inclusionvsintrusionWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,921
“inclusion” frequency rank
#16,733
“intrusion” frequency rank
23654
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature inclusion intrusion
Definition An addition or annex to a group, set, or total. The forcible inclusion or entry of an external group or individual; the act of intruding.

Where the eye mixes inclusion and intrusion

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. inclusion and intrusion follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
inclusion
9 ch
intrusion

Look-alike desk: inclusion vs intrusion

A purely visual mix-up. inclusion (/ɪnˈkluːʒən/) and intrusion (/ɪnˈtɹuːʒən/) 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 23654, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

inclusion is recorded at frequency rank #6,921, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɪnˈkluːʒən/. intrusion is at rank #16,733, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɪnˈtɹuːʒən/.

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 23654, this pair ranks #407,736 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of inclusion vs intrusion

Shared letters: inosu. Private to "inclusion": cl. Private to "intrusion": rt.

"inclusion" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCVVC  ·  "intrusion" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • inclusion ← icnlusion · incclusion · incllusion · inclsuion · incluison · inclusino · inclusionn · inclusoin
  • intrusion ← inntrusion · inrtusion · intrrusion · intrsuion · intruison · intrusino · intrusionn · intrusoin

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "inclusion" for "intrusion" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ɪnˈkluːʒən/ versus /ɪnˈtɹuːʒən/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "inclusion" or "intrusion"?
"inclusion" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,921 in our English list, against #16,733 for "intrusion". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "inclusion" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "intrusion" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #407,736 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "inclusion" and "intrusion" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "inclusion vs incursion". 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 #407,736 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list