Which to use
“annoy” is a verb and “annoys” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,747
- “annoy” frequency rank
- #19,011
- “annoys” frequency rank
- 34758
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | annoy | annoys |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To disturb or irritate, especially by continued or repeated acts; to bother with unpleasant deeds. | plural of annoy |
Where the eye mixes annoy and annoys
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. annoy runs 5 letters (VCCVV) against annoys's 6 (VCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses annoy with annoys
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: annoy is /əˈnɔɪ/ while annoys is /əˈnɔɪz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “annoy” sits inside “annoys”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34758, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
annoy is recorded at frequency rank #15,747, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈnɔɪ/. annoys is at rank #19,011, tagged as anoun, pronounced /əˈnɔɪz/.
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 34758, this pair ranks #317,979 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of annoy vs annoys
Shared letters: anoy. Private to "annoy": -. Private to "annoys": s.
"annoy" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV · "annoys" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "annoy" and "annoys" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "annoy" vs "annoys" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "annoy" and "annoys" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "annoy" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "annoys" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #317,979 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "annoy" and "annoys" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Anjou vs annoy". 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 #317,979 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.