*English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (GAB)*
*FREQUENTLY CONFUSED AND MISUSED VERBS*
1 *affect*: to influence. *effect*: to cause or produce.
2 *afflict*: to cause to suffer in body or mind. *inflict*: to force something on someone.
3. *appraise*: to officially judge how successful, effective or valuable something or someone is. *apprise*: to tell someone about something.
4. *cause*: make something happen. *curse*: to swear; to say bad things about someone because s/he has hurt you.
5. *cease*: to stop doing something; stop happening. *seize*: to take hold of something suddenly and violently.
6. *comprehend*: to understand fully. *apprehend*: to arrest.
7. *deprecate*: to strongly disapprove of or criticize something. *depreciate*: to decrease in value.
8. *detract*: to make something seem less good than it really is. *distract*: to take a person’s mind off something.
9. *ensure*: to make it certain that something will happen. *insure*: to provide insurance for something or somebody.
10. *facilitate*: to make easy. *felicitate*: to congratulate.
Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (GAB)
Academic Advisor, Distance Learning Centre, University of Ibadan;
&
Doctoral Student of English, University of Ibadan.
