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'Bore' is the past of 'to bear', or means to drill/tunnel, or is a boring person; 'boar' is a male wild pig.
Side-by-side comparison
"Bore" is the past tense of "bear" (to carry, to endure) and can also mean to drill a hole or to cause boredom. "She bore the weight" = she endured the weight.
She bore the criticism with remarkable grace and professionalism.
The long meeting bored everyone, nothing was actually decided.
He is such a bore, he talks about himself for hours.
"Boar" is a male wild pig or an uncastrated male domestic pig. It is an animal with no relation to the verbs above.
A wild boar was spotted near the hiking trail, hikers were advised to stay back.
The medieval forest was home to many boars, deer, and wolves.
Boar hunting was a popular sport among European nobility for centuries.
Common mistake
- •"A wild bore attacked the hiker" is wrong: the wild pig is "boar".
- •"Bore" is a tedious person or thing, the past tense of "bear" (to endure), or the inside of a tube.
Trick to remember it
- •"Bore" ends in ORE like "more", "ignore": abstract things.
- •"Boar" ends in OAR like "roar": the loud sound of a wild animal.
Quick rule
- •"Bore" = to bore, a tedious person, or past tense of "bear".
- •"Boar" = the male wild pig.
Did you know?
Wild boar hunting was the most dangerous sport in medieval European nobility, a greater test of courage than deer hunting. Adult boars can weigh 300 kg, run at 50 km/h, and their tusks can cause fatal wounds. Many European noble families include a boar on their coat of arms as a symbol of bravery. Today, feral boar populations are considered invasive pests across much of Europe and the Americas, causing significant agricultural damage.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
A wild _____ ran across the road and scared the drivers.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
The three-hour speech _____ everyone in the room. People were checking their phones.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
One means to receive or agree to something, the other means to exclude or not include.
'Advice' is the guidance you receive (noun); 'advise' is the act of giving that guidance (verb).
'Affect' is the verb meaning to influence something; 'effect' is the noun meaning result or consequence.
'Aisle' is the walkway between rows of seats or shelves; 'isle' is a small island.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy