Which to use
“covet” and “cower” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,095
- “covet” frequency rank
- #49,846
- “cower” frequency rank
- 85941
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | covet | cower |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To wish for with eagerness; to desire possession of, often enviously. | To crouch or cringe, or to avoid or shy away from something, in fear. |
Where the eye mixes covet and cower
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. covet and cower follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses covet with cower
A purely visual mix-up. covet (/ˈkʌvɪt/) and cower (/ˈkaʊɚ/) 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 85941, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
covet is recorded at frequency rank #36,095, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈkʌvɪt/. cower is at rank #49,846, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈkaʊɚ/.
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 85941, this pair ranks #9,640 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of covet vs cower
Shared letters: ceo. Private to "covet": tv. Private to "cower": rw.
"covet" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "cower" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "covet" and "cower" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "covet" vs "cower" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "covet" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cower" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #9,640 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "covet" and "cower" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cower vs Cowper". 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 #9,640 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.