Which to use
“clears” and “clerks” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,685
- “clears” frequency rank
- #19,290
- “clerks” frequency rank
- 32975
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clears | clerks |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A relatively strong, coarse flour that has only been sifted once. | plural of clerk |
Letter map: clears vs clerks
Shared letters muted; letters that set clears and clerks apart highlighted. Shared run: 5. clears (CCVVCC) and clerks (CCVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Spelling & dictionary notes on clears vs clerks
clears and clerks are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32975, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clears is recorded at frequency rank #13,685, classified as anoun. clerks is at rank #19,290, tagged as anoun, pronounced /klɑː(ɹ)ks/.
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 32975, this pair ranks #333,318 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of clears vs clerks
Shared letters: celrs. Private to "clears": a. Private to "clerks": k.
"clears" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC · "clerks" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "clears" for "clerks" ever safe?
Frequency check: "clears" vs "clerks" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "clears" and "clerks".
- Full dictionary entry for "clears" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clerks" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #333,318 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clears" and "clerks" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ceres vs clerks". 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 #333,318 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.