ignite vs ignore, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“ignite” and “ignore” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#18,343
“ignite” frequency rank: #3,109
“ignore” frequency rank: 21452
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	ignite	ignore
Definition	to set fire to (something), to light (something)	To deliberately not listen or pay attention to.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ignite and ignore apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

ignite

6 ch

ignore

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ignite (/ɪɡˈnaɪt/) and ignore (/ɪɡˈnɔː/) 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 21452, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ignite is recorded at frequency rank #18,343, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪɡˈnaɪt/. ignore is at rank #3,109, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪɡˈnɔː/.

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 21452, this pair ranks #423,811 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ignite vs ignore

Shared letters: egin. Private to "ignite": t. Private to "ignore": or.

"ignite" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "ignore" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

ignite ← ginite · iggnite · iginte · igniet · ignitte · ignnite · igntie · ingite
ignore ← ginore · iggnore · ignnore · ignoer · ignorre · ignroe · igonre · ingore

Frequency comparison

ignite#18,343

ignore#3,109

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ignite" and "ignore" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ɪɡˈnaɪt/ versus /ɪɡˈnɔː/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "ignite" or "ignore"?

"ignore" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,109 in our English list, against #18,343 for "ignite". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ignite vs ignore

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ignite” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable