Which to use
“clemency” is a noun and “clement” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,971
- “clemency” frequency rank
- #16,436
- “clement” frequency rank
- 46407
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clemency | clement |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The gentle or kind exercise of power; leniency, mercy; compassion in judging or punishing. | Lenient or merciful; charitable. |
Where the eye mixes clemency and clement
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: clemency vs clement
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: clemency is /ˈklɛ.mən.si/ while clement is /ˈklɛmənt/. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46407, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clemency is recorded at frequency rank #29,971, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈklɛ.mən.si/. clement is at rank #16,436, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈklɛmənt/.
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 46407, this pair ranks #212,032 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of clemency vs clement
Shared letters: celmn. Private to "clemency": y. Private to "clement": t.
"clemency" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCCV · "clement" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "clemency" and "clement" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "clemency" or "clement"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "clemency" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clement" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #212,032 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clemency" and "clement" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "casement vs clement". 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 #212,032 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.