evolutionvsevolutionsConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#3,560
“evolution” frequency rank
#43,142
“evolutions” frequency rank
46702
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature evolution evolutions
Definition A change of position. plural of evolution

Where the eye mixes evolution and evolutions

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.

9 ch
evolution
10 ch
evolutions

Why the eye confuses evolution with evolutions

A purely visual mix-up. evolution (/ˌiːvəˈluːʃ(ə)n/) and evolutions (/ˌiːvəˈluːʃənz/) 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 extra letter(s) - “evolution” sits inside “evolutions”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46702, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

evolution is recorded at frequency rank #3,560, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˌiːvəˈluːʃ(ə)n/. evolutions is at rank #43,142, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˌiːvəˈluːʃənz/.

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 46702, this pair ranks #209,286 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of evolution vs evolutions

Shared letters: eilnotuv. Private to "evolution": -. Private to "evolutions": s.

"evolution" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCVVC  ·  "evolutions" · 10 letters · shape VCVCVCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • evolutioneovlution · evloution · evollution · evoltuion · evoluiton · evolusion · evolutino · evolutionn
  • evolutionseovlutions · evloutions · evollutions · evoltuions · evoluitons · evolutinos · evolutionns · evolutionss

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "evolution" and "evolutions" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˌiːvəˈluːʃ(ə)n/ versus /ˌiːvəˈluːʃənz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary English text, does "evolution" or "evolutions" show up more?
"evolution" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,560 in our English list, against #43,142 for "evolutions". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "evolution" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "evolutions" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #209,286 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "evolution" and "evolutions" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "evocation vs evolution". 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 #209,286 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