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.