Are you sometimes confused by look-alike celebrities? Is that Carey Mulligan or Michelle Williams? Daniel Radcliffe or Elijah Wood? Danny DeVito or a walnut with arms?

Similar confusion can occur when we encounter words that look alike and overlap in meaning. Linguists have a fancy term for this muddling of two similar words: "conflation."

Let's pop over to the Red Carpet of Holly"word" and look for oft-conflated celebrities.

Oooh! Is that "Exalt"? No, wait. Maybe it's "Exult"!

"Exalt" means "to elevate someone or something in rank, character or status," e.g., "Norman Rockwell's paintings exalt average Americans to heroic status"; "the lowly intern eventually achieved an exalted rank in the company."

"Exult," derived from the Latin word for "leap," literally means "to leap for joy, rejoice," e.g., "Patriots fans exulted when their team won the Super Bowl."

Because these two words are associated with uplifting experiences and success, they're often mistakenly interchanged. Remember that "exalt" has an "a" as in "raise," and "exult" has a "u" as in "jump for joy."

Oh, Look! There's "Reticent"! Or is it "Reluctant"?

Both words denote hesitation or unwillingness, but there's an important difference between them.

"Reticent" means "reserved, reluctant to speak," e.g., "The shy student was reticent in class"; "he was too reticent to speak."

But during the past few decades, people have been using "reticent" to mean "reluctant" (hesitant, unwilling) when no shyness or speaking is involved, e.g., "People were reticent to drive on the icy roads."

Some loosey-goosey permissivists will tell you using "reticent" for "reluctant" is acceptable. Not I. Save "reticent" for shyness or reluctance to speak.

OMG! Could that be "Tortuous? Or is it "Torturous"?

"Tortuous" means "full of twists and turns," e.g., "The tortuous road snaked among the mountains." "Torturous" means "characterized or pertaining to torture," e.g., "Training to be a Navy Seal is a torturous experience."

Because something that's "tortuous," such as driving on a twisty road, can also be "torturous," these words are often transposed. The most common mistake is using "tortuous" for "torturous," e.g., "Pioneers on the Oregon Trail faced a long and tortuous [read "torturous"] journey."

And now it's time for the Academy Awards themselves. And the winner for Best Conflation is "Exalt." No, wait! There's been a terrible mistake. It's actually "Exult"!

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to [email protected] or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.