connotationvsconvocationWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“connotation” and “convocation” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#31,119
“connotation” frequency rank
#33,189
“convocation” frequency rank
64308
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature connotation convocation
Definition A meaning of a word or phrase that is suggested or implied, as opposed to a denotation, or literal meaning. A characteristic of words or phrases, or of the contexts that words and phrases are used in. The act of calling or assembling by summons.

Letter map: connotation vs convocation

Shared letters muted; letters that set connotation and convocation apart highlighted. Shared run: 9.

11 ch
connotation
11 ch
convocation

Pair insight - connotation / convocation

connotation and convocation are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64308, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

connotation is recorded at frequency rank #31,119, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˌkɒnəˈteɪʃən/. convocation is at rank #33,189, tagged as anoun.

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 64308, this pair ranks #78,418 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of connotation vs convocation

Shared letters: acinot. Private to "connotation": -. Private to "convocation": v.

"connotation" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVVC  ·  "convocation" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • connotationcconnotation · cnonotation · connoattion · connotaiton · connotasion · connotatino · connotationn · connotatoin
  • convocationcconvocation · cnovocation · connvocation · conovcation · convcoation · convoaction · convocaiton · convocasion

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "connotation" and "convocation" be used interchangeably?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "connotation" or "convocation"?
"connotation" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,119 in our English list, against #33,189 for "convocation". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pair "connotation" vs "convocation" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "connotation" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "convocation" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #78,418 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "connotation" and "convocation" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "concoction vs convocation". 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 #78,418 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