cogentvscontWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: cogent is a adjective, cont is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“cogent” is an adjective and “cont” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#41,053
“cogent” frequency rank
#20,320
“cont” frequency rank
61373
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cogent cont
Definition Reasonable and convincing; based on evidence. Abbreviation of continue.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cogent and cont apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
cogent
4 ch
cont

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: cogent is anadjective and contaverb. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61373, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cogent is recorded at frequency rank #41,053, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈkəʊd͡ʒn̩t/. cont is at rank #20,320, tagged as averb.

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 61373, this pair ranks #94,708 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of cogent vs cont

Shared letters: cnot. Private to "cogent": eg. Private to "cont": -.

"cogent" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "cont" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cogentccogent · cgoent · coegnt · cogennt · cogentt · cogetn · coggent · cognet
  • contccont · cnot · connt · contt · cotn · ocnt

Frequency comparison

cogent#41,053
cont#20,320

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cogent" and "cont" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cogent" is an adjective and "cont" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "cogent" or "cont"?
"cont" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,320 in our English list, against #41,053 for "cogent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cogent vs cont

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “cogent”; for a verb, it's “cont”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cogent” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list