Which to use
“contempt” and “contest” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,520
- “contempt” frequency rank
- #2,826
- “contest” frequency rank
- 13346
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contempt | contest |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The state or act of contemning; the feeling or attitude of regarding someone or something as inferior, base, or worthless; scorn, disdain. | Controversy; debate. |
Where the eye mixes contempt and contest
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: contempt vs contest
A purely visual mix-up. contempt (/kənˈtɛmpt/) and contest (/ˈkɒn.tɛst/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13346, 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/. contest is at rank #2,826, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɒn.tɛst/.
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 13346, this pair ranks #476,344 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contempt vs contest
Shared letters: cenot. Private to "contempt": mp. Private to "contest": s.
"contempt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC · "contest" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "contempt" and "contest" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "contempt" or "contest" 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 "contempt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contest" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #476,344 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contempt" and "contest" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "conceit vs contest". 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 #476,344 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.