Which to use
“condone” is a verb and “condor” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,215
- “condone” frequency rank
- #30,375
- “condor” frequency rank
- 53590
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | condone | condor |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To forgive, excuse or overlook (something that is considered morally wrong, offensive, or generally disliked). | Either of two New World vultures, Vultur gryphus of the Andes or Gymnogyps californianus, a nearly extinct vulture of the mountains of California. |
Where the eye mixes condone and condor
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. condone runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against condor's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses condone with condor
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: condone is /kənˈdoʊn/ while condor is /ˈkɒndɔː(ɹ)/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53590, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
condone is recorded at frequency rank #23,215, classified as averb, pronounced /kənˈdoʊn/. condor is at rank #30,375, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɒndɔː(ɹ)/.
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 53590, this pair ranks #147,769 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of condone vs condor
Shared letters: cdno. Private to "condone": e. Private to "condor": r.
"condone" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "condor" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "condone" and "condor" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "condone" or "condor" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "condone" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "condor" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #147,769 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "condone" and "condor" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cond vs condor". 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 #147,769 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.