20 Words You Think Are Synonyms But Aren’t

Just because the thesaurus lists two words as synonyms doesn't mean that you can simply slot one in for the other. There are so many of them, but let's get started with these 20 words!

Ms. vs Miss

One way to refer to a girl or woman with a personal title is to call them Miss, Mrs. or Ms. followed by their last name. There are certain guidelines and reasons for which one you should choose. If she is married, 'Mrs.' is the correct choice. Choosing between Miss and Ms. is a bit tricky though. If she is young and unmarried, 'Miss' is the way to go. If you are unsure, 'Ms.' is always a safe bet. If you know someone personally, it's okay to ask which they prefer.

Beside vs. Besides
Beside is a preposition that means location and next to, like the school is beside the hospital. It can sometimes be used for comparison: Our ideas for the project are the best beside the other competitors. Besides is a preposition, usually followed by a noun, and an adverb meaning in addition to, furthermore, also and as well as: Besides Frank, Harry is working on the building. Be careful with beside the point and beside myself. An easy way to remember besides is that it has an additional 's' and needs something additional.

Well vs Good

Though many people think 'well' and 'good' are synonyms, or words that have the same meaning, they are not interchangeable. Instead, they often function as different parts of speech, like adjectives, adverbs, and nouns. 'Well' functions as an adjective meaning advisable or healthy, and as an adverb meaning done in a satisfactory way. 'Good' functions as an adjective meaning approved of, or as a noun meaning advantageous or righteous. The most common mistake people make is to use 'good' in place of 'well' as in 'I'm doing well.' As 'good' is not an adverb, it can't modify the verb 'doing.' Just something to keep in mind when someone asks you, 'How are you doing?'

Equity vs Equality
'Equality' and 'equity' are often treated as synonyms, but they are not. They are the same part of speech, as they are both nouns, representing ideas. 'Equality' is the state of being the same, while 'equity' is the state of being treated fairly. 'Equity' can also be used in financial contexts to refer to the difference between the value of an asset and its costs and liabilities.

Assume vs Presume

Assume' and 'presume' are often thought to be synonyms and have the same meaning, but are not, though they are both verbs, or action words. 'Assume' means to suppose something based on little or no evidence. It can also mean to take on responsibility. 'Presume' means to suppose something based on strong evidence. It can also mean to be audacious.

Attain vs Obtain
Attain means to achieve a goal or accomplish a task by putting in effort. Obtain means to get or take possession of something, typically without much effort being put into acquiring it.

More than vs Over
'More than' is an appropriate choice of words for referring to amounts, quantities or numbers such as 'more than 50 people' or 'more than 100 dollars.' The appropriate choice of words for referring to one object's proximity to another is 'over,' such as 'the airplane over my house' or 'he climbed over the wall.'

Nauseated vs nauseous

'Nauseated' and 'nauseous' are both words related to the state of being physically ill and on the verge of  vomiting. However, they can't be used interchangeably, as they are different parts of speech. 'Nauseated is a past tense verb that refers to the action of being sick. 'Nauseous' is an adjective that describes someone who is feeling sick.

Continually vs Continuously

Continual describes something that occurs at regular intervals. Continuous describes something that never stops happening. 'Continual' was used to describe both of these things from about 1400-1600 A.D. before the word 'continuous' was introduced. Errors in transposing these two words are common and not considered a major grammatical error.

Emigrate vs Immigrate
'Emigrate' means to leave a country and move to another. 'Immigrate' means to come to a country to live. Both are verbs, or action words. Look for the words 'from' to follow 'emigrate' and 'to' to follow 'immigrate' to help understand a sentence's meaning. For example we say, "I emigrated from the Philippines," which means the person speaking is from the Philippines. "I immigrated to Japan in 2018," means that the person speaking moved to Japan.