Which to use
“gazes” and “gives” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,480
- “gazes” frequency rank
- #991
- “gives” frequency rank
- 47471
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gazes | gives |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of gaze | third-person singular simple present indicative of give |
Where the eye mixes gazes and gives
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. gazes and gives follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses gazes with gives
A purely visual mix-up. gazes (/ˈɡeɪ.zɪz/) and gives (/ɡɪvz/) 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 47471, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gazes is recorded at frequency rank #46,480, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈɡeɪ.zɪz/. gives is at rank #991, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɡɪvz/.
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 47471, this pair ranks #202,119 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gazes vs gives
Shared letters: egs. Private to "gazes": az. Private to "gives": iv.
"gazes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "gives" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gazes" and "gives" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "gazes" or "gives"?
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 "gazes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gives" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #202,119 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gazes" and "gives" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gazes vs glazer". 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 #202,119 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.