Which to use
“conceal” and “concede” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,496
- “conceal” frequency rank
- #15,370
- “concede” frequency rank
- 29866
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | conceal | concede |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To hide something from view or from public knowledge, to try to keep something secret. | To yield or suffer; to surrender; to grant |
Where the eye mixes conceal and concede
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. conceal (CVCCVVC) and concede (CVCCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between conceal and concede
A purely visual mix-up. conceal (/kənˈsiːl/) and concede (/kənˈsiːd/) 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 29866, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
conceal is recorded at frequency rank #14,496, classified as averb, pronounced /kənˈsiːl/. concede is at rank #15,370, tagged as averb, pronounced /kənˈsiːd/.
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 29866, this pair ranks #359,386 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of conceal vs concede
Shared letters: ceno. Private to "conceal": al. Private to "concede": d.
"conceal" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "concede" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "conceal" and "concede" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "conceal" vs "concede" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "conceal" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "concede" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #359,386 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "conceal" and "concede" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "concede vs conde". 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 #359,386 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.