# competing vs complying

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### competing
*adjective · IPA /kəmˈpiːtɪŋ/ · frequency rank #4,931*
Being in the state of competition (often unintentionally).

### complying
*adjective · IPA /kəmˈplaɪ.ɪŋ/ · frequency rank #22,040*
That complies

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/competing-vs-complying