Which to use
“gusts” is a noun and “gusty” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,852
- “gusts” frequency rank
- #47,664
- “gusty” frequency rank
- 71516
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gusts | gusty |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of gust | Of wind: blowing in gusts; blustery; tempestuous. |
Where the eye mixes gusts and gusty
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. gusts (CVCCC) and gusty (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses gusts with gusty
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gusts is /ɡʌsts/ while gusty is /ˈɡʌs.ti/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - s in “gusts” becomes y in “gusty”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71516, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gusts is recorded at frequency rank #23,852, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɡʌsts/. gusty is at rank #47,664, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈɡʌs.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 71516, this pair ranks #46,397 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of gusts vs gusty
Shared letters: gstu. Private to "gusts": -. Private to "gusty": y.
"gusts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "gusty" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "gusts" and "gusty" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "gusts" or "gusty"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gusts" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gusty" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #46,397 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gusts" and "gusty" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gusty vs gutsy". 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 #46,397 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.