Would you be protected by arches or archers? Would an area or an aria be sung in an opera? Does a knight wear armoire or armor? Would you hire three assistance or three assistants to help you with your work? Do you have to write an assay or an essay for your history class?
The Archers by Bryson Burroughs, wikimedia commons
arches, archers
Arches are curved parts of a circle.
Arches are perfect for the top of doorways.
Archers are people skilled in the use of the bow and arrow.
Robin Hood was searching for expert archers to join his band of miscreants.
area, aria
An area is any particular range of land or space.
This area over here has been set aside for the flower arrangements.
An aria is a solo sung by an opera singer.
When Maria Callas performed her aria, she received a standing ovation.
armoire, wikimedia commons
armoire, armor
An armoire is a large wardrobe or movable cupboard.
The armoire purchased for their daughter’s room was painted a light pink.
Armor is a protective covering.
The armor worn by the knight protected him from the blow of the sword.
arraign, arrange
Arraign is a verb that means to be called before a court to answer to an indictment.
Who will arraign the suspect when she is arrested?
To arrange is to place in a convenient or proper order, one that is satisfying to the eye or desired.
Marcia began to arrange the books in her library in a logical order.
arrant, errand, errant
Arrant is an adjective that means extreme or unmitigated.
You must think that I am an arrant fool if you believe that I would fall for such an obviously misleading statement.
An errand is a short trip.
Julia’s errand only took her fifteen minutes to complete.
Errant means straying or moving about in an aimless manner.
Her errant ramblings soon bewildered the man asking for directions.
phosphene artistic depiction, wikimedia commons
artistic, autistic
If one is artistic, then one shows skill or discriminating judgement in an area.
Marilyn’s artistic arrangement of the flowers won her the prize at the fair.
An autistic child, one with autism, shows extreme self-absorption.
My friend’s child has been diagnosed as autistic.
assay, essay
To assay mean to analyze, examine, or test.
The detective is going to assay the situation before deciding whether or not to investigate.
When used as a verb, essay means to try or attempt. When used as noun, an essay is a literary composition.
Melissa had a 500-word essay due on the real reasons behind the Civil War for her history class.
8 (number), wikipedia
assistance, assistants
Assistance is aid, help, or support.
Teresa needed assistance moving all of the new furniture into her home.
Assistants are ones who give assistance.
The head of the construction team is going to hire two assistants.
ate, eight
Ate means devoured or consumed.
Ronald ate the entire chocolate cake.
Eight is a number that means one more than seven.
The school basketball team welcomed eight new members.
attendance, attendants
Attendance is the act of attending or being present.
The attendance was down for the pep rally.
Attendants are those who attend to others to perform a service. It also means those who are present.
The attendants at the classical concert were a very relaxed group of people.
ogre, wikipedia
auger, augur, ogre
An auger is a tool used for boring.
Steven received a new auger as a gift.
An augur is a soothsayer or prophet.
The augur had some dire predictions for the new king.
An ogre is a monster.
The horrifying ogre terrified the land for many, many years.
aught, ought
Aught means anything whatever or any part.
For aught I know, the check has already been put in the mail.
Ought means should.
You really ought to see a doctor.
aural, oral
Aural means pertaining to the ear or the sense of hearing.
My father is scheduled for an aural examination at the end of the month.
Oral means pertaining to the mouth. It also means transmitted by speech.
Kendra developed stage fright as soon as she went to the front of the class to give her first oral book report.
Greek oracle, imgkid.com
auricle, oracle
The auricle is the outer portion of the ear.
The auricle of her ear was covered with earrings of all shapes and sizes.
An oracle is a prophet or one who gives very wise answers.
During the famine, many went to the oracle seeking wisdom.
avert, evert, overt, revert
Avert means to turn away or prevent.
The lightning fast actions of the alert driver averted the accident.
Evert means to turn inside out.
Please evert all of your black shirts before you put them in the clothes hamper.
Overt means open to view or knowledge, not concealed or secret.
The lady was offended by the overt flirting of the complete stranger.
Revert means to go back to.
During a great moment of weakness, Astrid reverted to the habit of biting her nails.
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