Which to use
“condense” and “condone” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,059
- “condense” frequency rank
- #23,215
- “condone” frequency rank
- 64274
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | condense | condone |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To concentrate toward the essence by making more close, compact, or dense, thereby decreasing size or volume. | To forgive, excuse or overlook (something that is considered morally wrong, offensive, or generally disliked). |
Where the eye mixes condense and condone
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses condense with condone
A purely visual mix-up. condense (/kənˈdɛns/) and condone (/kənˈdoʊn/) 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 64274, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
condense is recorded at frequency rank #41,059, classified as averb, pronounced /kənˈdɛns/. condone is at rank #23,215, tagged as averb, pronounced /kənˈdoʊn/.
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 64274, this pair ranks #78,588 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of condense vs condone
Shared letters: cdeno. Private to "condense": s. Private to "condone": -.
"condense" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "condone" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "condense" and "condone" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "condense" or "condone"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "condense" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "condone" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #78,588 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "condense" and "condone" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "condensate vs condense". 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 #78,588 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.