Which to use
“conditional” is an adjective and “conditions” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,121
- “conditional” frequency rank
- #1,117
- “conditions” frequency rank
- 14238
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | conditional | conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Limited by a condition. | plural of condition. |
Where the eye mixes conditional and conditions
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses conditional with conditions
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: conditional is /kənˈdɪʃ.ə.nəl/ while conditions is /kənˈdɪʃənz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14238, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
conditional is recorded at frequency rank #13,121, classified as anadj, pronounced /kənˈdɪʃ.ə.nəl/. conditions is at rank #1,117, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kənˈdɪʃənz/.
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 14238, this pair ranks #471,223 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of conditional vs conditions
Shared letters: cdinot. Private to "conditional": al. Private to "conditions": s.
"conditional" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVVCVC · "conditions" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- conditional ← cconditional · cnoditional · codnitional · condditional · condiitonal · conditinoal · conditioanl · conditionall
- conditions ← cconditions · cnoditions · codnitions · condditions · condiitons · conditinos · conditionns · conditionss
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "conditional" and "conditions" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "conditional" or "conditions" show up more?
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 "conditional" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "conditions" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #471,223 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "conditional" and "conditions" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "conditional vs conditioner". 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 #471,223 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.