dishonorvsdishonourWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“dishonor” and “dishonour” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#33,618
“dishonor” frequency rank
#41,087
“dishonour” frequency rank
74705
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dishonor dishonour
Definition American standard spelling of dishonour. Shame or disgrace.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dishonor and dishonour apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
dishonor
9 ch
dishonour

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dishonor (/dɪsˈɑnəɹ/) and dishonour (/dɪsˈɒnə(ɹ)/) 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 74705, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dishonor is recorded at frequency rank #33,618, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɪsˈɑnəɹ/. dishonour is at rank #41,087, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɪsˈɒnə(ɹ)/.

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 74705, this pair ranks #35,489 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dishonor vs dishonour

Shared letters: dhinors. Private to "dishonor": -. Private to "dishonour": u.

"dishonor" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "dishonour" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dishonorddishonor · dihsonor · dishhonor · dishnoor · dishonnor · dishonorr · dishonro · dishoonr
  • dishonourddishonour · dihsonour · dishhonour · dishnoour · dishonnour · dishonoru · dishonourr · dishonuor

Frequency comparison

dishonor#33,618
dishonour#41,087

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dishonor" and "dishonour" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/dɪsˈɑnəɹ/ versus /dɪsˈɒnə(ɹ)/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dishonor" or "dishonour"?
"dishonor" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,618 in our English list, against #41,087 for "dishonour". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dishonor vs dishonour

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dishonor” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list