Which to use
“gaiety” is a noun and “guilty” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #48,760
- “gaiety” frequency rank
- #2,445
- “guilty” frequency rank
- 51205
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gaiety | guilty |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The state of being happy or merry. | Responsible for a dishonest act. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gaiety and guilty apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gaiety is /ˈɡeɪ.ə.ti/ while guilty is /ˈɡɪl.ti/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51205, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gaiety is recorded at frequency rank #48,760, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɡeɪ.ə.ti/. guilty is at rank #2,445, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈɡɪl.ti/.
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 51205, this pair ranks #167,447 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gaiety vs guilty
Shared letters: gity. Private to "gaiety": ae. Private to "guilty": lu.
"gaiety" · 6 letters · shape CVVVCV · "guilty" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gaiety" and "guilty" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "gaiety" or "guilty"?
Remembering gaiety vs guilty
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “gaiety”; for an adjective, it's “guilty”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gaiety” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable