Which to use
“abide” is a verb and “able” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,084
- “abide” frequency rank
- #352
- “able” frequency rank
- 13436
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abide | able |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To endure without yielding; to withstand. | Having the necessary powers or the needed resources to accomplish a task. |
Where the eye mixes abide and able
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: abide vs able
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abide is /əˈbaɪd/ while able is /ˈeɪ.bl̩/. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13436, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abide is recorded at frequency rank #13,084, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈbaɪd/. able is at rank #352, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈeɪ.bl̩/.
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 13436, this pair ranks #475,821 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abide vs able
Shared letters: abe. Private to "abide": di. Private to "able": l.
"abide" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "able" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abide" for "able" ever safe?
Frequency check: "abide" vs "able" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abide" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "able" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #475,821 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abide" and "able" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abide vs abides". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #475,821 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.