Which to use
“ices” and “incest” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,810
- “ices” frequency rank
- #18,108
- “incest” frequency rank
- 66918
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ices | incest |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of ice | Sexual relations between close relatives, especially immediate family members and sometimes first cousins, usually considered taboo. |
Where the eye mixes ices and incest
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. ices runs 4 letters (VCVC) against incest's 6 (VCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: ices vs incest
A purely visual mix-up. ices (/ˈaɪsɪz/) and incest (/ˈɪn.sɛst/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66918, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ices is recorded at frequency rank #48,810, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈaɪsɪz/. incest is at rank #18,108, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɪn.sɛst/.
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 66918, this pair ranks #65,777 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ices vs incest
Shared letters: ceis. Private to "ices": -. Private to "incest": nt.
"ices" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "incest" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ices" and "incest" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "ices" or "incest" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ices" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "incest" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #65,777 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ices" and "incest" 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 #65,777 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.