ESEN
Which one to use?Intermediateverbnoun / verb
HealvsHeel
'Heal' means to recover from injury or illness; 'heel' is the back part of the foot or shoe.
Side-by-side comparison
Heal
verb"Heal" is the verb to cure or recover: a wound that closes, a relationship that mends, or the process of physical or emotional recovery.
The wound took three weeks to heal completely.
Time heals most wounds, but some scars remain forever.
Rest and proper nutrition are key to healing after surgery.
Heel
noun / verb"Heel" is the back of the foot, or the heel of a shoe. "Achilles' heel" = someone's weak point or vulnerability.
She developed a blister on her heel from the new shoes.
The heel of the boot had worn down completely.
Achilles' only weakness was his heel.
Common mistake
- •"The injury should heel in two weeks" when meaning recover is wrong: the verb for recovering is "heal".
- •"Heel" is the back part of the foot or shoe.
Trick to remember it
- •"Heal" has EA like "health" and "treatment": to heal is to restore health.
- •"Heel" has double E like "feet" and "toes": the heel is part of the foot.
Quick rule
- •Is it the verb to cure or recover? "Heal".
- •Is it the back of the foot or shoe? "Heel".
Did you know?
The "Achilles' heel" comes from Greek mythology: the goddess Thetis dipped her son Achilles in the river Styx to make him invulnerable, holding him by the heel. That one spot never touched the water and remained his only weakness. Hector wounded him there and Achilles died. Today "Achilles' heel" is used universally in English to describe the fatal vulnerability of any person, company, or system: "the company's Achilles' heel is its dependence on a single supplier." The expression traveled from Greek to Latin to English and is now used by speakers who have never read the Iliad.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
The cut on her finger took two weeks to _____ properly.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
Her new shoes were giving her blisters on her _____s.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
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'Advice' is the guidance you receive (noun); 'advise' is the act of giving that guidance (verb).
AffectvsEffect
'Affect' is the verb meaning to influence something; 'effect' is the noun meaning result or consequence.
AislevsIsle
'Aisle' is the walkway between rows of seats or shelves; 'isle' is a small island.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy