Which to use
“distance” and “distaste” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,479
- “distance” frequency rank
- #31,956
- “distaste” frequency rank
- 33435
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | distance | distaste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An amount of space between points (often geographical points), usually (but not necessarily) measured along a straight line. | A feeling of dislike, aversion or antipathy. |
Where the eye mixes distance and distaste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. distance and distaste follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between distance and distaste
A purely visual mix-up. distance (/ˈdɪst(ə)n(t)s/) and distaste (/dɪsˈteɪst/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33435, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
distance is recorded at frequency rank #1,479, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈdɪst(ə)n(t)s/. distaste is at rank #31,956, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɪsˈteɪst/.
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 33435, this pair ranks #329,493 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of distance vs distaste
Shared letters: adeist. Private to "distance": cn. Private to "distaste": -.
"distance" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "distaste" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "distance" for "distaste" ever safe?
Which is more common, "distance" or "distaste"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "distance" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "distaste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #329,493 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "distance" and "distaste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dictate vs distaste". 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 #329,493 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.