Which to use
“dill” is a noun and “droll” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,033
- “dill” frequency rank
- #48,203
- “droll” frequency rank
- 73236
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dill | droll |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Anethum graveolens (the type species of the genus Anethum), a herb, the seeds of which are moderately warming, pungent, and aromatic, formerly used as a soothing medicine for children; also known as dillseed. | Oddly humorous; whimsical, amusing in a quaint way; waggish. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dill and droll apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dill is /dɪl/ while droll is /dɹəʊl/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73236, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dill is recorded at frequency rank #25,033, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɪl/. droll is at rank #48,203, tagged as anadj, pronounced /dɹəʊl/.
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 73236, this pair ranks #40,304 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of dill vs droll
Shared letters: dl. Private to "dill": i. Private to "droll": or.
"dill" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "droll" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dill" and "droll" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "dill" or "droll"?
Remembering dill vs droll
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “dill”; for an adjective, it's “droll”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dill” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable