Which to use
“ajar” is an adverb and “award” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #48,584
- “ajar” frequency rank
- #1,385
- “award” frequency rank
- 49969
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ajar | award |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Slightly turned or opened. | A judgment, sentence, or final decision. Specifically: The decision of arbitrators in a case submitted. |
Where the eye mixes ajar and award
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. ajar runs 4 letters (VCVC) against award's 5 (VCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: ajar vs award
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ajar is /əˈd͡ʒɑː/ while award is /əˈwɔːd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49969, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ajar is recorded at frequency rank #48,584, classified as anadv, pronounced /əˈd͡ʒɑː/. award is at rank #1,385, tagged as anoun, pronounced /əˈwɔːd/.
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 49969, this pair ranks #178,561 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ajar vs award
Shared letters: ar. Private to "ajar": j. Private to "award": dw.
"ajar" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "award" · 5 letters · shape VCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ajar" for "award" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ajar" vs "award" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "ajar" and "award" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ajar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "award" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #178,561 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ajar" and "award" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ajar vs Amari". 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 #178,561 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.