blindvsblinksWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: blind is a adjective, blinks is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“blind” is an adjective and “blinks” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,879
“blind” frequency rank
#38,310
“blinks” frequency rank
41189
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature blind blinks
Definition Unable to see, or only partially able to see. 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 blind and blinks apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
blind
6 ch
blinks

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

blind 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41189, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

blind is recorded at frequency rank #2,879, classified as anadj, pronounced /blaɪnd/. 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 41189, this pair ranks #260,733 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

blind#2,879
blinks#38,310

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "blind" and "blinks" be used interchangeably?
No, "blind" 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 blind vs blinks

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “blind”; for a noun, it's “blinks”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “blind” 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