Master confusing words with ease
Conterminous vs. Contiguous
Conterminous
Examples:
The two states are conterminous, sharing a long border.Their fields are conterminous, meeting at the old stone wall.Conterminous areas often benefit from mutual trade agreements.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Contiguous
/kənˈtɪɡjʊəs/Examples:
The investor holds several contiguous plots of land.The two countries share a contiguous border along the river.Contiguous files on the disk improve reading speed.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Ways to tell them apart:
- Conterminous often refers to sharing a common boundary or endpoint, particularly in geometry or geography.
- Contiguous is used to describe objects or areas that are touching or immediately adjacent to each other.
- Both words imply closeness, but conterminous emphasizes a boundary, whereas contiguous emphasizes contact.
- Remember that conterminous begins with con like connect, relating to a connecting boundary.
- Contiguous shares its prefix with continue, suggesting continuation or adjacency.
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