Which to use
“agate” and “age” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,422
- “agate” frequency rank
- #475
- “age” frequency rank
- 36897
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | agate | age |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 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. | The amount of time that some being has been alive, or that some thing has been in existence, as measured from its birth or origin until the present or until some other given reference point. (Often measured in number of years; alternatively in months, days, hours, etc.; see also the usage notes) |
Where the eye mixes agate and age
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses agate with age
A purely visual mix-up. agate (/ˈæɡ.ɪt/) and age (/eɪd͡ʒ/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36897, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
agate is recorded at frequency rank #36,422, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈæɡ.ɪt/. age is at rank #475, tagged as anoun, pronounced /eɪd͡ʒ/.
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 36897, this pair ranks #299,181 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of agate vs age
Shared letters: aeg. Private to "agate": t. Private to "age": -.
"agate" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "age" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- agate ← aagte · agaet · agatte · aggate · agtae · gaate
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "agate" and "age" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "agate" or "age"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "agate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "age" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #299,181 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "agate" and "age" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abated vs agate". 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 #299,181 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.