Tricky Twelfth Grade Word Pairs: List 2

Learn the correct meanings and usages of these commonly confused words for twelfth-grade students.
10 words 39 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. incredible
    beyond belief or understanding
    Then, turning to his students, “What I’m going to tell you now,” he said, “may sound incredible. But then, when you’re not accustomed to history, most facts about the past do sound incredible.” Brave New World
    To see more usage examples of "incredible," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "incredible" and "incredulous," click here.
  2. incredulous
    not disposed or willing to believe; unbelieving
    Malcolm sounded incredulous, and he felt it too: Who on earth would want to hurt the nuns, or break their windows? The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage
    To see more usage examples of "incredulous," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "incredible" and "incredulous," click here.
  3. persecute
    cause to suffer
    With complete control of the country in his hands, Hitler began persecuting German Jews, stripping them of their legal rights, kicking them out of universities and government jobs. Bomb
    To see more usage examples of "persecute," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "persecute" and "prosecute," click here.
  4. prosecute
    conduct legal proceedings against a defendant
    Some states have no minimum age for prosecuting children as adults; we’ve sent a quarter million kids to adult jails and prisons to serve long prison terms, some under the age of twelve. Just Mercy
    To see more usage examples of "prosecute," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "persecute" and "prosecute," click here.
  5. respectfully
    in a courteous and considerate manner
    But when the campers saw him they all stood and bowed respectfully. The Lightning Thief
    To see more usage examples of "respectfully," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "respectfully" and "respectively," click here.
  6. respectively
    in the order given
    The first three—Yudhistira, Arjuna, and Bhima—were the sons of the god of death, the god of the heavens, and the god of the wind, respectively. Aru Shah and the End of Time
    To see more usage examples of "respectively," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "respectfully" and "respectively," click here.
  7. broach
    bring up a topic for discussion
    I never broach the subjects I long to bring out into the open. The Diary of a Young Girl
    To see more usage examples of "broach," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "broach" and "brooch," click here.
  8. brooch
    a decorative pin
    His hair, the same silver-blond as hers, had been pulled back tightly behind his head and fastened with a dragonbone brooch. A Game of Thrones
    To see more usage examples of "brooch," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "broach" and "brooch," click here.
  9. abhorrent
    offensive to the mind
    But a son who killed his mother was abhorrent to gods and to men. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes
    To see more usage examples of "abhorrent," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "abhorrent" and "aberrant," click here.
  10. aberrant
    markedly different from an accepted norm
    On a world level, the eruption at the Norte Chico was improbable, even aberrant. 1491
    To see more usage examples of "aberrant," click here.
    To learn more about the commonly confused words "abhorrent" and "aberrant," click here.
Created on Fri May 30 12:30:42 EDT 2025 (updated Fri May 30 12:40:38 EDT 2025)

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