Act, Action

"The best portion of a good man's life is his little, nameless,
unremembered acts of kindness and of love." "Suit the action to the
word." Action suggests the operation; act, the accomplished result.

Adherence, Adhesion

These words were once interchangeable, but are now distinct. Adhesion
relates to physical bodies; adherence to mental states.
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Adopt, Take

"What course will you take?" is better than "What course will you
adopt?"

Affect, Effect

These words are sometimes confounded. "The climate affected their
health." "They sailed away without effecting their purpose."

Aggravate, Exasperate

To aggravate means to intensify, to make worse; to exasperate means to
provoke, to irritate. "To aggravate the horrors of the scene." "His
remarks exasperated me." "His conduct aggravates me" should be "His
conduct annoys (or displeases, or irritates, or exasperates) me."