Easily Confused Words: Brian Vs. Brain - Kathleen W Curry

Brian and brain are easily confused words.

The spell-check application of most word processing software programs would not catch a slip-up of these two words. Spell-check is looking for words that aren’t in its dictionary, and words that resemble words in its dictionary, but are possibly spelled wrong. Spell-check isn’t perfect. It doesn’t know and can’t guess what word you wanted, or what word you meant, it can only judge the words on the page. If you used words that are all spelled correctly, it gives you a pass anyway.

Autocorrect suggests words that start with the same letters. It’s suggesting what word you may want to save time, but quite often, its suggestions are pretty off base. They don’t help you out, but they do make you laugh.

Brian (pronounced “breye-uhn”) is a masculine first name that comes from the Irish language. It can also be spelled Bryan or Brien. It means strong, virtuous, and honorable. You can find a list of famous Brians here.

Brain (pronounced “brayn;” rhymes with train, rain, slain) has multiple meanings.

• As a noun:
  • It can mean the main organ of the central nervous system in a human body and the body of other organisms.
  • It can mean someone in charge of a plan, a business, or project.
  • It can mean a person’s high level of intellect.
  • In a machine, it can refer to parts that control its movement, behavior, or decision making, much like a biological brain does.

As a verb, it means to destroy or stab the skull of a living human or other creature.

The following story uses both words correctly:

Brian was resentful that his older brother Brady took all of the credit for their company’s success. He was the actual brain behind the whole operation. Naturally Brady was upset when Brian opted to leave and join a competing venture for more money.

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