Homonyms from Eight to You

Do you elicit information or do you illicit information? Is a female sheep a ewe, yew, or you? Does the answer elude you, or does it illude you? Was the king's harem guarded by eunuchs or Unix? Have fun learning about the homonyms from eight to you.

eight, ate
Eight is the number that comes after seven. It is the sum of seven and one.
There were eight apples in the bowl.
Ate is the simple past tense of the word 'eat'. It means to have consumed.
Tamara ate dinner an hour ago.

elicit, illicit
When you elicit something, such as a response, you draw it out.
The lawyer will elicit the truth from the witness.
If something is illicit, it is either unlawful or disapproved of for moral or ethical reasons.
Debra's illicit affair with a much older, married man brought shame upon her family.

elude, illude
When you elude capture, you escape by using speed, cleverness, or trickery. When an answer or thought eludes you, it escapes you, or you cannot think of it.
The serial killer continues to elude the police.
Illude means to deceive or trick.
The aim of the magician is to illude the audience.

epic, epoch
An epic is a narrative story or poem. This word can also describe events that are heroic, majestic, or impressively great. It is also used to describe something of unusually great size or extent.
Because of an epic crime wave, the residents of the small city were suspicious and no longer trusted each other.
An epoch is a noteworthy period in the history of anything.
The crucifixion of Jesus Christ marked an epoch in the history of Christianity.

err, air
If you err, you are incorrect.
Susan took special care not to err when balancing her checkbook.
The air we breathe is made up of nitrogen, oxygen, and minute amounts of other gases.
The scent of honeysuckle filled the air.

eunuchs, Unix
Eunuchs are men who have been castrated, especially those who were employed by Oriental rulers as harem guards or palace officials.
Eunuchs were the only men allowed around the women in the harem
Unix is a multi-user multitasking operating system for a computer.
She bought a new computer that had a Unix operating system installed on it.

ewe, yew, you
A ewe is a female sheep.
The ewe was very protective of her offspring.
Yew is a type of evergreen tree.
Yew trees decorated her spacious yard.
You is a pronoun used instead of the name of the person or persons being addressed.
You need to study for your final exam that will be given tomorrow.