Which to use
“compels” and “competes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,925
- “compels” frequency rank
- #21,756
- “competes” frequency rank
- 53681
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | compels | competes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of compel | third-person singular simple present indicative of compete |
Where the eye mixes compels and competes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses compels with competes
A purely visual mix-up. compels (/kəmˈpɛlz/) and competes (/kəmˈpiːts/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53681, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
compels is recorded at frequency rank #31,925, classified as averb, pronounced /kəmˈpɛlz/. competes is at rank #21,756, tagged as averb, pronounced /kəmˈpiːts/.
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 53681, this pair ranks #147,058 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of compels vs competes
Shared letters: cemops. Private to "compels": l. Private to "competes": t.
"compels" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "competes" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "compels" and "competes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "compels" vs "competes" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "compels" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "competes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #147,058 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "compels" and "competes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "compels vs compress". 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 #147,058 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.