Which to use
“blacks” and “blinks” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,577
- “blacks” frequency rank
- #38,310
- “blinks” frequency rank
- 43887
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | blacks | blinks |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of black | a herbaceous annual plant of species Montia fontana, in the family Montiaceae, formerly included in the purslane family (Portulacaceae). |
Where the eye mixes blacks and blinks
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: blacks vs blinks
A purely visual mix-up. blacks (/blæks/) and blinks (/blɪŋks/) 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 43887, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
blacks is recorded at frequency rank #5,577, classified as anoun, pronounced /blæks/. blinks is at rank #38,310, tagged as anoun, pronounced /blɪŋks/.
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 43887, this pair ranks #235,739 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of blacks vs blinks
Shared letters: bkls. Private to "blacks": ac. Private to "blinks": in.
"blacks" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC · "blinks" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "blacks" and "blinks" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "blacks" or "blinks" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "blacks" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "blinks" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #235,739 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "blacks" and "blinks" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "blinks vs bunks". 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 #235,739 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.