Which to use
“allergy” and “alley” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,905
- “allergy” frequency rank
- #8,634
- “alley” frequency rank
- 21539
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | allergy | alley |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 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. | A narrow street or passageway, especially one through the middle of a block giving access to the rear of lots of buildings. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set allergy and alley apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
allergy and alley form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21539, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
allergy is recorded at frequency rank #12,905, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈæl.əɹ.d͡ʒi/. alley is at rank #8,634, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈæl.i/.
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 21539, this pair ranks #423,158 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "allergy" and "alley" be used interchangeably?
Remembering allergy vs alley
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “allergy” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable