Which to use
“averse” is an adjective and “Avery” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,688
- “averse” frequency rank
- #12,911
- “Avery” frequency rank
- 39599
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | averse | Avery |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Having a repugnance or opposition of mind. | A surname originating as a patronymic. |
Where the eye mixes averse and Avery
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: averse vs Avery
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: averse is /əˈvɜː(ɹ)s/ while Avery is /ˈeɪ.və.ɹi/. 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 (adjective vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39599, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
averse is recorded at frequency rank #26,688, classified as anadj, pronounced /əˈvɜː(ɹ)s/. Avery is at rank #12,911, tagged as aname, pronounced /ˈeɪ.və.ɹi/.
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 39599, this pair ranks #275,218 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of averse vs Avery
Shared letters: aerv. Private to "averse": s. Private to "Avery": y.
"averse" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV · "Avery" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "averse" for "Avery" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "averse" or "Avery" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "averse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Avery" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #275,218 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "averse" and "Avery" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "adverb vs Avery". 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 #275,218 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.