Which to use
“condom” and “cordon” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,947
- “condom” frequency rank
- #24,126
- “cordon” frequency rank
- 37073
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | condom | cordon |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A flexible sleeve made of latex or other impermeable material such as polyurethane or sheepskin, worn over an erect penis during sexual intercourse as a contraceptive or as a way to prevent the spread of STIs during PIV, anal, or oral. | A ribbon normally worn diagonally across the chest as a decoration or insignia of rank etc. |
Where the eye mixes condom and cordon
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses condom with cordon
A purely visual mix-up. condom (/ˈkɒn.dɒm/) and cordon (/ˈkɔː(ɹ)dən/) 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 37073, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
condom is recorded at frequency rank #12,947, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɒn.dɒm/. cordon is at rank #24,126, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɔː(ɹ)dən/.
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 37073, this pair ranks #297,668 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of condom vs cordon
Shared letters: cdno. Private to "condom": m. Private to "cordon": r.
"condom" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "cordon" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "condom" for "cordon" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "condom" or "cordon" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "condom" and "cordon" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "condom" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cordon" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #297,668 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "condom" and "cordon" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Colson vs cordon". 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 #297,668 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.