Which to use
“agate” is a noun and “amaze” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,422
- “agate” frequency rank
- #22,572
- “amaze” frequency rank
- 58994
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | agate | amaze |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | To fill (someone) with surprise and wonder; to astonish, to astound, to surprise. |
Where the eye mixes agate and amaze
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses agate with amaze
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: agate is /ˈæɡ.ɪt/ while amaze is /əˈmeɪz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58994, 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/. amaze is at rank #22,572, tagged as averb, pronounced /əˈmeɪz/.
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 58994, this pair ranks #108,945 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of agate vs amaze
Shared letters: ae. Private to "agate": gt. Private to "amaze": mz.
"agate" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "amaze" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "agate" and "amaze" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "agate" or "amaze"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "agate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "amaze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #108,945 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "agate" and "amaze" 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 #108,945 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.