bodesvsbolusWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#48,094
“bodes” frequency rank
#46,942
“bolus” frequency rank
95036
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bodes bolus
Definition plural of bode A round mass of something, especially of chewed food in the mouth or alimentary canal.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bodes and bolus apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
bodes
5 ch
bolus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. bodes (/bəʊdz/) and bolus (/ˈbəʊləs/) 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 95036, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bodes is recorded at frequency rank #48,094, classified as anoun, pronounced /bəʊdz/. bolus is at rank #46,942, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈbəʊləs/.

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 95036, this pair ranks #1,105 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bodes vs bolus

Shared letters: bos. Private to "bodes": de. Private to "bolus": lu.

"bodes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "bolus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bodesbbodes · bdoes · boddes · bodess · bodse · boeds · obdes
  • bolusbbolus · blous · bollus · bolsu · boluss · bouls · oblus

Frequency comparison

bodes#48,094
bolus#46,942

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bodes" and "bolus" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/bəʊdz/ versus /ˈbəʊləs/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bodes" or "bolus"?
"bolus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #46,942 in our English list, against #48,094 for "bodes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering bodes vs bolus

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 “bodes” 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