Confusing Words in English

Writers, especially the beginners, may think English as a difficult language. The reason behind it is that English has many confusing words in its vocabulary. You may come across such words that have two different spellings or sometimes, you may get confused of between two variants of English language, American English and British English. You have to be careful in spellings. It happens that a word has two different spellings; one is followed by American writers while the other one is preferred by British writers.

Today’s case is about these two variants of English language. I am going to compare donut vs. doughnut. Check out the preference of the spelling within two different regions.

Donut vs. Doughnut – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

Is it donut or doughnut?

Donut and doughnut are two different spellings of the same word. First, see the definition below,

Definition: Donut or doughnut is a sweetened-fried cake that you always get in the shape of a ring.

People are coming across two different spellings of this ring shaped fried cake. The fact behind it is that ‘doughnut’ is the official spelling which is recognized by the dictionaries whereas; the other spelling ‘donut’ is the shortened term which is said to be an American term.

History of the spelling ‘Donut’:

In 1950, the spelling ‘donut’ has grown up when the famous America’s baked good chains Dunkin’ Donuts was first founded. After that period, this shortened term was successfully adopted by most of the people. However, donut is successfully adopted only in America, not outside of this region.

Famous quotes for Dunkin’ Donuts

• Much of my youth was spent in the parking lot or inside a Dunkin’ Donuts. (Eli Roth)
• I was sacked from Dunkin’ Donuts for squirting the donuts jelly all over the customers. (Madonna Ciccone)

Dictionary Accepted Spelling

Though, donut is the shortened term of doughnut and there is no wrong to use this term; but you have to be careful in professional publications.

Both in America and Great Britain, doughnut is the most preferable spelling to be used in writing. You can check in any writing style guide, ‘doughnut’ is said to be the correct spelling which is recognized by the dictionaries as well.

Apart from the professional writing, you can use ‘donut’ in advertisements.

Take my advice! If you are outside of America, do not use the shortened term ‘donut’ anywhere because this spelling is totally an American term.

Conclusion

Doughnut and donut are two different spellings of the same word. Donut is the shortened term. The spelling ‘doughnut’ is the original term which is widely accepted spelling to be used in professional writing. The spelling ‘donut’ is an Americanized term and can be used in advertisements, mainly in the United States only.

Don’t make mistakes! If you are an English writer, be aware that there are many confusing words in English vocabulary. For instance, there are words that sound interchangeable but have different meanings. Unorganized vs. disorganized is such a case that many people are unaware of the differences between them. In this post, I will discuss both of these words with their definitions and I will also use the terms ‘unorganized’ and ‘disorganized’ in example sentences.

Unorganized vs. Disorganized – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

Is it unorganized or disorganized?

‘Un’ in unorganized and ‘dis’ in disorganized are both negative prefixes. Many people think that both of these words are interchangeable but they are quite different in terms of meaning. Let me define these terms one by one. Read their definitions carefully to mark the differences between them.

Unorganized

Unorganized is used as an adjective within a sentence. It is synonymous with messy.

Unorganized is used to describe such thing which is not organized or lacks a specific order from the beginning.

See the example sentences below;

1. The industry is much interested to hire a few unorganized workers.
2. Public sentiment is not observed. The wealthy and powerful gain a ready hearing, but the plodding, suffering, unorganized complaining multitude are spurned and derided. (James B. Weaver)

Disorganized

Disorganized is also used as an adjective within a sentence. It is used to describe such thing which has been demolished or which has been badly controlled.

Disorganized is synonymous with badly organized or badly controlled.

See the example sentences below;

1. This is because of the non-serious attitude of employers that we are, now, facing a disorganized meeting.
2. I don’t know about you, but I practice a disorganized religion. I belong to an unholy disorder. We call ourselves Our Lady of Perpetual Astonishment. (Kurt Vonnegut)

What is the Difference?

It has been clear from the above definitions that if something is disorganized, it means that it was properly organized before. However, if something is unorganized, it means that it was a mess from its beginning.

Conclusion

Do not be confused!

Though, both ‘disorganized’ and ‘unorganized’ are adjectives but they are not interchangeable. Disorganized is something which was organized before and, now, it is badly organized. Unorganized, on the other hand, is something which is a mess from its beginning.

If you are an English writer or speaker, you probably feel a lot of confusion with word choice because English vocabulary has hundreds of confusing words. In this post, I am going to talk about disinterested vs. uninterested.

Do not think these words similar. There is, for sure, a difference between disinterested and uninterested. I will define each of these words with example sentences. Continue reading!

Disinterested vs. Uninterested – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

Are you disinterested or uninterested?

Most of the people say that there is no difference between these words and you can use them interchangeably. However, if you write professionally, you should know that there is a great difference between disinterested and uninterested; and you should not mix them up.

The biggest confusion comes up because of the two meanings of the term ‘disinterested.’ The first and foremost meaning is the most accepted meaning but the other one is nearly similar as the meaning of uninterested which is said to be an error.

Let us check out their definitions one by one.

Uninterested

Uninterested is used as an adjective within a sentence. It means not interested in something or someone; or unresponsive to involve in something. Uninterested is synonymous with unconcerned, bored by, etc.

See the example sentences below,

• The students were uninterested in yesterday’s lecture on politics, so I planned to move on to another topic.
• Don’t disturb me! I am uninterested in going out for a walk.
• You have reached the pinnacle of success as soon as you become uninterested in money, compliments, or publicity. (Thomas Wolfe)

Disinterested

Disinterested is used as an adjective within a sentence. It means impartial; or unbiased by a personal interest or an advantage. A disinterested person is neutral in the sense that nothing could influence him/her.

See the example sentences below,

• I will go with the judge’s result; he is, surely, a disinterested observer.
• Advices should be disinterested because it’s a matter of the will.
• Truthful movements spontaneously attract to themselves all manner of pure and disinterested help. (Mahatma Gandhi)

As, I said before that there are two different meanings of disinterested, the above definition of disinterested is widely accepted. The other meaning is similar as the meaning of uninterested, which is unconcerned or bored.

Try to not use the second meaning as this meaning is considered to be an error and should be avoided in writing.

Conclusion

The terms ‘disinterested’ and ‘uninterested’ are not interchangeable. Though, both of these words are used as adjectives but they are totally different from each other in terms of meaning. ‘Disinterested’ means impartial or neutral to take an advantage. ‘Uninterested’, on the other hand, means unconcerned.

Sometimes, even a professional English writer got confused of some words. For instance, when a writer comes across homophones, he/she can feel a puzzle like situation with word choice. Homophones are such a set of words that sound exactly same but have quite different meanings. So, you have to be very careful while choosing the correct word because a small mistake could be enough to ruin your entire writing. Today’s discussion is also based on a set of homophones; it is discreet vs. discrete.

I will define each of these words with example sentences. In this way, you will get to know the differences between discreet and discrete.

Discreet vs. Discrete – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

Discreet and discrete come from the same origin > from the Latin word ‘discretus.’

Is it discreet or discrete?

As I told you that discreet and discrete are homophones. It means that they just have a similar pronunciation but are different in terms of meaning. You must recognize their spellings that are totally different as, it helps you to keep them apart. Let me define these terms one by one with examples.

Discreet

Discreet is used as an adjective within a sentence. It is synonymous with close-mouthed, careful, or cautious. It is used to define secrecy which is not likely to be exposed or shown in front of others. It is such a careful action which is hidden in order to keep something secret and unrevealed.

Check out its example sentences.

1. You cannot judge him; he has a very discreet nature.

2. I don’t know why the group wanted me to be more discreet about my thoughts.

3. He stands for fame of his forefather’s feet, By heraldry, proved valiant or discreet. (Edward Young)

Discrete

Discrete is used as an adjective within a sentence. It is used to describe such things that are separate and detached. Discrete is synonymous with discontinuous, individual, distinct, etc.

Example sentences

1. Each branch of this school has its own discrete designs for syllabus.

2. The boss wants this file in three discrete parts, each explaining all the possible strategies.

3. At the head of these new discoveries and insights comes the establishment of the facts that electricity is composed of discrete particles of equal size, or quanta, and that light is an electromagnetic wave motion. (Johannes Stark)

Conclusion

Discreet and discrete are homophones, having same pronunciation but different meanings. Both are used as an adjective within a sentence. Discreet means cautious or careful whereas, discrete means distinct or separate.

In this post, I want to help you in outlining the differences between disc and disk. Just like other confusing words (such as homophones), disc vs. disk is such a case of English vocabulary that is creating a big confusion among writers and speakers. I will try to overcome this problem and help you to get each of these words with proper explanation and example sentences.

Disc vs. Disk – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

Is it disc or disk?

Disk and disc sound exactly same. In fact, both of these words are so closely related to each other that a person faces a lot of confusion in writing whether to choose disc or disk.

However, you have to be careful with word choice as, disc and disk are used to refer to two different things.

Usage

I have seen in many contexts that both of these words are used interchangeably to refer to many contexts, such as,

• CDs
• DVDs
• Other storage devices
• Circular-flat plates or objects

But, you have to be careful in choosing disc or disk for the right audience because it is a matter of American and British English. Most of the linguists believe that the term ‘disk’ is much preferred in American English to refer to a device whereas; in British English ‘disc’ is much preferable.

In technological world, the term ‘disc’ is used for such optical media that are easily removable objects of a computer, for instance, DVD disc, CD-ROM, etc. ‘Disk’, on the other hand, is used for such media devices that are magnetic in nature, for instance, the disk in hard drive. This disk inside it is, actually, sealed.

In British English, disc is the standard spelling to use in writing, but still the term ‘disk’ is used for only computer related terms i.e. floppy disk, hard disk, etc. for example,

• When the sun rises, do you not see a round disc of fire somewhat like a guinea? O no, no, I see an innumerable company of the heavenly host crying Holy… (William Blake)

In American English, generally the term ‘disk’ is very much commonly used spelling to refer to all the thin circular objects or plates (except CDs, disc jockeys, disc brakes, etc.) See the examples below,

• Every evening, I love to watch the moon disk’s reflection in my swimming pool.
• Can you please bring me that disk onto which you have saved my important files?
• I don’t need a hard disk in my computer if I can get to the server faster… carrying around these non-connected computers is byzantine by comparison. (Steve Jobs)

Conclusion

As you can see that the two different spellings, disc and disk, are the cause of the differences in the two variants of English language, American English vs. British English. As an English writer, you have to be careful about your intended audience. The term ‘disk’ is the preferred spelling in American English, whereas ‘disc’ is standard in British English. However, for computer related terms, British English prefers to use ‘disk’ instead of ‘disc.’