What’s the difference in meaning between the following pairs of words?

Question

rise / raise
kid / child
dagger / knife
in front of / opposite
practice / practise
happy / happiness
big / huge
die / pass away
speak / talk
ceiling / roof
ladder / stairs
yummy / delicious
cookie / biscuit
assertive / bossy

Answer 1

Rise/Raise
Similar in meaning just different usage.
"Raise your hand"
"Watch his Rise to power"

kid/child
same meaning

dagger/knife
dagger is a weapon
knife is a utensil

in front of/opposite
"in front of" is a position -- "you are in front of me"
"opposite" has several meanings -- "black and white are opposite" meaning different or "you are standing opposite of me"
meaning across from

happy / happiness
happy is an adjective describing your state of mind
happiness is an abstract state of being

big/huge
"big" means large
"huge" means REALLY large

die/pass away
same meaning

speak/talk
same meaning

ceiling/roof
"ceiling" is the top of the room you are in
"roof" is the top of a building from the outside

ladder/stairs
"ladder" is large tool with rungs so you can climb up high onto something
"stairs" are steps inside a building to get to the next floor

yummy/delicious
both the same meaning, but "yummy" is not a proper word,
"delicious" is the proper way to say that something tastes really good -- "yummy" is more of what a child would say

cookie/biscuit
a "cookie" is a very sweet dessert
a "biscuit" is not sweet and you can eat it with your meal

assertive/bossy
similar -- "assertive" is someone who takes charge
"bossy" is a more negative term for someone who tells everyone else what to do

Hope this was helpful!