Which to use
“continue” and “convince” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #865
- “continue” frequency rank
- #4,592
- “convince” frequency rank
- 5457
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | continue | convince |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To proceed with (doing an activity); to prolong (an activity). | To make someone believe, or feel sure about something, especially by using logic, argument or evidence. |
Where the eye mixes continue and convince
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses continue with convince
A purely visual mix-up. continue (/kənˈtɪn.juː/) and convince (/kənˈvɪns/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5457, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
continue is recorded at frequency rank #865, classified as averb, pronounced /kənˈtɪn.juː/. convince is at rank #4,592, tagged as averb, pronounced /kənˈvɪns/.
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 5457, this pair ranks #515,273 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of continue vs convince
Shared letters: ceino. Private to "continue": tu. Private to "convince": v.
"continue" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV · "convince" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "continue" for "convince" ever safe?
Frequency check: "continue" vs "convince" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "continue" and "convince" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "continue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "convince" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #515,273 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "continue" and "convince" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "confine vs convince". 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 #515,273 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.