Which to use
“arousal” is a noun and “arouse” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24,659
- “arousal” frequency rank
- #32,680
- “arouse” frequency rank
- 57339
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arousal | arouse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The act of arousing or the state of being aroused. | To stimulate or induce (feelings); pique. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set arousal and arouse apart are highlighted. They share 5 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: arousal is /əˈɹaʊzəl/ while arouse is /əˈɹaʊz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57339, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
arousal is recorded at frequency rank #24,659, classified as anoun, pronounced /əˈɹaʊzəl/. arouse is at rank #32,680, tagged as averb, pronounced /əˈɹaʊz/.
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 57339, this pair ranks #120,005 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of arousal vs arouse
Shared letters: aorsu. Private to "arousal": l. Private to "arouse": e.
"arousal" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC · "arouse" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "arousal" and "arouse" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "arousal" or "arouse"?
Remembering arousal vs arouse
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “arousal”; for a verb, it's “arouse”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “arousal” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable