Which to use
“clause” is a noun and “cleanse” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,205
- “clause” frequency rank
- #15,586
- “cleanse” frequency rank
- 22791
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clause | cleanse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A group of words that contains a subject and a verb; it may be part of a sentence or may constitute the whole sentence, depending on the syntax in each instance. | To free from dirt; to clean, to purify. |
Where the eye mixes clause and cleanse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses clause with cleanse
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: clause is /klɔːz/ while cleanse is /klɛnz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22791, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clause is recorded at frequency rank #7,205, classified as anoun, pronounced /klɔːz/. cleanse is at rank #15,586, tagged as averb, pronounced /klɛnz/.
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 22791, this pair ranks #413,987 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of clause vs cleanse
Shared letters: acels. Private to "clause": u. Private to "cleanse": n.
"clause" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "cleanse" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "clause" and "cleanse" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "clause" or "cleanse" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "clause" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cleanse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #413,987 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clause" and "cleanse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chaise vs clause". 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 #413,987 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.