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T
- tantalizing/titillating: something tantalizing—always just out of reach—torments the person who wants it; a titillating thing pleasantly tickles, typically figuratively
- tap/bug: a tap is a device affixed to a telephone circuit to pick up conversations on the line; a bug is a concealed listening device aimed at picking up sounds in a room, automobile, or other space
- that/which: that is correctly used as a restrictive pronoun concentrating a category or identifying a particular item [it is the house that is blue]; which is correctly nonrestrictive, adding information not needed for identification [it is the third house, which is blue]; which can be used restrictively when preceded by a preposition [it is the bedrock on which our nation was founded]; in common correct nonrestrictive usage, which is best preceded by a comma, parenthesis, or dash; it demonstrates lack of accurate education to claim “which” is “more academic”—an untrue campus legend
- the/a: the is a definite article and is used: when a noun has been referred to previously, before a specific time reference, before a proper name; a is an indefinite article and is used before: singular nouns having no specified referent, collective numerals, mass nouns, proper noun representing example or type[The earth is a beautiful planet.]
- though/although: though is most correct as an adverb synonymous with "however" or "nevertheless" and is frowned on as a conjunction shortened version of "although"; although is a conjunction with the meaning of (and vastly preferred to) "in spite of the fact that"
- tortious/tortuous/torturous: tortious is about torts (civil wrongs) or acts leading to legal claims for torts; tortuous means many twists and turns; torturous involves torture
- toward/towards: American English does not add the s
- transcendent/transcendental: transcendent is something of supreme excellence that surpasses other examples; transcendental is idealistic, prophetic, or above ordinary experience
- turbid/turgid/torpid: turbid means confused, blurred, or distressed, as in being muddied; turgid is swollen, as well as pretentious or grandiloquent; torpid is lazy or indolent
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