Which to use
“Dougherty” is a name and “doughty” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,113
- “Dougherty” frequency rank
- #35,694
- “doughty” frequency rank
- 71807
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Dougherty | doughty |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A surname from Irish. | Bold; brave, courageous. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Dougherty and doughty apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Dougherty is aname and doughtyanadjective. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71807, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Dougherty is recorded at frequency rank #36,113, classified as aname. doughty is at rank #35,694, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈdaʊti/.
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 71807, this pair ranks #45,320 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Dougherty vs doughty
Shared letters: dghotuy. Private to "Dougherty": er. Private to "doughty": -.
"Dougherty" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCVCCV · "doughty" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Dougherty" and "doughty" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Dougherty" or "doughty"?
Remembering Dougherty vs doughty
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Dougherty”; for an adjective, it's “doughty”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Dougherty” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable