adherevsAdlerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: adhere is a verb, Adler is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“adhere” is a verb and “Adler” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,452
“adhere” frequency rank
#18,002
“Adler” frequency rank
31454
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature adhere Adler
Definition To stick fast or cleave, as a glutinous substance does; to become joined or united. A surname from German.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set adhere and Adler apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
adhere
5 ch
Adler

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: adhere is averb and Adleraname. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31454, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

adhere is recorded at frequency rank #13,452, classified as averb, pronounced /ædˈhɪə/. Adler is at rank #18,002, tagged as aname.

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 31454, this pair ranks #345,980 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of adhere vs Adler

Shared letters: ader. Private to "adhere": h. Private to "Adler": l.

"adhere" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "Adler" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • adhereaddhere · adehre · adheer · adherre · adhhere · adhree · ahdere · dahere
  • Adleraddler · adelr · adlerr · adller · adlre · daler

Frequency comparison

adhere#13,452
Adler#18,002

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "adhere" and "Adler" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "adhere" is a verb and "Adler" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "adhere" or "Adler"?
"adhere" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,452 in our English list, against #18,002 for "Adler". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering adhere vs Adler

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “adhere”; for a name, it's “Adler”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “adhere” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list