Complement and compliment are both correct words, but they mean different things. Use complement when one thing completes, improves, or goes well with another. Use compliment when someone says something kind, polite, or admiring. The easiest rule is: a compliment is praise, while a complement completes. Quick Answer Use complement when something completes or matches…
The correct spelling is truly. Truely is a common misspelling and should not be used in standard English. Even though the adjective is true, the adverb drops the final e before adding -ly. Use truly when you mean honestly, sincerely, really, accurately, or genuinely. Quick Answer Use truly, not truely. Correct: I am truly sorry….
Desert and dessert are both correct words, but they mean different things. A desert is a dry place with little rain, or it can mean to abandon someone. A dessert is a sweet food eaten after a meal. The easiest way to remember the spelling is that dessert has two s letters because you usually…
Travelling and traveling are both correct spellings. The difference is regional. Traveling with one l is the standard spelling in American English, while travelling with two ls is the standard spelling in British English. Both words mean going from one place to another, especially over some distance. Quick Answer Use traveling if you are writing…
Leaves is the correct plural of leaf in standard English. If you are talking about more than one leaf on a tree, plant, flower, or table, use leaves. Leafs is usually not the plural form, but it can be correct as a verb, as in she leafs through a book. It can also appear in…
Losing and loosing are both real words, but they do not mean the same thing. In most everyday sentences, the correct word is losing. Use losing when someone fails to win, misplaces something, or no longer has something. Loosing is much rarer and means releasing, freeing, or making something loose. Quick Answer Use losing when…
The correct spelling is usually dying. Use dying when you mean approaching death, stopping, fading away, or strongly wanting something. Dieing is almost never the word you need in everyday writing. If you mean coloring fabric, hair, or material, the correct word is dyeing, not dying or dieing. Quick Answer Use dying when talking about…
Judgment and judgement are both used in English, but judgment is the preferred spelling in American English. Judgement is common in British English for general writing, though judgment is often used in legal contexts. Both words mean the ability to make decisions, an opinion, or an official decision made by a court. Quick Answer Use…
Then and than are both correct words, but they are used differently. Use then when you are talking about time, sequence, or what happens next. Use than when you are making a comparison. The easiest rule is: then is about time, and than is about comparison. Quick Answer Use then when something happens next, after…
When you are choosing between layed or laid, the correct word is almost always laid. It is the standard past tense and past participle of lay, meaning to put or place something down. Layed may look logical, but it is not the accepted spelling in modern English. If you want your writing to look polished,…