Which to use
“abhor” is a verb and “ahoy” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,591
- “abhor” frequency rank
- #40,107
- “ahoy” frequency rank
- 84698
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abhor | ahoy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To regard (someone or something) as horrifying or detestable; to feel great repugnance toward. | Used to hail a ship, a boat or a person, or to attract attention. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abhor and ahoy apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abhor is /əbˈhɔː/ while ahoy is /əˈhɔɪ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84698, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abhor is recorded at frequency rank #44,591, classified as averb, pronounced /əbˈhɔː/. ahoy is at rank #40,107, tagged as anintj, pronounced /əˈhɔɪ/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 84698, this pair ranks #11,630 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of abhor vs ahoy
Shared letters: aho. Private to "abhor": br. Private to "ahoy": y.
"abhor" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "ahoy" · 4 letters · shape VCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abhor" and "ahoy" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "abhor" or "ahoy"?
Remembering abhor vs ahoy
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “abhor”; for an intj, it's “ahoy”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “abhor” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable