The English language is as beautiful as it is tricky. Take the word “blue” for example – everyone shares a different interpretation of what blue looks like, hence the creation of more explicit words like sapphire, cerulean, azure, cyan or aquamarine to provide finer distinctions between shades. Although you can use visual aids to help audiences understand the variations in colour, other words can be far less discernible (and tangible). Join Wordsmith as we take a look at 10 word pairings that even writing veterans can jumble up!

Symptom vs Sign
With the recent fears of a SARS 2.0 outbreak across Asia, international authorities have stepped up quarantine countermeasures. If someone reported that they had a fever and body aches, would these be symptoms or signs of the illness?

· Symptom: [noun 1] subjective evidence of a disease or physical disturbance
[noun 2] something that indicates the existence of something else

· Sign:[noun 1] a mark having a conventional meaning and used in place of words to represent a complex notion
[noun 2] an object, quality or event whose presence or occurrence indicates the probably presence or occurrence of something else

[verb 1] to write one’s name to identify oneself as the writer or sender
[verb 2] a motion or gesture to express a command or wish

In the example above, it appears that both symptom and sign carry the same definition, so would that mean they can be used interchangeably? On the contrary, doing so would appal medical professionals!

If you are the person who is sick, your fever and aches are symptoms – in other words, only you know about them initially. Once your illness gets serious enough, your symptoms start to impact the way you go on about with daily life, creating signs for other people that that there is something wrong with you. Remember, symptoms pertain to how the patient is feeling, whereas signs are what you can observe from them!

Compliment vs complement
If you had the perfect meal at your favourite fine dining establishment, do you send your compliments or complements to the chef?

· Compliment: [noun 1] a polite expression of praise or admiration
[verb 1] politely congratulate or praise someone for something

· Complement: [noun 1] something that contributes extra features to another thing in a beneficial way
[verb 1] to contribute extra features to someone or something to improve or emphasise their qualities

A compliment conveys your admiration for the chef’s work. To better enjoy the experience, the waiters may recommend a wine that complements the food to highlight certain flavours.

Venomous vs poisonous
Unless we have a good grasp of mycology (the study of mushrooms and fungi), then it’s probably best to avoid eating any wild mushrooms we may come across – but is it because they carry the risk of being venomous or is it because they could be poisonous?

· Venomous: [adjective 1] of an animal that could secrete or inject venom

· Poisonous: [adjective 1] of a substance or plant that can cause death or illness if ingested or taken into the body
[adjective 2] extremely unpleasant or malicious

As both of these words pertain to toxic substances, its usage depends on the context. Being venomous relates to an animal’s ability to create and attack with harmful toxins, whereas the substances themselves are poisonous (like the toxins in wild mushrooms deter us from eating them). On the other hand, a rattlesnake is venomous because it can bite and inject venom through its fangs, but if you roasted a rattlesnake (venom glands and guts included), then the meat could very well be poisonous because the venom had tainted the meat.

Correlation vs causation
With the importance of climate change, do we consider greenhouse gases to have correlation to or to be the causation of global warming?

· Correlation: [noun 1] a mutual relationship or connection between two or more things

· Causation: [noun 1] the action of causing something; the relationship between cause and effect

At a glance, both definitions appear to be on par. However, one clear point helps you discern between the two. For correlation to occur, both A and B must relate to each other, meaning that as A increases, B increases/decreases in parallel. For example, hotter weather correlates with greater electricity consumption – mainly due to increased use of air conditioning. However, if an increase in one had no effect on the other, then there is no correlation between them. For causation, A is the catalyst that triggers B, and not the other way around – meaning that a higher presence of greenhouse gases must always result in global warming for causation to hold true.

Among vs amongst
If an apocalypse wiped out half the world and we were part of the surviving population, are we among or amongst the lucky?

·     Among: [preposition 1] in or through the midst of
                 [preposition 2] in shares to each of
                [preposition 3] in company or association with

· Amongst: same definitions as above

Apart from a two-letter spelling difference, the two share the exact meaning and usage. Among was primarily used in older English before evolving to amongst over the past centuries. Either is acceptable, just be sure you stick with it throughout for consistency.

As with most things, practise makes perfect. Try slipping these word pairings into your vocabulary and you’ll soon find it easier to discern between the two.

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