enactvsevictWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,463
“enact” frequency rank
#30,031
“evict” frequency rank
46494
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature enact evict
Definition To make (a bill) into law. To expel (one or more people) from their property; to force (one or more people) to move out.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set enact and evict apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
enact
5 ch
evict

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. enact (/ɪˈnækt/) and evict (/ɨˈvɪkt/) 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 46494, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

enact is recorded at frequency rank #16,463, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪˈnækt/. evict is at rank #30,031, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɨˈvɪkt/.

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 46494, this pair ranks #211,229 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of enact vs evict

Shared letters: cet. Private to "enact": an. Private to "evict": iv.

"enact" · 5 letters · shape VCVCC  ·  "evict" · 5 letters · shape VCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • enacteanct · enacct · enactt · enatc · encat · ennact · neact
  • evicteivct · evcit · evicct · evictt · evitc · evvict · veict

Frequency comparison

enact#16,463
evict#30,031

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "enact" and "evict" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɪˈnækt/ versus /ɨˈvɪkt/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "enact" or "evict"?
"enact" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,463 in our English list, against #30,031 for "evict". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering enact vs evict

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 “enact” 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