Which to use
“bates” is a verb and “blazes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,189
- “bates” frequency rank
- #37,827
- “blazes” frequency rank
- 50016
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bates | blazes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of bate | plural of blaze |
Where the eye mixes bates and blazes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: bates vs blazes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bates is /beɪts/ while blazes is /ˈbleɪzɪz/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50016, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bates is recorded at frequency rank #12,189, classified as averb, pronounced /beɪts/. blazes is at rank #37,827, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈbleɪzɪz/.
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 50016, this pair ranks #178,141 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bates vs blazes
Shared letters: abes. Private to "bates": t. Private to "blazes": lz.
"bates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "blazes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bates" and "blazes" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "bates" or "blazes"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bates" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "blazes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #178,141 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bates" and "blazes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bladed vs blazes". 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 #178,141 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.