Which to use
“dull” and “dur” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,788
- “dull” frequency rank
- #39,793
- “dur” frequency rank
- 47581
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dull | dur |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp. | Major; in the major mode. |
Where the eye mixes dull and dur
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. dull (/dʌl/) and dur (/duːɹ/) 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 47581, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dull is recorded at frequency rank #7,788, classified as anadj, pronounced /dʌl/. dur is at rank #39,793, tagged as anadj, pronounced /duːɹ/.
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 47581, this pair ranks #201,092 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dull vs dur
Shared letters: du. Private to "dull": l. Private to "dur": r.
"dull" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "dur" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- dull ← ddull · dlul · dul · udll