Which to use
“foresight” and “fortnight” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,543
- “foresight” frequency rank
- #16,920
- “fortnight” frequency rank
- 40463
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | foresight | fortnight |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The ability, or the due use of one's ability, to foresee or prepare wisely for the future. | A period of 2 weeks. |
Where the eye mixes foresight and fortnight
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: foresight vs fortnight
A purely visual mix-up. foresight (/ˈfɔɹsaɪt/) and fortnight (/ˈfɔːt.naɪt/) 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 40463, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
foresight is recorded at frequency rank #23,543, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈfɔɹsaɪt/. fortnight is at rank #16,920, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈfɔːt.naɪt/.
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 40463, this pair ranks #267,367 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of foresight vs fortnight
Shared letters: fghiort. Private to "foresight": es. Private to "fortnight": n.
"foresight" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCCC · "fortnight" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "foresight" for "fortnight" ever safe?
Which is more common, "foresight" or "fortnight"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "foresight" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fortnight" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #267,367 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "foresight" and "fortnight" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "firefight vs foresight". 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 #267,367 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.