Which to use
“feud” and “flue” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,598
- “feud” frequency rank
- #38,401
- “flue” frequency rank
- 50999
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | feud | flue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A state of long-standing mutual hostility. | A pipe or duct that carries gaseous combustion products away from the point of combustion (such as a furnace). |
Where the eye mixes feud and flue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. feud (CVVC) and flue (CCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses feud with flue
A purely visual mix-up. feud (/fjuːd/) and flue (/fluː/) 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 50999, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
feud is recorded at frequency rank #12,598, classified as anoun, pronounced /fjuːd/. flue is at rank #38,401, tagged as anoun, pronounced /fluː/.
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 50999, this pair ranks #169,275 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of feud vs flue
Shared letters: efu. Private to "feud": d. Private to "flue": l.
"feud" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "flue" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "feud" and "flue" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "feud" or "flue"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "feud" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "flue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #169,275 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "feud" and "flue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "flue vs fou". 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 #169,275 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.