Which to use
“accuse” and “arouse” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,975
- “accuse” frequency rank
- #32,680
- “arouse” frequency rank
- 43655
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | accuse | arouse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To find fault with, blame, censure. | To stimulate or induce (feelings); pique. |
Where the eye mixes accuse and arouse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between accuse and arouse
A purely visual mix-up. accuse (/əˈkjuːz/) and arouse (/əˈɹaʊz/) 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 43655, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
accuse is recorded at frequency rank #10,975, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈkjuːz/. arouse is at rank #32,680, tagged as averb, pronounced /əˈɹaʊz/.
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 43655, this pair ranks #237,903 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of accuse vs arouse
Shared letters: aesu. Private to "accuse": c. Private to "arouse": or.
"accuse" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "arouse" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "accuse" and "arouse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "accuse" or "arouse"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "accuse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "arouse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #237,903 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "accuse" and "arouse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Argus vs arouse". 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 #237,903 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.