conditionvsconvictionConfusable pair

Which to use

“condition” and “conviction” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,450
“condition” frequency rank
#5,668
“conviction” frequency rank
7118
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature condition conviction
Definition A state or quality. A firmly held belief.

Where the eye mixes condition and conviction

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

9 ch
condition
10 ch
conviction

Why the eye confuses condition with conviction

A purely visual mix-up. condition (/kənˈdɪʃ(ə)n/) and conviction (/kənˈvɪk.ʃən/) 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 7118, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

condition is recorded at frequency rank #1,450, classified as anoun, pronounced /kənˈdɪʃ(ə)n/. conviction is at rank #5,668, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kənˈvɪk.ʃən/.

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 7118, this pair ranks #508,495 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of condition vs conviction

Shared letters: cinot. Private to "condition": d. Private to "conviction": v.

"condition" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC  ·  "conviction" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • conditionccondition · cnodition · codnition · conddition · condiiton · condision · conditino · conditionn
  • convictioncconviction · cnoviction · conivction · connviction · convcition · convicction · conviciton · convicsion

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "condition" for "conviction" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/kənˈdɪʃ(ə)n/ versus /kənˈvɪk.ʃən/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "condition" vs "conviction" - which ranks higher?
"condition" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,450 in our English list, against #5,668 for "conviction". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "condition" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "conviction" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #508,495 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "condition" and "conviction" 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 #508,495 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list