Which to use
“ICC” is a name and “ill” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,257
- “ICC” frequency rank
- #1,946
- “ill” frequency rank
- 14203
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ICC | ill |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Initialism of International Criminal Court. | Evil; wicked (of people). |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ICC and ill apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter 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: ICC is /ˈʔajsisi/ while ill is /ɪl/. 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 (name vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14203, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ICC is recorded at frequency rank #12,257, classified as aname, pronounced /ˈʔajsisi/. ill is at rank #1,946, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɪl/.
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 14203, this pair ranks #471,465 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ICC vs ill
Shared letters: i. Private to "ICC": c. Private to "ill": l.
"ICC" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "ill" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ICC" and "ill" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ICC" or "ill"?
Remembering ICC vs ill
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “ICC”; for an adjective, it's “ill”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ICC” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable