Commonly confused words
Staple, standard
The word staple is often incorrectly used instead of the word standard.
Staple means main or important.
- Rice is the staple food of South Indians.
A standard work is something that is viewed as having authority.
- This is a standard work on Indian history. (NOT This is a staple work on Indian history.)
Unique, sole and peculiar
If something is unique, it is the only one of its kind.
- Unique content tends to rank high in search engines.
- You are unique. I have never met another person like you.
Sole means one and only.
- He is the sole breadwinner of his family.
- That is the sole cause of his failure.
If something is peculiar, it is strange or odd.
- There is something peculiar about his conduct.
Future, subsequent
Subsequent means coming after something in time.
Future means time that is yet to come.
- Future is uncertain.
- The subsequent proceedings did not interest me.