Which to use
“contempt” is a noun and “content” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,520
- “contempt” frequency rank
- #1,071
- “content” frequency rank
- 11591
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contempt | content |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The state or act of contemning; the feeling or attitude of regarding someone or something as inferior, base, or worthless; scorn, disdain. | Satisfied, pleased, contented. |
Where the eye mixes contempt and content
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between contempt and content
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contempt is /kənˈtɛmpt/ while content is /kənˈtɛnt/. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11591, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contempt is recorded at frequency rank #10,520, classified as anoun, pronounced /kənˈtɛmpt/. content is at rank #1,071, tagged as anadj, pronounced /kənˈtɛnt/.
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 11591, this pair ranks #486,212 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contempt vs content
Shared letters: cenot. Private to "contempt": mp. Private to "content": -.
"contempt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC · "content" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "contempt" and "content" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "contempt" or "content"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "contempt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "content" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #486,212 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contempt" and "content" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cogent vs content". 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 #486,212 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.