Which to use
“agape” is an adjective and “agate” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,043
- “agape” frequency rank
- #36,422
- “agate” frequency rank
- 80465
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | agape | agate |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | In a state of astonishment, wonder, expectation, or eager attention; as with mouth hanging open. | A semitransparent, uncrystallized silicate mineral and semiprecious stone, presenting various tints in the same specimen, with colors delicately arranged and often curved in parallel alternating dark and light stripes or bands, or blended in clouds; various authorities call it a variety of chalcedony, a variety of quartz, or a combination of the two. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set agape and agate apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: agape is /əˈɡeɪp/ while agate is /ˈæɡ.ɪt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - p in “agape” becomes t in “agate”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80465, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
agape is recorded at frequency rank #44,043, classified as anadj, pronounced /əˈɡeɪp/. agate is at rank #36,422, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈæɡ.ɪt/.
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 80465, this pair ranks #19,736 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of agape vs agate
Shared letters: aeg. Private to "agape": p. Private to "agate": t.
"agape" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "agate" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "agape" and "agate" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "agape" or "agate"?
Remembering agape vs agate
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “agape”; for a noun, it's “agate”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “agape” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable