conflictvsconvictTell them apart

Quick tell: conflict is a noun, convict is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“conflict” is a noun and “convict” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,285
“conflict” frequency rank
#13,693
“convict” frequency rank
15978
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature conflict convict
Definition A clash or disagreement, often violent, between two or more opposing groups or individuals. To find guilty, as a result of legal proceedings, or (informal) in a moral sense.

Where the eye mixes conflict and convict

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
conflict
7 ch
convict

Why the eye confuses conflict with convict

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: conflict is /ˈkɒn.flɪkt/ while convict is /kənˈvɪkt/. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15978, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

conflict is recorded at frequency rank #2,285, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɒn.flɪkt/. convict is at rank #13,693, tagged as averb, pronounced /kənˈvɪkt/.

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 15978, this pair ranks #460,648 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of conflict vs convict

Shared letters: cinot. Private to "conflict": fl. Private to "convict": v.

"conflict" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC  ·  "convict" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • conflictcconflict · cnoflict · cofnlict · confflict · confilct · conflcit · conflicct · conflictt
  • convictcconvict · cnovict · conivct · connvict · convcit · convicct · convictt · convitc

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "conflict" and "convict" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "conflict" is a noun and "convict" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "conflict" vs "convict" - which ranks higher?
"conflict" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,285 in our English list, against #13,693 for "convict". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "conflict" and "convict" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "conflict" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "convict" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #460,648 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "conflict" and "convict" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "convent vs convict". 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 #460,648 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