Which to use
“cognition” and “condition” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,521
- “cognition” frequency rank
- #1,450
- “condition” frequency rank
- 19971
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cognition | condition |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The process of knowing, of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought and through the senses. | A state or quality. |
Where the eye mixes cognition and condition
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between cognition and condition
A purely visual mix-up. cognition (/kɒɡˈnɪʃ.ən/) and condition (/kənˈdɪʃ(ə)n/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19971, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cognition is recorded at frequency rank #18,521, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɒɡˈnɪʃ.ən/. condition is at rank #1,450, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kənˈdɪʃ(ə)n/.
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 19971, this pair ranks #434,417 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cognition vs condition
Shared letters: cinot. Private to "cognition": g. Private to "condition": d.
"cognition" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC · "condition" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cognition" for "condition" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cognition" vs "condition" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cognition" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "condition" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #434,417 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cognition" and "condition" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "condition vs contrition". 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 #434,417 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.