Which to use
“ceases” and “closes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,872
- “ceases” frequency rank
- #7,541
- “closes” frequency rank
- 28413
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ceases | closes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of cease | third-person singular simple present indicative of close |
Where the eye mixes ceases and closes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between ceases and closes
A purely visual mix-up. ceases (/ˈsiːsɪz/) and closes (/ˈkloʊzɪz/) 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 28413, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ceases is recorded at frequency rank #20,872, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈsiːsɪz/. closes is at rank #7,541, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈkloʊzɪz/.
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 28413, this pair ranks #371,244 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ceases vs closes
Shared letters: ces. Private to "ceases": a. Private to "closes": lo.
"ceases" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "closes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ceases" and "closes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "ceases" vs "closes" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ceases" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "closes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #371,244 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ceases" and "closes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cates vs ceases". 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 #371,244 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.