is a rule or fundamental belief. Open guide
Discreet / Discrete Discreet is careful or unobtrusive; discrete is separate or distinct. Open guide
Stationary / Stationery Stationary means still; stationery refers to writing materials. Open guide
Assure / Ensure / Insure You assure a person, ensure an outcome and insure against financial loss. Open guide
Imply / Infer The sender implies; the receiver infers. Some historical overlap exists, but this distinction prevents ambiguity. Open guide
Elicit / Illicit Elicit is a verb meaning draw out; illicit is an adjective meaning prohibited. Open guide
Council / Counsel A council is a group; counsel is advice or an adviser. Open guide
Cite / Site / Sight Cite a source, visit a site and see a sight. Open guide
Historic / Historical Historic usually means historically important; historical means related to history or the past more generally. Open guide
Responsible / Accountable Responsible usually identifies who does or manages the work; accountable identifies who ultimately owns and answers for the result. Open guide
Output / Outcome / Impact Outputs are what the work produces; outcomes are the resulting changes or benefits; impacts are broader or longer-term effects. Open guide
Effectiveness / Efficiency Effectiveness asks whether the work achieved the intended result; efficiency asks how well it used time, money and other resources. Open guide
Review / Revise Review means examine or assess; revise means make changes. A reviewer may recommend revisions, but a review does not itself promise an edit. Open guide
Biannual / Biennial Biannual means twice a year; biennial means every two years. For schedules, writing the frequency explicitly is often clearest. Open guide
Personal / Personnel Personal relates to an individual or private matter; personnel means employees or staff collectively. Open guide
Adapt / Adopt Adapt means modify to fit; adopt means take up or begin using. A team can adopt a framework and then adapt it to local needs. Open guide
Adverse / Averse Adverse describes an unfavourable thing or effect; averse describes someone's attitude and is usually followed by to. Open guide
Economic / Economical Economic relates to the economy; economical means thrifty, efficient in cost or not wasteful. Open guide
Prospective / Perspective Prospective looks forward to a possible future status; perspective is a viewpoint or way of seeing something. Open guide
Prescribe / Proscribe Prescribe sets or recommends what should be done; proscribe forbids what must not be done. Open guide
Waive / Wave Waive means give up or refrain from enforcing; wave refers to a movement, signal or surge. Open guide
Allude to / Refer to Allude to means hint at indirectly; refer to means mention or point to directly. Open guide
Forgo / Forego Forgo means do without; forego traditionally means go before, as in foregoing. Forego is also an accepted variant spelling of forgo, but the distinction can improve clarity. Open guide
Access / Assess Access means enter, retrieve or use; assess means evaluate or judge. You can access a system in order to assess its performance. Open guide
Disburse / Reimburse / Refund Disburse means pay out approved funds; reimburse means repay an expense already incurred; refund means return money previously paid or collected. Open guide
Confidentiality / Sensitivity Confidentiality concerns authorised access and disclosure; sensitivity is the broader judgement about how much protection information needs. Open guide
Cost savings / Cost avoidance Cost savings reduce an existing or budgeted cost; cost avoidance prevents a new or higher future cost. Open guide
OKR / Key result / KPI An OKR is the goal-setting framework; a key result is one measurable outcome within it; a KPI monitors performance over time. Open guide
Financial year / Year of Assessment / Basis period The financial year is the accounting period; the basis period is the income period assigned to a tax assessment; the Year of Assessment is the tax year label. Open guide
E.g. / for example / I.e. / that is E.g. means for example and introduces instances; i.e. means that is and restates the meaning. Prefer the English words in general workplace content. Open guide
Fortnightly / Twice monthly Fortnightly means every two weeks; twice monthly means twice in each calendar month. They are not interchangeable. Open guide
Oversee / Look over / Overlook Oversee means supervise; look over means examine; overlook usually means fail to notice, excuse or have a view over something. Open guide
Raise / Rise / Arise Raise is transitive and takes an object; rise is intransitive and describes an increase or upward movement; arise means occur or emerge. Open guide
Incident / Incidence An incident is an individual event; incidence describes the occurrence or frequency of events in a defined context and may be reported as a count, proportion or rate. Open guide
Systemic / Systematic Systemic describes the reach or origin of a problem across a system; systematic describes an organised and methodical way of doing something. Open guide
Deprecate / Depreciate Deprecate marks a technology as discouraged or no longer recommended; depreciate concerns a decline in value. Open guide
In view of / With a view to In view of gives the reason or relevant circumstance; with a view to gives the intended purpose. Open guide
Subsequently / Consequently Subsequently expresses sequence; consequently expresses result. Use consequently only when you intend to assert a causal or logical consequence. Open guide
Incur / Occur An event occurs; a person or organisation incurs a cost, liability, loss or penalty. Occur does not take a direct object, while incur normally does. Open guide
Vice versa / The converse / Conversely Vice versa asserts that the reversed relationship is also true. The converse names that reversed proposition without confirming it. Conversely introduces the reverse or opposing case. Open guide
On the contrary / By contrast / in contrast / On the other hand On the contrary contradicts a preceding statement. By contrast and in contrast compare different cases. On the other hand introduces another side or consideration. Open guide
Accept / Except Accept concerns receiving, agreeing or approving; except excludes something. Confusing them can reverse the effect of a rule or instruction. Open guide
Proceed / Precede Proceed means continue or go ahead; precede means come before. Use precede when describing a required order of events. Open guide
Formally / Formerly Formally means officially or according to an established form; formerly means previously. Open guide
At the earliest / At your earliest convenience / As soon as possible / By a stated deadline At the earliest sets a lower time boundary; it does not mean as soon as possible. Use an exact by-deadline when lateness has consequences. Open guide
Deadline / Dateline A deadline is a time limit; a dateline belongs to news or journalistic attribution. Open guide
Turnaround / Turnover Use turnaround for response or completion time; turnover usually concerns revenue, stock or workforce replacement. Open guide
For your information / For your review / For your action / For your perusal These labels signal different expectations. Information is normally passive; review asks for examination; action asks for a next step; perusal means reading or examination but does not by itself request approval. Open guide
Day off / Off day A day off is a non-working day; an off day usually describes unusually poor performance or condition. Open guide
Catch someone / speak to someone / Get hold of someone / Catch hold of someone In workplace communication, catch someone or get hold of someone can mean contact them. Catch hold of more naturally suggests physically grasping something and may be misleading when contact is meant. Open guide
Play devil's advocate / Raise a counterargument / Disagree Playing devil's advocate is a testing role, not merely a polite synonym for disagreeing. A counterargument may be raised without adopting it; disagreement states your own opposing view. Open guide
Noted / Acknowledged / Thank you / Noted with thanks Noted confirms understanding; acknowledged confirms receipt or recognition; thank you expresses gratitude. Noted with thanks is valid but does not by itself promise that an action will be completed. Open guide
Lend / Borrow The person giving something lends it; the person receiving it borrows it. Do not use borrow with the giver as the subject when lend is meant. Open guide
Visa / Visit pass A visa allows a visa-required traveller to travel to Singapore and seek entry; it does not guarantee admission. A visit pass is granted at the point of entry and determines the permitted period of stay. Open guide
UIN / FIN UIN is used for Singapore citizens and permanent residents; FIN is used for foreigners with long-term immigration passes and may be issued by ICA or MOM. Open guide
Basic monthly salary / Fixed monthly salary In MOM usage, fixed monthly salary equals basic monthly salary plus fixed monthly allowances. Do not treat the two figures as identical when a form or requirement asks for one specifically. Open guide
Basic wage / Monthly gross wage For MOM's Progressive Wage Model, monthly gross wage can include basic wages plus specified variable components. Bonuses, employer CPF contributions and other excluded items do not count towards this measure. Open guide
Major Exporter Scheme (MES) / Zero-GST Warehouse Scheme (ZGS) Both schemes can suspend import GST, but they address different operating models. ZGS centres on storage in an approved Zero-GST warehouse; MES addresses cash flow for businesses that substantially re-export imports. Open guide
PES status / Refreshed MCS The refreshed MCS is more granular than a single PES status; it is not merely a renamed PES grade. SAF pre-enlistees enlisting from October 2027 and Home Team pre-enlistees enlisting from November 2027 will be graded under the refreshed MCS, with screening for those cohorts starting from end-June 2026. Open guide
RCCB / ELCB EMA recognises both RCCBs and ELCBs as electrical-safety devices that cut supply when electricity leakage is detected. Do not assume a functioning ELCB must be replaced merely because RCCB is the more familiar current term. Open guide
Multiple Journey Visa (MJV) / Single Journey Visa (SJV) An MJV may be used multiple times within its validity period; an SJV may be used once. Neither type guarantees admission into Singapore. Open guide
In-Principle Approval (IPA) / Letter of Offer (LO) In HDB's integrated housing-loan context, an IPA is an assessment of the eligible loan amount, while an LO is the financial institution's contractual mortgage-loan offer stating the terms and exact loan amount. Open guide
Normal Registration / Automatic Registration The registration process depends principally on whether the society falls within the types listed in the Schedule of the Societies Act. Automatic Registration does not mean guaranteed approval: the Registrar may make inquiries, move an application to the normal registration process for further assessment, or reject an application where the statutory grounds apply. Open guide

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