Which to use
“amuse” and “amuses” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,652
- “amuse” frequency rank
- #48,056
- “amuses” frequency rank
- 72708
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | amuse | amuses |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To entertain or occupy (someone or something) in a pleasant manner; to stir (someone) with pleasing emotions. | third-person singular simple present indicative of amuse |
Where the eye mixes amuse and amuses
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. amuse runs 5 letters (VCVCV) against amuses's 6 (VCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between amuse and amuses
A purely visual mix-up. amuse (/əˈmjuːz/) and amuses (/əˈmjuːzɪz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “amuse” sits inside “amuses”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72708, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
amuse is recorded at frequency rank #24,652, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈmjuːz/. 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 72708, this pair ranks #42,143 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of amuse vs amuses
Shared letters: aemsu. Private to "amuse": -. Private to "amuses": -.
"amuse" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "amuses" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "amuse" for "amuses" ever safe?
Frequency check: "amuse" vs "amuses" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "amuse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "amuses" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #42,143 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "amuse" and "amuses" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "amulets 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 #42,143 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.