Hi everyone, I’ve found myself with a little time so I thought I’d post another round of commonly confused words.

Endemic: this is the word you’d use when referring to something that is found within a specific area or within a particular group of people. For example, racism is still ‘endemic’ in this country.

Epidemic:  is used in reference to an infectious outbreak of disease that spreads quickly throughout a community. For example, there have been several cholera ‘epidemics’ throughout London’s history.

Pandemic: this is the word to describe an infectious disease epidemic that has spread across a large area such as multiple continents. For example, the Covid-19 virus grew quickly to ‘pandemic’ status during the end of 2019 and the start of 2020.

Wonder: is used when describing a state of amazement caused by something unique, astounding, or beautiful.  For instance, I often look up at the night sky in ‘wonder’.

Wander: is used to describe the act of moving leisurely or aimlessly. For example, she ‘wandered’ barefoot along the beach.

Acclamation: is the word you’d use to denote loud and enthusiastic approval such as in greeting or to honour someone. For instance, the violinist earned shouts of raucous ‘acclamation’ from the audience.

Acclimation: is a North American English variant of the British English word climatise. It is used to refer to the process of becoming used to somewhere or something such as a new situation. For example, ‘acclimation’ to a thinner atmosphere such as that at the summit of a mountain can take time.

Tack: this word is used in reference to a broad-headed nail. It can also be used to describe the action of fixing something in place using tacks. For instance, she grabbed a tack from the box. She ‘tacked’ the carpet to the floorboards.

Tact: is the word you’d use when referring to the skill or act of being able to deal with people by sensitively doing or saying the right thing. For example, Steve had cooked a terrible meal, though Sam was very ‘tactful’ in letting him know.

Carrot: is used when referring to the orange root vegetable. For instance, I fed the horses a few ‘carrots’.

Carat:  is the word used to denote the purity of gold (so times spelt ‘karat’). It’s also the word used in reference to the unit of weight used for precious stones. For example, pure gold is 24 ‘carats’. In terms of precious stones, a ‘carat’ is equal to 200 milligrams.

Allusion: is used to refer to an expression designed to call something to mind without explicitly mentioning it. For example, she makes ‘allusions’ to an ex in the song she wrote.

Illusion: is used to refer to something that has a deceptive appearance, for instance, a flight simulator is designed to give the ‘illusion’ that you’re actually flying a plane.

As always, thanks for spending your time with my words, I really do appreciate it.

Until next time,

George