feelvsfleesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#201
“feel” frequency rank
#33,653
“flees” frequency rank
33854
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature feel flees
Definition To use or experience the sense of touch. third-person singular simple present indicative of flee

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set feel and flees apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
feel
5 ch
flees

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

feel and flees form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33854, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

feel is recorded at frequency rank #201, classified as averb, pronounced /fiːl/. flees is at rank #33,653, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈfliːz/.

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 33854, this pair ranks #325,822 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

feel#201
flees#33,653

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "feel" and "flees" be used interchangeably?
No, "feel" and "flees" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering feel vs flees

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “feel” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list