Which to use
“grade” and “grudge” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,660
- “grade” frequency rank
- #18,842
- “grudge” frequency rank
- 20502
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | grade | grudge |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A rating. | Deep-seated and/or long-term animosity or ill will about something or someone, especially due to perceived mistreatment. |
Where the eye mixes grade and grudge
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses grade with grudge
A purely visual mix-up. grade (/ɡɹeɪd/) and grudge (/ɡɹʌd͡ʒ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20502, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
grade is recorded at frequency rank #1,660, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɡɹeɪd/. grudge is at rank #18,842, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɡɹʌd͡ʒ/.
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 20502, this pair ranks #430,657 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of grade vs grudge
Shared letters: degr. Private to "grade": a. Private to "grudge": u.
"grade" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "grudge" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "grade" for "grudge" ever safe?
Frequency check: "grade" vs "grudge" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "grade" and "grudge" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "grade" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "grudge" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #430,657 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "grade" and "grudge" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gouge vs grudge". 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 #430,657 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.