Which to use
“encore” is a noun and “ensure” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,355
- “encore” frequency rank
- #2,039
- “ensure” frequency rank
- 19394
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | encore | ensure |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A brief extra performance, done after the main performance is complete. | To make sure or certain of something (usually some future event or condition). |
Where the eye mixes encore and ensure
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. encore and ensure follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: encore vs ensure
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: encore is /ˈɒŋkɔː/ while ensure is /ɪnˈʃɔː(ɹ)/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19394, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
encore is recorded at frequency rank #17,355, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɒŋkɔː/. ensure is at rank #2,039, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈʃɔː(ɹ)/.
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 19394, this pair ranks #438,480 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of encore vs ensure
Shared letters: enr. Private to "encore": co. Private to "ensure": su.
"encore" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "ensure" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "encore" and "ensure" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "encore" or "ensure"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "encore" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ensure" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #438,480 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "encore" and "ensure" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "encoder vs encore". 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 #438,480 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.