Which to use
“ibis” and “ices” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,763
- “ibis” frequency rank
- #48,810
- “ices” frequency rank
- 84573
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ibis | ices |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Any of various long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, having long downcurved bills used to probe the mud for prey such as crustaceans. | plural of ice |
Where the eye mixes ibis and ices
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. ibis and ices follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: ibis vs ices
A purely visual mix-up. ibis (/ˈaɪ.bɪs/) and ices (/ˈaɪsɪz/) 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 84573, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ibis is recorded at frequency rank #35,763, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈaɪ.bɪs/. ices is at rank #48,810, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈaɪsɪz/.
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 84573, this pair ranks #11,847 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ibis vs ices
Shared letters: is. Private to "ibis": b. Private to "ices": ce.
"ibis" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "ices" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ibis" and "ices" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ibis" or "ices"?
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 "ibis" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ices" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #11,847 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ibis" and "ices" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ices vs ICJ". 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 #11,847 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.