eekvsexesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: eek is a intj, exes is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“eek” is an intj and “exes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#42,622
“eek” frequency rank
#26,415
“exes” frequency rank
69037
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature eek exes
Definition Representing a scream or shriek (especially in comic strips and books). plural of ex

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set eek and exes apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
eek
4 ch
exes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eek is /iːk/ while exes is /ˈɛksəz/. 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 (intj vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69037, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

eek is recorded at frequency rank #42,622, classified as anintj, pronounced /iːk/. exes is at rank #26,415, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɛksəz/.

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 69037, this pair ranks #56,273 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of eek vs exes

Shared letters: e. Private to "eek": k. Private to "exes": sx.

"eek" · 3 letters · shape VVC  ·  "exes" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • exeseexs · exess · exse · exxes · xees

Frequency comparison

eek#42,622
exes#26,415

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "eek" and "exes" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "eek" is an intj and "exes" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "eek" or "exes"?
"exes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,415 in our English list, against #42,622 for "eek". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering eek vs exes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an intj, it's “eek”; for a noun, it's “exes”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “eek” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list