COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS—HOMONYMS 71
waive (wayv) v. 1. to give up (a right or claim) voluntarily, relinquish. 2. to
refrain from enforcing or insisting upon (a rule, penalty, standard proce-
dure, etc.); dispense with
wave (wayv) v. 1. to move up and down or back and forth; undulate. 2. to sig-
nal with an up and down or back and forth movement of the hand. n. 1. a
ridge or swell on the surface of a body of water. 2. a back-and-forth or up-
and-down movement, especially of the hand. 3. a surge, rush, or sudden
great riseTIPS AND STRATEGIES
Homonyms and other frequently confused words can be particularly challenging,
especially when you have a limited amount of time to prepare for an exam. Here are
some specific tips and strategies to help you make the most of your study time.
● Spelling is often the key to distinguishing between commonly confused
words. Meddle, for example, differs from mettle only because it contains the
letter d instead of t. Use this key difference to help you remember the dif-
ference in meaning as well. For example, you might remember that meddle
with a d is something you don’t want to do unless you want to annoy others.
● Review, review, review. Use flash cards or other study strategies to review
these commonly confused words until you have them memorized. And then
review them again.
● Use these words. If you use these words in your everyday writing and con-
versations, you will remember which word has which meaning. Or teach
them to someone else. Teaching something to another person is one of the
most effective ways to master that material.
● Remember to make the most of your learning style. Use whatever study or
memorization techniques work best for you. For example, if you are a visual
learner, create pictures that will help you remember word meanings. If you
are an auditory learner, rhymes will be more effective.
● Pay attention to details, and use them to help you remember the words and
their meanings. The more carefully you read each definition and the closer
you look at the spelling of each word, the more likely you are to find a “key”
for you to remember the differences between them. For example, appraise
has the word praise in it. You can associate praise with a good evaluation, and
appraise means to evaluate.