entropyvsentryWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,106
“entropy” frequency rank
#2,152
“entry” frequency rank
22258
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entropy entry
Definition A measure of the disorder present in a system. The act of entering.

Where the eye mixes entropy and entry

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
entropy
5 ch
entry

Visual trap between entropy and entry

A purely visual mix-up. entropy (/ˈɛntɹəpi/) and entry (/ˈɛntɹi/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22258, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entropy is recorded at frequency rank #20,106, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɛntɹəpi/. entry is at rank #2,152, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɛntɹi/.

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 22258, this pair ranks #417,907 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of entropy vs entry

Shared letters: enrty. Private to "entropy": op. Private to "entry": -.

"entropy" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV  ·  "entry" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entropyenntropy · enrtopy · entorpy · entroppy · entropyy · entroyp · entrpoy · entrropy
  • entryenntry · enrty · entrry · entryy · enttry · entyr · etnry · netry

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "entropy" and "entry" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈɛntɹəpi/ versus /ˈɛntɹi/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "entropy" vs "entry" - which ranks higher?
"entry" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,152 in our English list, against #20,106 for "entropy". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "entropy" and "entry" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "entropy" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "entry" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #417,907 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entropy" and "entry" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eatery vs entry". 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 #417,907 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list