Which to use
“indict” is a verb and “indigo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,936
- “indict” frequency rank
- #19,366
- “indigo” frequency rank
- 54302
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | indict | indigo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To accuse of wrongdoing; charge. | A purplish-blue color. |
Where the eye mixes indict and indigo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. indict (VCCVCC) and indigo (VCCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: indict vs indigo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: indict is /ɪnˈdaɪt/ while indigo is /ˈɪn.dɪˌɡəʊ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54302, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
indict is recorded at frequency rank #34,936, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈdaɪt/. indigo is at rank #19,366, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɪn.dɪˌɡəʊ/.
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 54302, this pair ranks #142,140 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of indict vs indigo
Shared letters: din. Private to "indict": ct. Private to "indigo": go.
"indict" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "indigo" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "indict" and "indigo" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "indict" or "indigo"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "indict" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "indigo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #142,140 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "indict" and "indigo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "indict vs indio". 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 #142,140 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.