Which to use
“accrue” and “accuse” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,264
- “accrue” frequency rank
- #10,975
- “accuse” frequency rank
- 43239
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | accrue | accuse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To increase, to rise | To find fault with, blame, censure. |
Where the eye mixes accrue and accuse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: accrue vs accuse
A purely visual mix-up. accrue (/əˈkɹuː/) and accuse (/əˈkjuːz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43239, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
accrue is recorded at frequency rank #32,264, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈkɹuː/. accuse is at rank #10,975, tagged as averb, pronounced /əˈkjuːz/.
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 43239, this pair ranks #241,892 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of accrue vs accuse
Shared letters: aceu. Private to "accrue": r. Private to "accuse": s.
"accrue" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVV · "accuse" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "accrue" and "accuse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "accrue" vs "accuse" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "accrue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "accuse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #241,892 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "accrue" and "accuse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Accra vs accrue". 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 #241,892 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.