Which to use
“census” and “censuses” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,198
- “census” frequency rank
- #41,545
- “censuses” frequency rank
- 46743
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | census | censuses |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An official count or enumeration of members of a population (not necessarily human), usually residents or citizens in a particular region, often done at regular intervals. | plural of census |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set census and censuses apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
census and censuses 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 2 extra letter(s) - “census” sits inside “censuses” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46743, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
census is recorded at frequency rank #5,198, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈsɛnsəs/. censuses is at rank #41,545, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈsɛn.səs.əz/.
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 46743, this pair ranks #208,897 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "census" and "censuses" be used interchangeably?
Remembering census vs censuses
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 “census” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable