Which to use
“dates” and “daze” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,783
- “dates” frequency rank
- #33,197
- “daze” frequency rank
- 35980
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dates | daze |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of date | The state of being dazed |
Where the eye mixes dates and daze
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses dates with daze
A purely visual mix-up. dates (/deɪts/) and daze (/deɪz/) 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 35980, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dates is recorded at frequency rank #2,783, classified as anoun, pronounced /deɪts/. daze is at rank #33,197, tagged as anoun, pronounced /deɪz/.
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 35980, this pair ranks #307,249 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dates vs daze
Shared letters: ade. Private to "dates": st. Private to "daze": z.
"dates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "daze" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dates" for "daze" ever safe?
Which is more common, "dates" or "daze"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "dates" and "daze" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "dates" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "daze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #307,249 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dates" and "daze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "daze vs Druze". 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 #307,249 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.