Which to use
“bear” and “bevy” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,985
- “bear” frequency rank
- #49,788
- “bevy” frequency rank
- 51773
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bear | bevy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A large, generally omnivorous mammal (a few species are purely carnivorous or herbivorous), having shaggy fur, a very small tail, and flat feet; a member of the family Ursidae. | A group of animals, particularly quail. |
Where the eye mixes bear and bevy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. bear (CVVC) and bevy (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses bear with bevy
A purely visual mix-up. bear (/bɛə/) and bevy (/ˈbɛvi/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51773, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bear is recorded at frequency rank #1,985, classified as anoun, pronounced /bɛə/. bevy is at rank #49,788, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈbɛvi/.
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 51773, this pair ranks #162,634 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bear vs bevy
Shared letters: be. Private to "bear": ar. Private to "bevy": vy.
"bear" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "bevy" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bear" for "bevy" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "bear" or "bevy" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bear" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bevy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #162,634 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bear" and "bevy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bendy vs bevy". 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 #162,634 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.