Which to use
“allege” is a verb and “allergy” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,884
- “allege” frequency rank
- #12,905
- “allergy” frequency rank
- 35789
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | allege | allergy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To state under oath, to plead. | A disorder of the immune system causing adverse reactions to substances (allergens) not harmful to most and marked by the body's production of histamines and associated with atopy, anaphylaxis, and asthma; any condition of hypersensitivity to a substance. |
Where the eye mixes allege and allergy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. allege runs 6 letters (VCCVCV) against allergy's 7 (VCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: allege vs allergy
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: allege is /əˈlɛd͡ʒ/ while allergy is /ˈæl.əɹ.d͡ʒi/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35789, 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/. allergy is at rank #12,905, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈæl.əɹ.d͡ʒi/.
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 35789, this pair ranks #308,916 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of allege vs allergy
Shared letters: aegl. Private to "allege": -. Private to "allergy": ry.
"allege" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "allergy" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "allege" for "allergy" ever safe?
Which is more common, "allege" or "allergy"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "allege" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "allergy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #308,916 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "allege" and "allergy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "allege vs Allegra". 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 #308,916 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.