blendsvsblinksWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“blends” and “blinks” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#18,500
“blends” frequency rank
#38,310
“blinks” frequency rank
56810
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature blends blinks
Definition plural of blend a herbaceous annual plant of species Montia fontana, in the family Montiaceae, formerly included in the purslane family (Portulacaceae).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set blends and blinks apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
blends
6 ch
blinks

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

blends and blinks form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56810, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

blends is recorded at frequency rank #18,500, classified as anoun, pronounced /blɛndz/. 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 56810, this pair ranks #123,577 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Frequency comparison

blends#18,500
blinks#38,310

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "blends" and "blinks" be used interchangeably?
No, "blends" and "blinks" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering blends vs blinks

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “blends” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list