(b) Homophones and Confusables
Question 1.
Given below is a list of common confusables. Distinguish the meaning of each pair of words by framing your own sentences.
Answer:
(a) emigrate (leaving homeland) – immigrate (come to live permanently in a foreign country)
Priyanka Chopra does not wish to emigrate to the UK where her husband is living. Candidates who wish to immigrate to the USA are increasing in number every year.
(b) beside (at the side of) – besides (in addition to)
I remember keeping my watch beside my glasses.
Besides supporting terrorist outfits within its borders, Pakistan claims innocence in the Pulwama attack.
(c) judicial (relating to justice) – judicious (wise/prudent)
The fraudsters who swindled the money of an IT personnel in Navalur through ATM were taken into judicial custody.
Kalpana reacted judiciously when she realized that a mobile thief was standing next to her.
(d) eligible (Adj.- satisfying the appropriate conditions) – illegible (Adj.- not clear enough to be read)
Even at the age of 30, Vinod is an eligible bachelor for the manager post.
Priya’s handwriting is illegible.
(e) conscience (a person’s moral sense of right and wrong) – conscious (being aware of) “Conscience makes cowards of us all”, said Shakespeare.
The lorry driver was conscious of the dangers involved in carrying the explosives in his truck.
(f) industrial (relating to industry) – industrious (diligent/hardworking)
Perungudi is an industrial block.
Man should be as industrious as ants and bees.
(g) eminent (famous) – imminent (something bad likely to happen very soon)
Every eminent scientist has an unseen past in which he must have struggled to prove his theory or inventions to the world.
Environmentalists are apprehensive of the imminent earthquakes in mega multipurpose projects’ catchment areas as they fall under seismicity-prone areas.
(h) illicit (adj- illegal) – elicit (v – to evoke a response)
Two hundred miners perished after consuming illicit liquor in Bihar.
The police personnel tried to elicit the truth about the murder of the schoolgirl in a pump set from the arrested relative and three other culprits.
(i) prescribed (set down rules) – proscribed (prohibited)
The students were advised to follow the guidelines prescribed by the Directorate of Government Examinations.
The tourists were proscribed from taking selfies from the suicide point in Kodaikanal.
(j) affect (to influence something or someone) – effect (result/impact of something)
The athlete did not imagine that a steroid shot might affect his sports career adversely.
The rising number of cybercrimes proves the adverse effect of educated unemployment.
(k) aural (relating to hearing) – oral (verbal)
In primary schools, teachers must assess the aural skills of children.
There must be a fool-proof mechanism to assess the oral skills of students at the secondary level, especially in languages.
(l) born (related to birth) – borne (carried by)
Divya was not born with a silver spoon in her mouth.
The entire village paid homage to army personnel, U. Saravanan’s body which was borne in a decorated coffin by military soldiers and home guards.
Question 2.
Fill in the blanks with suitable homophones or confusables
Answer:
| wallet | valet | hoard | horde |
| fairy | ferry | desert | dessert |
| medal | meddle | night | knight |
| wait | weight | sweet | sweat |
| yoke | yolk | plain | plane |
| grown | groan | might | mite |
| earn | yearn | quite | quiet |