wave vs. waive : Commonly confused words | Vocabulary.com
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wave/
waive
To wave is to move to and fro, like when you wave your hand. Hello there! To waive, with a sneaky "i," is to give up your right to do something.
Waves come in many forms. You can wave your hand, a hanky, or even a baseball hat to say hello or acknowledge someone, as in this example:
Fans around the green gave him a standing ovation, and Guan waved his baseball cap in acknowledgment.
A wave is also that big moving hill of water you can surf on:
Surfing students exercise on their boards before hitting the waves.
Other things are called waves, too — if a lot of people come in somewhere, for example, call it a wave of people. It's often used as a metaphor for things that act like ocean waves:
Maybe the great wave of social change has simply crested.
To waive, on the other hand, is to surrender, as in give up your rights to something. If you go scuba diving at a resort, you might have to waive your right to sue if something goes wrong. Here are some examples:
It also announced a mandatory arbitration clause, forcing users to waive their rights to participate in a class action lawsuit except under very limited circumstances.
Meanwhile, following budget cuts, the LOC board members have waived their salaries.
Waive is always a transitive verb, so you have to waive something. The other kind of wave doesn't need an object — although you can wave your hat, you don't have to. You can just wave. If you waive your salary, even for a good cause, you can wave goodbye to your money!
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Definition:
waive
To waive is to give up one's right to do something. If you waive your right to help name your family's new puppy, you can't complain if he ends up being called "Mr. Tinkerbell Sweetheart Lovey-Face." Continue reading...
Definition:
wave
The word wave has many different meanings, but they all have to do with an undulating motion or shape. A wave that washes up on a beach has the same kind of back-and-forth movement as a crowd of baseball fans doing "the wave" in the stands. Continue reading...
More Commonly Confused Words
abhorrent / aberrant
accept / except
ado / adieu
adopt / adapt
adverse / averse
affect / effect
afflict / inflict
aggravate / irritate
allot / a lot
allowed / aloud
allude / elude
allusion / illusion / delusion
alter / altar
alternate / alternative
ambiguous / ambivalent
amicable / amiable
amoral / immoral
amuse / bemuse
anecdote / antidote
appraise / apprise
ascent / assent
assume / presume
assure / ensure / insure
aural / oral / verbal
aver / avow
bail / bale
bare / bear
base / bass
bazaar / bizarre
border / boarder
brake / break
breach / breech
bridal / bridle
broach / brooch
callus / callous
cannon / canon
canvas / canvass
capital / capitol
censor / censure
cereal / serial
chord / cord
cite / site / sight
climactic / climatic
complement / compliment
complicit / complacent / complaisant
compose / comprise
conceptional / conceptual / contextual
concurrent / consecutive
confident / confidant(e)
connotation / denotation
connote / denote
conscious / conscience
contemptible / contemptuous
continual / continuous
correlation / corollary
council / counsel
currant / current
decent / descent / dissent
deer / dear
definitely / definitively
demur / demure
desert / dessert
didactic / pedantic
disassemble / dissemble
discomfit / discomfort
discreet / discrete
disillusion / dissolution
disinterested / uninterested
disperse / disburse
dual / duel
economic / economical
elicit / illicit
elusive / illusive
emigrate / immigrate / migrate
eminent / imminent / immanent
empathy / sympathy
endemic / epidemic
entitle / title
entomology / etymology
envelop / envelope
envy / jealousy
epidemic / pandemic
epigram / epigraph
epitaph / epithet
especially / specially
exalt / exult
exercise / exorcise
expedient / expeditious
extant / extent
facetious / factious / fatuous
factious / fractious
faint / feint
farther / further
fawn / faun
faze / phase
ferment / foment
fictional / fictitious / fictive
figuratively / literally
flair / flare
flaunt / flout
flounder / founder
font / fount
formerly / formally
formidable / formative
fortunate / fortuitous
gambit / gamut
gibe / jibe
gig / jig
gorilla / guerrilla
grisly / gristly / grizzly
hale / hail
healthful / healthy
hero / protagonist
hew / hue
historic / historical
hoard / horde
homonym / homophone / homograph
hone / home
hostile / hostel
imply / infer
incredible / incredulous
indeterminate / indeterminable
indict / indite
inflammable / inflammatory
ingenious / ingenuous
insidious / invidious
instant / instance
intense / intensive / intent
introvert / extrovert
irony / satire / sarcasm
it's / its
laudable / laudatory
lay / lie
legislature / legislator
levee / levy
loath / loathe
lone / loan
lose / loose
luxuriant / luxurious
main / mane
manner / manor
mantle / mantel
marital / martial
maximal / maximum
mean / median / average
medal / meddle / mettle
metaphor / simile
moral / morale
morbid / moribund
muscle / mussel
nauseated / nauseous
naval / navel
objective / subjective
optimistic / pessimistic
overdue / overdo
palate / palette / pallet
palmed off / pawned off
paradox / oxymoron
parameter / perimeter
parody / parity
peak / peek / pique
peddle / pedal / petal
persecute / prosecute
personal / personnel
pitiable / pitiful / piteous / pitiless
plain / plane
pore / pour
practical / practicable
pragmatic / dogmatic
precede / proceed
precedent / president
predominate / predominant
premier / premiere
prescribe / proscribe
pretentious / portentous
principal / principle
prophecy / prophesy
prophet / profit
prostate / prostrate
quote / quotation
rebut / refute
regrettably / regretfully
reluctant / reticent
respectfully / respectively
sac / sack
scrimp / skimp
sensor / censor / censer
sensual / sensuous
simple / simplistic
slight / sleight
stationary / stationery
statue / statute
steal / steel
than / then
that / which
their / there / they're
tortuous / torturous
troop / troupe
turbid / turgid
unconscionable / unconscious
undo / undue
unexceptional / unexceptionable
vain / vein / vane
venal / venial
veracious / voracious
wave / waive
weather / whether / wether
who / whom
who's / whose
wreck / wreak / reek
your / you're
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A division of IXL Learning •
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