Which to use
“information” is a noun and “informational” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #357
- “information” frequency rank
- #23,007
- “informational” frequency rank
- 23364
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | information | informational |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Something that provides a definitive characterization or description of the nature and attributes of a specified entity. | Designed to or able to impart information; possessing information. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set information and informational apart are highlighted. They share 11 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: information is /ˌɪn.fəˈmeɪ.ʃn̩/ while informational is /ˌɪnfəˈmeɪʃənəl/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “information” sits inside “informational”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23364, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
information is recorded at frequency rank #357, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˌɪn.fəˈmeɪ.ʃn̩/. informational is at rank #23,007, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˌɪnfəˈmeɪʃənəl/.
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 23364, this pair ranks #409,828 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of information vs informational
Shared letters: afimnort. Private to "information": -. Private to "informational": l.
"information" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVVC · "informational" · 13 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- information ← ifnormation · infformation · infomration · inforamtion · informaiton · informasion · informatino · informationn
- informational ← ifnormational · infformational · infomrational · inforamtional · informaitonal · informatinoal · informatioanl · informationall
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "information" and "informational" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "information" or "informational"?
Remembering information vs informational
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “information”; for an adjective, it's “informational”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “information” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable