Which to use
“infusion” and “intrusion” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,869
- “infusion” frequency rank
- #16,733
- “intrusion” frequency rank
- 36602
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | infusion | intrusion |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A product consisting of a liquid which has had other ingredients steeped in it to extract useful qualities. | The forcible inclusion or entry of an external group or individual; the act of intruding. |
Where the eye mixes infusion and intrusion
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. infusion runs 8 letters (VCCVCVVC) against intrusion's 9 (VCCCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between infusion and intrusion
A purely visual mix-up. infusion (/ɪnˈfjuːʒən/) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36602, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
infusion is recorded at frequency rank #19,869, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɪnˈfjuːʒən/. 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 36602, this pair ranks #301,788 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of infusion vs intrusion
Shared letters: inosu. Private to "infusion": f. Private to "intrusion": rt.
"infusion" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVVC · "intrusion" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "infusion" and "intrusion" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "infusion" vs "intrusion" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "infusion" 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 #301,788 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "infusion" and "intrusion" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "incursion vs infusion". 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 #301,788 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.