Which to use
“allege” is a verb and “allele” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,884
- “allege” frequency rank
- #32,269
- “allele” frequency rank
- 55153
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | allege | allele |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To state under oath, to plead. | One of a number of alternative forms of the same gene occupying a given position, or locus, on a chromosome. |
Where the eye mixes allege and allele
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. allege and allele follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses allege with allele
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: allege is /əˈlɛd͡ʒ/ while allele is /ˈæl.iːl/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - g in “allege” becomes l in “allele”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55153, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
allege is recorded at frequency rank #22,884, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈlɛd͡ʒ/. allele is at rank #32,269, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈæl.iːl/.
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 55153, this pair ranks #135,805 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of allege vs allele
Shared letters: ael. Private to "allege": g. Private to "allele": -.
"allege" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "allele" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "allege" and "allele" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "allege" or "allele"?
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 "allege" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "allele" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #135,805 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "allege" and "allele" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "allele vs allude". 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 #135,805 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.