Anyway vs. any way
Anyway means regardless and shows a disregard for things that may stop someone from taking a certain action, while any way means in any manner or however possible.
What are scare quotes and how can you use them in your creative writing?
Scare quotes are quotation marks used to show your reader that the meaning of the word or phrase placed in quotation marks should not be taken literally.
Anyway vs. anyways
Both anyway and anyways have the same meaning of regardless or in any case, but anyways is more informal. It’s fine to use both in your writing but I recommend you tailor their usage to your characters’ speech patterns and personalities.
Anyone vs. any one
Anyone references no person in particular while any one refers to a single person which makes up a group. If you are unsure which version to use, if you can replace the word with “any”, then you would use any one instead of anyone.
Amount vs. number
Both amount and number mean quantity or amount. Amount is used with mass nouns (small, large) while number is used with count nouns (five, those).
Amiable vs. amicable
Both amiable and amicable mean friendly, but amiable refers to people while amicable references relationships.
Altogether vs. all together
Altogether means completely or totally, while all together references unity of time or place.
Amend vs. emend
Amend refers to making minor changes, while emend means to remove mistakes from something, such as a text.
Alternate vs. alternative
Alternate and alternative as nouns have the same meaning. Alternate is more popular in North America while you’re more likely to find alternative used in UK English.
Altar vs. alter
Altar refers to a table used in religious ceremonies while alter is a verb meaning change in character or composition.