Which to use
“condolence” and “condolences” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,861
- “condolence” frequency rank
- #13,308
- “condolences” frequency rank
- 51169
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | condolence | condolences |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Comfort, support or sympathy. | plural of condolence |
Where the eye mixes condolence and condolences
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: condolence vs condolences
A purely visual mix-up. condolence (/kənˈdoʊləns/) and condolences (/kənˈdoʊlənsəz/) 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 extra letter(s) - “condolence” sits inside “condolences”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51169, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
condolence is recorded at frequency rank #37,861, classified as anoun, pronounced /kənˈdoʊləns/. condolences is at rank #13,308, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kənˈdoʊlənsəz/.
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 51169, this pair ranks #167,793 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of condolence vs condolences
Shared letters: cdelno. Private to "condolence": -. Private to "condolences": s.
"condolence" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCV · "condolences" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- condolence ← ccondolence · cnodolence · codnolence · conddolence · condloence · condoelnce · condolance · condolecne
- condolences ← ccondolences · cnodolences · codnolences · conddolences · condloences · condoelnces · condolecnes · condolencces
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "condolence" for "condolences" ever safe?
Frequency check: "condolence" vs "condolences" - which ranks higher?
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 "condolence" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "condolences" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #167,793 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- 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 #167,793 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.