Which to use
“barring” is a noun and “bawling” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,177
- “barring” frequency rank
- #38,749
- “bawling” frequency rank
- 54926
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | barring | bawling |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Bars; an arrangement or pattern of stripes or bars. | present participle and gerund of bawl |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set barring and bawling apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: barring is anoun and bawlingaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54926, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
barring is recorded at frequency rank #16,177, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈbɑːɹɪŋ(ɡ)/. bawling is at rank #38,749, tagged as averb.
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 54926, this pair ranks #137,431 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of barring vs bawling
Shared letters: abgin. Private to "barring": r. Private to "bawling": lw.
"barring" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "bawling" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "barring" and "bawling" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "barring" or "bawling"?
Remembering barring vs bawling
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “barring”; for a verb, it's “bawling”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “barring” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable