Which to use
“exceed” and “except” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,033
- “exceed” frequency rank
- #1,017
- “except” frequency rank
- 9050
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | exceed | except |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To be larger, greater than (something). | To exclude; to specify as being an exception. |
Where the eye mixes exceed and except
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. exceed (/ɪkˈsiːd/) and except (/ɪkˈsɛpt/) 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 9050, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
exceed is recorded at frequency rank #8,033, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪkˈsiːd/. except is at rank #1,017, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪkˈsɛpt/.
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 9050, this pair ranks #499,329 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of exceed vs except
Shared letters: cex. Private to "exceed": d. Private to "except": pt.
"exceed" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC · "except" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC