Which to use
“except” is a verb and “exempt” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,017
- “except” frequency rank
- #9,889
- “exempt” frequency rank
- 10906
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | except | exempt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To exclude; to specify as being an exception. | Free from a duty, obligation, rule, law, etc. |
Where the eye mixes except and exempt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: except is /ɪkˈsɛpt/ while exempt is /ɪɡˈzɛmpt/. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10906, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
except is recorded at frequency rank #1,017, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪkˈsɛpt/. exempt is at rank #9,889, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɪɡˈzɛmpt/.
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 10906, this pair ranks #489,887 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of except vs exempt
Shared letters: eptx. Private to "except": c. Private to "exempt": m.
"except" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "exempt" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCC