Which to use
“incense” is a noun and “increase” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,390
- “incense” frequency rank
- #877
- “increase” frequency rank
- 21267
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | incense | increase |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt, often used in religious rites or for aesthetic reasons. | (of a quantity, etc.) To become larger or greater, to greaten. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set incense and increase apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
incense and increase form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21267, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
incense is recorded at frequency rank #20,390, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɪnsɛns/. increase is at rank #877, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈkɹiːs/.
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 21267, this pair ranks #425,108 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "incense" and "increase" be used interchangeably?
Remembering incense vs increase
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “incense”; for a verb, it's “increase”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “incense” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable