There’s great joy to be gleaned from using and understanding words with precision. For the linguistically inclined, it can be the pleasure of reading and writing. It can also be an obsession. Recently, for example, a man named Bryan Henderson made headlines for editing thousands of Wikipedia pages to eradicate the phrase “comprised of” in favor of “composed of.” Of course, even amongst avid readers, there are a handful of words that often are confused and misused. So we've rounded up some of these tricky word pairs and their definitions, adding sentences to help you remember the distinctions. Join in the fun by commenting with your own mnemonic sentences that include these words.
Twins - Female twins posing in hats. Image ID: 1685125eminent v. imminent
eminent: adj. famous and respected within a particular sphere or present to a notable degree
imminent: adj. about to happen
She was an eminent author, winning prestigious awards and accolades. At the moment, what she was most anticipating was not the National Book Award ceremony, however; it was the imminent arrival of her breakfast burrito. 

substantive v. substantial
substantive: adj. having a firm basis in reality and so important, meaningful, or considerable
substantial: adj. of considerable importance, size, or worth
My point is substantive, derived from thorough research, and it is this: Your substantial chocolate stash takes up an entire drawer, so you should be willing to share.

censure v. censor
censure: v. express severe disapproval of (someone or something)
censor: v. examine (a book, film, etc.) officially and suppress unacceptable parts of it
They wanted to censor the film, removing the sex scenes. So we censured the decision in a scathing op-ed article called, "Give the People What They Want!"

indeterminate v. indeterminable
indeterminate: adj. not exactly known, established, or defined
indeterminable: adj. not able to be definitely ascertained, calculated, or identified
The goodie bag's contents were indeterminate until we opened it. There we found a coupon worth "a gajillion hugs," a number of hugs that was indeterminable.

denote v. connote
denote: v. signify the literal meaning
connote: v. (of a word) imply or suggest (an idea or feeling) in addition to the literal or primary meaning
According to the dictionary, the word denotes strength. Unfortunately, when he used the word to describe my perfume, it seemed to carry a negative connotation, especially once he began coughing.

elude v. allude
elude: v. escape from or avoid (a danger, enemy, or pursuer), typically in a skilful or cunning way; fail to be attained by (someone)
allude: v. suggest or call attention to indirectly; hint at
He eluded the trip to see the horror movie by playing sick, but the following day, when his friends alluded to the scene when the zombie attacks, he actually felt ill.

ambiguous v. ambivalent
ambiguous: adj. open to more than one interpretation; not having one obvious meaning
ambivalent: adj. having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone
She was ambivalent about the date because he was funny but also hogged the popcorn during the movie, which would give anyone mixed feelings. When he sent her an ambiguous text message that she couldn't decipher, she decided she preferred watching Downton Abbey to dating.

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