Which to use
“amulet” is a noun and “amuses” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,159
- “amulet” frequency rank
- #48,056
- “amuses” frequency rank
- 77215
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | amulet | amuses |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A religious article, protective charm, or ornament, usually bearing cultural or magical symbols, worn for protection against ill will, negative influences, or evil spirits. | third-person singular simple present indicative of amuse |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set amulet and amuses apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: amulet is /ˈæm.jə.lɪt/ while amuses is /əˈmjuːzɪz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77215, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
amulet is recorded at frequency rank #29,159, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈæm.jə.lɪt/. amuses is at rank #48,056, tagged as averb, pronounced /əˈmjuːzɪz/.
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 77215, this pair ranks #27,865 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of amulet vs amuses
Shared letters: aemu. Private to "amulet": lt. Private to "amuses": s.
"amulet" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "amuses" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "amulet" and "amuses" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "amulet" or "amuses"?
Remembering amulet vs amuses
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “amulet”; for a verb, it's “amuses”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “amulet” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable