Which to use
“abuses” and “asses” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,332
- “abuses” frequency rank
- #9,699
- “asses” frequency rank
- 21031
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abuses | asses |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of abuse | plural of ass |
Where the eye mixes abuses and asses
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: abuses vs asses
A purely visual mix-up. abuses (/əˈbjuːsɪz/) and asses (/ˈæsɪz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21031, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abuses is recorded at frequency rank #11,332, classified as anoun, pronounced /əˈbjuːsɪz/. asses is at rank #9,699, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈæsɪz/.
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 21031, this pair ranks #426,899 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abuses vs asses
Shared letters: aes. Private to "abuses": bu. Private to "asses": -.
"abuses" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "asses" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abuses" and "asses" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "abuses" or "asses" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abuses" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "asses" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #426,899 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abuses" and "asses" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abides vs abuses". 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 #426,899 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.