caressesvscreasesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#46,360
“caresses” frequency rank
#41,066
“creases” frequency rank
87426
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caresses creases
Definition plural of caress plural of crease

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set caresses and creases apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
caresses
7 ch
creases

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. caresses (/kəˈɹɛsɪz/) and creases (/ˈkɹiːsɪz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 87426, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caresses is recorded at frequency rank #46,360, classified as anoun, pronounced /kəˈɹɛsɪz/. creases is at rank #41,066, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɹiːsɪz/.

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 87426, this pair ranks #7,597 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of caresses vs creases

Shared letters: acers. Private to "caresses": -. Private to "creases": -.

"caresses" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "creases" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • caressesacresses · caersses · careses · caresess · caressess · caressse · carresses · carseses
  • creasesccreases · cerases · craeses · creaess · creasess · creasses · cresaes · crreases

Frequency comparison

caresses#46,360
creases#41,066

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caresses" and "creases" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/kəˈɹɛsɪz/ versus /ˈkɹiːsɪz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "caresses" or "creases"?
"creases" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #41,066 in our English list, against #46,360 for "caresses". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering caresses vs creases

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 “caresses” 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