Which to use
“dimly” is an adverb and “dimple” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,420
- “dimly” frequency rank
- #40,655
- “dimple” frequency rank
- 78075
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dimly | dimple |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | In a dim manner; not clearly. | A small depression or indentation in a surface. |
Where the eye mixes dimly and dimple
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between dimly and dimple
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dimly is /ˈdɪmli/ while dimple is /ˈdɪmpəl/. 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 (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78075, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dimly is recorded at frequency rank #37,420, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈdɪmli/. dimple is at rank #40,655, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈdɪmpəl/.
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 78075, this pair ranks #25,567 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of dimly vs dimple
Shared letters: dilm. Private to "dimly": y. Private to "dimple": ep.
"dimly" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "dimple" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dimly" for "dimple" ever safe?
Which is more common, "dimly" or "dimple"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dimly" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dimple" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #25,567 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dimly" and "dimple" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dimer vs dimly". 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 #25,567 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.