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Est. 1828
Grammar & Usage
Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate
All your favorite pet peeves
Until, Till, 'Til, or 'Till?
'Till' is actually older than 'until'
'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
How to pick the right one
Commonly Confused
Punctuation
Spelling & Pronunciation
Usage Notes
Popular
Hypercorrections: Are you making these 6 common mistakes?
When your 'correction' is incorrect
7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
We promise you're not the only one who has trouble with these words
More Commonly Misspelled Words
Because spelling is tricky
Your vs. You're: How to Use Them Correctly
Here's your explanation, and you're welcome
Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples
When each letter can be seen but not heard
More Commonly Mispronounced Words
We're here to help
A Guide to Em Dashes, En Dashes, and Hyphens
Be dashing—and do it well
Absent Letters That Are Heard Anyway
They aren't seen but they are heard
Commonly Confused
See All
On Synecdoche and Metonymy
When you are left to your own rhetorical devices.
What's the Difference Between …
Buffalo/bison, college/university, and more
What's the difference between 'sympathy' and 'empathy'?
You don't know how it feels
Famous vs. Infamous
The prefix is not your friend
'A' and 'An' and the Patterns of Their Use
Which gets used where?
See All
Punctuation
See All
How to Use Word Division Dots and Syllable Hyphens
Dictionary secrets, revealed!
A Guide to Using Colons
We'll get to semicolons later.
To Use or Not Use the "?" in Requests
"Would you read this, please."
Why Do We Use Apostrophes to Show Possession?
The shifting role of the apostrophe
Comma Splices: What They Are and How to Correct Them (or not)
Adventurous writers pull them off regularly
See All
Spelling & Pronunciation
See All
Commonly Misspelled Words
Spelling is hard
Why does English have so many silent letters?
Inexplicable silent letters, explained
Video: Why Is There a 'C' in 'Indict'?
And who put it there, anyway?
You're (Probably) Saying It Wrong
18 words even you might be mispronouncing
10 Words You See But Don't Hear
How to pronounce 10 words with unpredictable stress and vowel sounds
See All
Usage Notes
Usage Notes
Can You Use 'Comprised of'?
It's been in use for centuries.
Read
Is it 'graduated' or 'was graduated from'?
No, this will not be on the test
Read
Fun, Funner, Funnest
Why does it sound strange to say 'funner' or 'funnest?'
8 Grammar Terms You Used to Know, But Forgot
Plus yodeling
Read
See All
Fun! Funner!! Funnest!!!
We got a whole mess of fun here, folks