Confusing Words from Cents to Charred

Would you have cereal or serial for breakfast? Does a teacher use chalk or chock to write on the blackboard? Would chard or charred be served with dinner?

scent bar, wikimedia commons

scent bar, wikimedia commons

cents, scents, sense
A cent is 1/100th of one dollar, so cents would be more than one cent.
Heather was so broke, she couldn’t even afford the pack of gum that cost only 50 cents.
Scents are distinctive odors, especially agreeable ones.
Out of all the scents that flowed throughout the crowded arena, only one of them was disagreeable.
To sense is to perceive or comprehend.
A dog’s sense of smell is much keener than that of a human being.

cerate, serrate
cerate is a medicated ointment.
Jilly’s doctor prescribed a cerate for the rash.
When you serrate something, you cause it to have grooved edges.
She asked them to serrate the knives she ordered.

bird's beak, wikipedia

bird’s beak, wikipedia

cere, sear, seer, sere
cere is the waxy membrane located at the base of the upper beak in certain birds through which their nostrils open.
Upon examination, it was discovered that the parrot’s cere had become plugged with chewing gum.
To sear is to char, burn, or scorch the surface of.
Mark’s goal was to perfectly sear the hamburgers on the grill.
seer is a clairvoyant or prophet.
The seer somehow seemed to know everything that I had ever done.
Sere means withered or dry.
Because of the recent drought, the landscape was bordered with sere vegetation.

cereal, serial
Cereal is a breakfast food made from commercially processed grain.
Sharon had trouble deciding which cereal to buy from the wide selection available on the shelves at the grocery store.
Serial describes a series of acts, usually criminal, over a period of time.
The serial killer wasn’t caught for twenty very long years.

cereus pterogonus limaire, flickr

cereus pterogonus limaire, flickr

cereus, cerous
cereus is a type of cactus.
A time-lapse video was taken of the night-blooming cereus.
If something is cerous, it contains cerium.
Cerous is a chemistry term.

cessation, secession
If there is a cessation of hostilities (or any other activity) then it is stopped.
There needs to be a cessation of talking during the time I am teaching.
Secession is a withdrawing.
The secession of the states from the Union was looked upon as an act of treason.

cession, session
Cession is the surrendering of rights, property, or territory.
The cession of the property of the states citizen’s was demanded by the terrorists who took over the government.
Session is the part of the year or time of day that school takes place.
School will be in session from the first of September to the end of May.

sidewalk chalk flood, wikimedia commons

sidewalk chalk flood, wikimedia commons

chalk, chock
Chalk is the substance that a teacher uses to write on the blackboard.
The sound of the chalk squeaking on the blackboard sent chills down the backs of the students.
chock is a block or wedge placed underneath something to keep it from moving.
The leftover scraps of wood were thrown into a pile to later be used as chocks.

chance, chants
chance is a set of circumstances or an opportunity that is favorable.
Robin was thankful for the once in a lifetime chance to work for the best company in her small town.
Chants are a short and simple series of words or syllables sung to a limited range of notes.
There were several chants that the monks sang without fail each day.

chard, wikipedia

chard, wikipedia

chard, charred
Chard is a vegetable and is normally called Swiss chard.
Chard was served as a side dish at the banquet.
Charred means burnt.
The charred piece of metal was disposed of quickly.

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