Which to use
“incense” is a noun and “intense” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,390
- “incense” frequency rank
- #3,698
- “intense” frequency rank
- 24088
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | incense | intense |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt, often used in religious rites or for aesthetic reasons. | Of a characteristic: extreme or very high or strong in degree; severe; also, excessive, towering. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set incense and intense apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters 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: incense is /ˈɪnsɛns/ while intense is /ɪnˈtɛns/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - c in “incense” becomes t in “intense”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24088, 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/. intense is at rank #3,698, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɪnˈtɛns/.
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 24088, this pair ranks #404,570 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of incense vs intense
Shared letters: eins. Private to "incense": c. Private to "intense": t.
"incense" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "intense" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "incense" and "intense" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "incense" or "intense"?
Remembering incense vs intense
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “incense”; for an adjective, it's “intense”.
- 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