Which to use
“flood” is a noun and “fond” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,018
- “flood” frequency rank
- #8,424
- “fond” frequency rank
- 12442
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | flood | fond |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An overflow of a large amount of water (usually disastrous) from a lake or other body of water due to excessive rainfall or other input of water. | Having a liking or affection (for). |
Where the eye mixes flood and fond
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses flood with fond
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: flood is /flʌd/ while fond is /fɒnd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12442, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
flood is recorded at frequency rank #4,018, classified as anoun, pronounced /flʌd/. fond is at rank #8,424, tagged as anadj, pronounced /fɒnd/.
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 12442, this pair ranks #481,555 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of flood vs fond
Shared letters: dfo. Private to "flood": l. Private to "fond": n.
"flood" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "fond" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "flood" and "fond" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "flood" or "fond"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "flood" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fond" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #481,555 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "flood" and "fond" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "FOMO vs fond". 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 #481,555 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.