Which to use
“agile” is an adjective and “apple” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,839
- “agile” frequency rank
- #1,781
- “apple” frequency rank
- 18620
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | agile | apple |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Having the faculty of quick motion in the limbs; apt or ready to move; loose-jointed. | A common, firm, round fruit produced by a tree of the genus Malus. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set agile and apple apart are highlighted. They share 3 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: agile is /ˈæd͡ʒ.aɪl/ while apple is /ˈæp.əl/. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18620, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
agile is recorded at frequency rank #16,839, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈæd͡ʒ.aɪl/. apple is at rank #1,781, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈæp.əl/.
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 18620, this pair ranks #443,692 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of agile vs apple
Shared letters: ael. Private to "agile": gi. Private to "apple": p.
"agile" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "apple" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "agile" and "apple" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "agile" or "apple"?
Remembering agile vs apple
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “agile”; for a noun, it's “apple”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “agile” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable