decease，disease

这两个词的读音和拼法相似，故易混淆。

Decease/di’si: s/是“死亡”、“去世”;disease /di’zi:z/是“患病”、“疾病”。这两个字都可用作名词和动词，初学英语的人容易将两字误用或把两字的拼写混作一起。

与death相比，decease是正式用语，常见于法律条文中。下面请看例句：

Upon the decease of so-and-so，the sum of money will pass to his wife and children

某某死后，整笔钱归他妻子及儿女所有。

The decease rate in that country is very high.

那个国家的死亡率很高。

The general’s decease left the army without a leader.

将军死亡使这支军队群龙无首。

deceased是形容词，意思是“死亡的”、“已故的”，因此，deceased father是“先父”，deceased wife是“亡妻”。

如在deceased之前加个定冠词，其意为“死者”、“亡人”。例如：

The deceased was killed in a road accident.

死者是在一次公路事故中身亡的。

The deceased left a large sum of money to his children.

死者给儿女们留下了一大笔钱。

下面是disease 的例句：

The task of a doctor is to prevent or cure diseases.

医生的职责是预防或冶疗疾病。

Nowadays more and more people treat diseases by acupuncture.

如今愈来愈多人用针灸治疗疾病。

Your right lung is diseased.

你的右肺有病。

在上面第一和第二个例句中，disease用作名词;在第三句中用作形容词。acute disease是“急性病”;chronic disease是“慢性病”; family disease是“遗传病”。