Which to use
“incur” and “injure” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,620
- “incur” frequency rank
- #20,392
- “injure” frequency rank
- 40012
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | incur | injure |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To bring upon oneself or expose oneself to, especially something inconvenient, harmful, or onerous; to become liable or subject to. | To wound or cause physical harm to a living creature. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set incur and injure apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. incur (/ɪnˈkɜː/) and injure (/ˈɪn.d͡ʒɚ/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40012, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
incur is recorded at frequency rank #19,620, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈkɜː/. injure is at rank #20,392, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈɪn.d͡ʒɚ/.
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 40012, this pair ranks #271,463 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of incur vs injure
Shared letters: inru. Private to "incur": c. Private to "injure": ej.
"incur" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "injure" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "incur" and "injure" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "incur" or "injure"?
Remembering incur vs injure
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 “incur” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable