Illustration for Complement, Principal, Stationery: The Pairs That Spellcheck Cannot Save You From

Complement, Principal, Stationery: The Pairs That Spellcheck Cannot Save You From

ByNathan Cole

Spellcheck catches misspellings. It cannot catch the right spelling of the wrong word, which is why these particular pairs survive in otherwise careful writing.

Each has a memory hook. The hooks are worth more than the definitions.

Complement / compliment

  • Complement — completes something. The wine complements the meal.
  • Compliment — praise. She complimented his cooking.

Hook: compleement enhances. Compliment is something nice.

Note complimentary also means free, from the same root as praise — a complimentary drink is given as a courtesy.

Principal / principle

  • Principal — main, or the head of a school, or a sum of money. The principal reason.
  • Principle — a rule or belief. A matter of principle.

Hook: the principal is your pal. Everything else is principle.

Stationary / stationery

  • Stationary — not moving. The car was stationary.
  • Stationery — paper and pens.

Hook: stationery contains e for envelope. Stationary contains a for standing still.

Practice / practise

British English: practice is the noun, practise the verb. I practise at the practice.

American English uses practice for both.

Hook: same pattern as advice (noun) and advise (verb), where the difference is audible. C for the noun, s for the verb.

Discreet / discrete

  • Discreet — tactful, careful. A discreet enquiry.
  • Discrete — separate, distinct. Three discrete stages.

Hook: in discrete, the two es are separated by the t — separate, like the meaning.

The rest, briefly

  • Elicit (draw out) / illicit (illegal)
  • Allusion (indirect reference) / illusion (false impression)
  • Ensure (make certain) / insure (financially) / assure (tell someone confidently)
  • Council (a body) / counsel (advice, or a lawyer)
  • Cite (quote) / site (place) / sight (vision)
  • Pore (over a book) / pour (a liquid)
  • Palate (taste) / palette (colours) / pallet (a platform)
  • Bare (uncovered) / bear (carry, or the animal) — it is bear with me

How to actually catch them

You cannot proofread for these by reading, because your eye supplies the word you meant. Two things work:

  • Search for your own. Everyone has two or three they reliably get wrong. Find yours, then search the document for those specific words.
  • Read it aloud. These pairs sound identical, so this will not catch them directly — but slowing down forces you to process each word rather than skim.

Checked against Merriam-Webster, the Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Stylebook. Spotted an error? Tell us — see our editorial policy.

Nathan Cole writes the adjective guides and word lists on Grammar Simplified. Every guide he publishes is checked against Merriam-Webster for spelling and usage, the Chicago Manual of Style for punctuation, and the AP Stylebook where a convention is specific to web writing. Where a rule is genuinely disputed among those authorities, he says so in the guide rather than picking a side quietly. Corrections are welcome and get acted on — see the editorial policy.

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