Which to use
“adjust” and “adjusts” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,320
- “adjust” frequency rank
- #27,710
- “adjusts” frequency rank
- 34030
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | adjust | adjusts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To modify. | third-person singular simple present indicative of adjust |
Where the eye mixes adjust and adjusts
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: adjust vs adjusts
A purely visual mix-up. adjust (/əˈd͡ʒʌst/) and adjusts (/əˈd͡ʒʌsts/) 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 extra letter(s) - “adjust” sits inside “adjusts”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34030, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
adjust is recorded at frequency rank #6,320, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈd͡ʒʌst/. adjusts is at rank #27,710, tagged as averb, pronounced /əˈd͡ʒʌsts/.
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 34030, this pair ranks #324,249 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of adjust vs adjusts
Shared letters: adjstu. Private to "adjust": -. Private to "adjusts": -.
"adjust" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "adjusts" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "adjust" for "adjusts" ever safe?
Which is more common, "adjust" or "adjusts"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "adjust" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "adjusts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #324,249 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "adjust" and "adjusts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "adjuster vs adjusts". 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 #324,249 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.