Which to use
“incur” and “insure” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,620
- “incur” frequency rank
- #17,164
- “insure” frequency rank
- 36784
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | incur | insure |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To bring upon oneself or expose oneself to, especially something inconvenient, harmful, or onerous; to become liable or subject to. | To provide for compensation if some specified risk occurs. Often agreed by policy (contract) to offer financial compensation in case of an accident, theft or other undesirable event. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set incur and insure 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 insure (/ɪnˈʃɔː(ɹ)/) 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 36784, 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/. insure is at rank #17,164, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈʃɔː(ɹ)/.
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 36784, this pair ranks #300,165 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of incur vs insure
Shared letters: inru. Private to "incur": c. Private to "insure": es.
"incur" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "insure" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "incur" and "insure" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "incur" or "insure"?
Remembering incur vs insure
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