Which to use
“Daleks” and “dames” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,748
- “Daleks” frequency rank
- #29,988
- “dames” frequency rank
- 60736
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Daleks | dames |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of Dalek | plural of dame |
Where the eye mixes Daleks and dames
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Daleks runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against dames's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Daleks and dames
A purely visual mix-up. Daleks (/ˈdɑːlɛks/) and dames (/deɪmz/) 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 60736, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Daleks is recorded at frequency rank #30,748, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈdɑːlɛks/. dames is at rank #29,988, tagged as anoun, pronounced /deɪmz/.
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 60736, this pair ranks #98,364 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Daleks vs dames
Shared letters: ades. Private to "Daleks": kl. Private to "dames": m.
"Daleks" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "dames" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Daleks" and "dames" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Daleks" vs "dames" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Daleks" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dames" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #98,364 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Daleks" and "dames" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dames vs dimer". 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 #98,364 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.