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worship ~ warship
[slightly different first vowel sound]
“Worship”, as a verb, is ‘(religious) to show respect, devotion and love for a god or deity by praying or doing some rites in a religious (sacred) place; (non-religious) to show very much love and admiration for someone or something’; as a noun, it is ‘the activity of praying or doing some rites by singing songs or chanting hymns, etc. in order to show respect, love and admiration for a god or deity; {mostly in British English} used before the titles or name of the officials of high rank’,
e.g.
We all worship one god, but by different names!
She absolutely worships that film actor, and watches every of his films … several times!
Every religion has a name for its place of worship.
We bow our heads in worship.
His worship the Mayor is going to visit our school this evening.
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“Warship” (noun & also called ‘battle ship’) is ‘any ship with heavy guns and missiles used in wars/battles’,
e.g.
Every country has a large fleet of warships fully manned all the time.
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worm ~ warm
[slightly different vowel sound: the ‘o’ in ‘worm’ rhymes with the ‘ir’ in “girl” or the ‘or’ in “world; the ‘a’ in ‘warm’ rhymes with the ‘oo’ in “door”]
“Worm”, as a noun, is ‘a long thin soft bodied animal without bones, legs and wings that live in the soil, water or even in other larger animals including humans; the larva of insects – the young of insects at a very early stage; a person who is not liked or respected by others; a kind of computer virus that destroys information on computers’; as a verb, it is ‘to move through a limited place or a large crowd slowly and carefully’,
e.g.
Slow worms are neither worms nor snakes; they are legless lizards.
The lugworm, also called sand worm, is a large marine worm.
Hookworms, roundworms/pinworms and tapeworms are some of the parasitic worms that live in the intestines of animals including people.
The naughty boy wormed his way through the hole in the fence and stole some fruit and flowers from our garden.
{“Bookworms” are not any separate worms that eat books. It is a general name given to the larvae of any of the insects, such as silverfish or cockroach and the insects themselves that live on books. A ‘bookworm’ (used metaphorically) is a person who likes reading books very much. ‘WORM’ = Write Once, Read Many (times) is a CD on which information or data can be written/stored only once, but that information or data can be seen or used many times.}
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“Warm”, as an adjective, means ‘(related to the temperature/heat with ‘cool’ as the opposite word in meaning) slightly hot that is pleasant and/or comfortable; (of clothes or buildings) that keep in heat and keep out cold; (of a person) friendly, makes others feel comfortable and happy; (of colours) red, yellow and orange that make you feel happy or comfortable’; as a verb (also warm up), it is ‘to make someone or something become hot that is comfortable; to become active by doing some physical exercises before actually participating in an actual competition or fight, etc.’; as a noun, it is the opposite of cold and means ‘a place that is warm’,
e.g.
The hotel room was spacious and warm.
Grandpa feels warm and safe sitting before the fireplace in winter.
Though we were late, we had a warm welcome from the host.
The players warmed themselves up a little before going on to the field.
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wonder (ed) ~ wander (ed)
[slightly different first vowel sound: the ‘o’ in ‘wonder’ rhymes with ‘u’ in “but” (strong); the ‘a’ in ‘wander’ rhymes with the ‘a’ in “want”]
“Wonder”, as a verb, is ‘to think about something or someone that one is not sure about, but try to guess; to feel surprised; to have curiosity with doubt; used in asking polite questions’; as a noun, it is ‘the feeling of surprise and admiration for something or someone; a person, thing or place that fills a person with astonishment and admiration’; and as an adjective (always before nouns), it means ‘(of something or someone) very good and effective’,
{‘Wonderful’ is an adjective.}
e.g.
I wonder if I’ll reach the town before nightfall.
She wonders how her husband is getting on in his new office.
I wonder if I might have a glass of water.
Taj Mahal is included in the new 7 wonders of the world.
Viagra is a wonder drug. Have you tried it?
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“Wander”, as a verb, is ‘to walk slowly and aimlessly in a place; to walk away from where one is supposed to be; to talk about something out of context, not related to the topic that has been in discussion; to think about something and forget about the place you are in and the people around’; as a noun, it is ‘a short relaxed purposeless walk in or around a place, not knowing what to do’,
[A ‘wanderer’ is a person who wanders.]
e.g.
I usually wander around the mall while my wife does the shopping.
After dinner the tourists left the hotel and wandered the streets of the town.
During the meeting, she wanders off in her thoughts and misses the main points.
Don’t let the children wander off; they may be lost in this crowd.
After tea, my friend and I had a wander in the gardens for a while, talking this and that.
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wire ~ wire
[the same pronunciation that rhymes with “fire”]
“Wire”, as a noun, is ‘a thin long round metal string (thread) that is used for binding things or making fences and meshes; a thin long metal string that is used for carrying electrical power or signals;{ mostly American} a telegram’; and as a verb, it is ‘to connect wires that carry electrical power from one point(place) to another; to connect a piece of electrical equipment to the main electric power point so that the current passes from the source to the equipment; to send money from one place to another electronically; {mostly American} to send a telegram’,
e.g.
We tied the two poles together with a thin steel wire.
The company put up a barbed wire fence to deter petty thieves.
The electrician wired up wrong connections and the mains tripped off.
All the rooms in our hotel have been wired for cable TV.
My friend wired, asking me to wire him $100 immediately.
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“Wire”, as a noun, is ‘some small electrical or electronic equipment that is hidden in the clothes of a person or in some furniture of a building so that the others can hear, record or sometimes see what is said or going on around that person or in that place’, as a verb, it is ‘to place or hide some electrical or electronic equipment in the clothes of a person or in a place to find out the goings-on in and around that person or place’,
e.g.
The smugglers finally found out that the secret agent who had been posing as a businessman was wired, and so removed the secret equipment from under his coat and shot him on the spot.
The police placed a wire in the ransom bag before giving it to the kidnappers, and very soon found out their hide-out and surrounded them.
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wind ~ wind
[different vowel sound: the first ‘wind’ rhymes with the adjective word “tinned”; the second ‘wind’ rhymes with “bind”]
“Wind”, as a noun, is ‘the quick and strong movement (current) of air; the act of hearing or finding out about something secret, usually by the news reporters; the air or gas in one’s stomach; one’s ability to breath air’; as a verb, in this sense, ~~~ wind – winded – winded, it is ‘to have or make someone else difficulty breathing, usually as a result of falling from a height or being hit hard’,
e.g.
A light wind from the lake ruffled the dry leaves on the park ground.
The strong wind blew her umbrella off her hands.
I don’t take too much coffee; it gives me wind. [i.e. gas in the stomach]
It’s not manners to break wind in a lift full of people. [i.e. to fart -- to pass gas]
The opponent’s punch winded him and he lay still in the ring for several moments. [i.e. become breathless; knocked out]
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“Wind” (verb ~~~ wind – wound – wound – winding) is ‘to turn or twist something around something again and again; to turn a handle or key of a machine around several times to make it work or start; (of a long road, river, snake, etc,) having or taking several smooth turns and/or having several bends on its way; (of a tape, cassette, CD) move back or front quickly’,
e.g.
In olden days people had to wind their watches and clocks regularly.
The road winds around the hill for about twenty five kilometres.
We cruised along the river which winds/wound its way down to the sea.
He wound down the car window to talk to his friend waiting to cross the road.
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will ~ will ~ we‘ll
[‘will’ and ‘will’ have the same pronunciation; ‘we’ll’ has a slightly different middle sound]
“Will” (noun & legal) is ‘a legal document a rich person prepares, when alive, in regard to his/her property — what items of the property to be given to whom, after his/her death, or in case he/she suffers any mental disability in future’; as a verb in this sense, is ‘to give one’s property to somebody else legally’,
e.g.
The rich industrialist left a lump sum to his long time companion and chauffeur (driver) in his will.
She willed all her property to her twenty-five pet cats!
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“Will” (modal auxiliary [helping] verb) is used to show ‘some future action which is not very certain, some near future action; used to ask a question with futurity in it; used in place of “can”, in some situations only; agreeing to do something’; and as a noun, it shows ‘strong determination – the power of making a difficult decision and doing all that is necessary to keep to the decision; liking to do something; being good to others; a particular desire or liking of a particular person’,
[The shortened form of ‘will not’ is “won’t”.]
e.g.
I will call you tomorrow.
Okay! I will come and see you in a moment; don’t fret.
Will she do it if you ask her to do it?
This barrel will hold fifteen litres of beer.
Please, come in. Won’t you have a seat? [won’t you = will you not]
The most common proverb: Where there is a will there is a way!
Compare:
He is a man of strong will; he will reach any goal once he wills it. (= ‘will 1’ = noun – determination; ‘will 2’ = modal verb – simple futurity; ‘wills’ – verb – makes a decision)
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“We’ll” is the short (contracted) form of ‘we will’,
e.g.
We’ll begin this job next week. [‘we’ll = we will]
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who’s ~ whose
[the same pronunciation, as in ‘whose’ that rhymes with “lose”]
“Who’s” is ‘the short form of ‘who is’ or ‘who has’ depending on the context’,
e.g.
Who’s there? = Who is there?
Who’s done this? = Who has done this?
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“Whose” (determiner & relative pronoun) is used ‘to ask which person, persons or thing/things a particular thing belongs to’; as a relative pronoun, it shows ‘the relationship between a person or people or a thing(s) and something or someone that belongs to that person, people or thing(s)’,
e.g.
Whose is this? = which person does ‘this’ belong to?
Whose book is this? = To which person(s) does this book belong?
That’s the girl whose father was a doctor. [i.e. that is a girl and her father was a doctor]
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whole ~ hole
[the same pronunciation]
“Whole”, as an adjective, means ‘all of something; not divided up into parts; not broken, damaged or defective; entire, complete; (of mathematics) not mixed or fractional; in good health’; as an adverb, it means ‘completely, absolutely’; as a noun, it is ‘a thing complete in itself, the entire amount or number, not in parts’,
e.g.
She lived her whole life in this town.
The children ate the whole cake in no time.
Nobody believed that she was telling the whole story.
The number 28 is a whole number.
The baby is feeling a whole lot better after the treatment.
The organisers are planning to introduce a whole new programme to attract the youth.
The whole of the estate belongs to the eldest son.
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“Hole”, as a noun, is ‘an empty or hollow space in something solid; a gap or space in something solid or screen, like a fence or wall, through which someone or something can pass; a weak part, fault, flaw or defect in a plan, argument, idea, etc.; (in golf sport) a small hollow place in the ground into which a ball is to put to get points’ as a verb, it is ‘to dig or make a hollow place in something solid; to put or hit a ball into the hole in a game; {‘hole up’ means to hide in some secret place in order to escape some danger}’,
e.g.
His jacket is full of holes.
The fox slipped into the sheep pen through a hole in the mesh.
Tigerwood of the USA made the most holes in a single golf tournament.
Their lawyer’s argument is full of holes and they lost their law suit.
It’s a hard job to hole a tunnel through a mountain.
The police got a tip off that the notorious terrorist was holed up in an underground bunk.
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wet ~ whet
[the same pronunciation, as in wet that rhymes with “let”]
“Wet”, as an adjective, means ‘(of a person or thing & the opposite word in meaning is ‘dry’) covered with water or other liquid; (of the weather) rainy; (of a place or thing) full of water in or around; weak or ineffectual; (of a person) supporting the sale of alcohol’; as a noun, it is ‘the rain or rainy weather’; as a verb, it is ‘to make someone or something covered with water or other liquid’,
e.g.
When you cut yourself, clean the wound with a wet cloth and put a band-aid on it.
Don’t sit on the bench; the paint is still wet.
I hate to go out when the weather is wet.
Ours is a wet town; you can get, buy and drink any amount of alcohol you like.
The baby wets the bed several times each night.
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“Whet” (verb) is ‘to increase one’s interest; to stimulate one’s appetite; to sharpen something by rubbing against something rough – a stone (commonly called a ‘whetstone’, or a file, etc.’,
e.g.
The colourful romantic postcard from Hawaii whetted my desire to visit the place.
Nikki Bonigala’s blog has recipes that could whet everyone’s appetite.
The butcher whets his knives sharp before beginning his trade every morning.
Carpenters need to whet their chisels and adzes regularly.
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well ~ well ~ we’ll
[‘well’ and ‘well’ have the same pronunciation; “we’ll” has a slightly different vowel sound]
“Well” (noun) is ‘a deep hole in the ground from which people take (draw) underground water; a flow of water from the ground; natural pool of water; a deep hole dug in the ground from which people draw oil and gas (oil well); a space in a tall building where the stairs are built (stairwell); a special space (compartment) in a fishing boat where the freshly caught fish are stored; a very large and useful source’,
e.g.
He lowered a large bucket into the well, but found it hard to bring it out.
In Oman, a fresh-water well is called a falaj. (qanat)
The Gulf States have several large oil wells each.
This book is a well of information; you will find answer to any question.
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“Well”, as an adverb, means ‘in a successful, satisfactory, pleasing or desirable way/manner; in a proper, thorough way; intimately/closely’; as an adjective, it means ‘suitable, proper, good condition; in comfortable or profitable position’; as an interjection, it is used to show ‘a short stop in conversation, doubt, surprise, amusement, or anger or disapproval, etc.’; and as a verb, it is ‘to come out from below; gush out from, as from a well’,
e.g.
We all slept well last night.
I know the President well.
She is looking very well after the face-lift.
“How are you?” → → “Very well, thank you.”
Well, well, well … what do you have here! A priceless book!
Well? What do you want from me?
When she told us the tragic loss of her son, tears welled up in her eyes.
He saw her in such a miserable condition, and sympathy welled up in him for her.
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“We’ll” is the short (contracted) form of ‘we will’,
e.g.
We’ll begin this job next week. [‘we’ll = we will]
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