Which to use
“approve” is a verb and “approx” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,208
- “approve” frequency rank
- #14,693
- “approx” frequency rank
- 20901
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | approve | approx |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To officially sanction; to ratify; to confirm; to set as satisfactory. | Alternative spelling of approx.. |
Letter map: approve vs approx
Shared letters muted; letters that set approve and approx apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.
Part-of-speech tell for approve / approx
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: approve is averb and approxanadverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20901, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
approve is recorded at frequency rank #6,208, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈpɹuːv/. approx is at rank #14,693, tagged as anadv.
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 20901, this pair ranks #427,851 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of approve vs approx
Shared letters: aopr. Private to "approve": ev. Private to "approx": x.
"approve" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV · "approx" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "approve" for "approx" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "approve" or "approx" show up more?
What to do next
You've compared "approve" and "approx". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "approve" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "approx" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #427,851 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "approve" and "approx" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "approx vs apron". 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 #427,851 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.