Which to use
“constitute” and “constitutes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,915
- “constitute” frequency rank
- #10,833
- “constitutes” frequency rank
- 19748
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | constitute | constitutes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To set up; to establish; to enact. | third-person singular simple present indicative of constitute |
Where the eye mixes constitute and constitutes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses constitute with constitutes
A purely visual mix-up. constitute (/ˈkɒnstɪtjuːt/) and constitutes (/ˈkɑnstɪtuts/) 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) - “constitute” sits inside “constitutes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19748, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
constitute is recorded at frequency rank #8,915, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈkɒnstɪtjuːt/. constitutes is at rank #10,833, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈkɑnstɪtuts/.
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 19748, this pair ranks #436,002 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of constitute vs constitutes
Shared letters: ceinostu. Private to "constitute": -. Private to "constitutes": -.
"constitute" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCV · "constitutes" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- constitute ← cconstitute · cnostitute · connstitute · consittute · consstitute · constittue · constittute · constituet
- constitutes ← cconstitutes · cnostitutes · connstitutes · consittutes · consstitutes · constittues · constittutes · constituets
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "constitute" and "constitutes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "constitute" or "constitutes"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "constitute" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "constitutes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #436,002 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "constitute" and "constitutes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "constitute vs constitutive". 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 #436,002 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.