Which to use
“faeces” is a noun and “frees” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,118
- “faeces” frequency rank
- #22,978
- “frees” frequency rank
- 64096
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | faeces | frees |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Alternative spelling of feces. | third-person singular simple present indicative of free |
Letter map: faeces vs frees
Shared letters muted; letters that set faeces and frees apart highlighted. Shared run: 4. faeces runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against frees's 5 (CCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Grammar separator: faeces vs frees
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: faeces is anoun and freesaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64096, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
faeces is recorded at frequency rank #41,118, classified as anoun. frees is at rank #22,978, tagged as averb, pronounced /fɹiːz/.
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 64096, this pair ranks #79,500 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of faeces vs frees
Shared letters: efs. Private to "faeces": ac. Private to "frees": r.
"faeces" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "frees" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "faeces" and "frees" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "faeces" vs "frees" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
You've compared "faeces" and "frees". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "faeces" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "frees" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #79,500 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "faeces" and "frees" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "faeces vs Fawkes". 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 #79,500 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.