Which to use
“amaze” and “amuse” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,572
- “amaze” frequency rank
- #24,652
- “amuse” frequency rank
- 47224
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | amaze | amuse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To fill (someone) with surprise and wonder; to astonish, to astound, to surprise. | To entertain or occupy (someone or something) in a pleasant manner; to stir (someone) with pleasing emotions. |
Where the eye mixes amaze and amuse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. amaze and amuse follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: amaze vs amuse
A purely visual mix-up. amaze (/əˈmeɪz/) and amuse (/əˈmjuːz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47224, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
amaze is recorded at frequency rank #22,572, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈmeɪz/. amuse is at rank #24,652, tagged as averb, pronounced /əˈmjuːz/.
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 47224, this pair ranks #204,413 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of amaze vs amuse
Shared letters: aem. Private to "amaze": z. Private to "amuse": su.
"amaze" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "amuse" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "amaze" and "amuse" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "amaze" or "amuse"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "amaze" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "amuse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #204,413 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "amaze" and "amuse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "amuse vs amuses". 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 #204,413 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.