Which to use
“achieve” is a verb and “active” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,607
- “achieve” frequency rank
- #1,239
- “active” frequency rank
- 3846
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | achieve | active |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To succeed in something, now especially in academic performance. | Having the power or quality of acting; causing change; communicating action or motion; acting;—opposed to passive, that receives. |
Where the eye mixes achieve and active
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between achieve and active
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: achieve is /əˈt͡ʃiːv/ while active is /ˈæk.tɪv/. 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 3846, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
achieve is recorded at frequency rank #2,607, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈt͡ʃiːv/. active is at rank #1,239, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈæk.tɪv/.
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 3846, this pair ranks #520,814 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of achieve vs active
Shared letters: aceiv. Private to "achieve": h. Private to "active": t.
"achieve" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV · "active" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "achieve" and "active" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "achieve" or "active" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "achieve" and "active" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "achieve" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "active" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #520,814 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "achieve" and "active" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "active vs Artie". 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 #520,814 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.