Which to use
“inoperable” and “intolerable” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,908
- “inoperable” frequency rank
- #23,316
- “intolerable” frequency rank
- 62224
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | inoperable | intolerable |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Incapable of being successfully operated on. | Not tolerable; not capable of being borne or endured. |
Letter map: inoperable vs intolerable
Shared letters muted; letters that set inoperable and intolerable apart highlighted. Shared run: 9.
Pair insight - inoperable / intolerable
inoperable and intolerable are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62224, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
inoperable is recorded at frequency rank #38,908, classified as anadj. intolerable is at rank #23,316, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɪnˈtɑləɹəbl̩/.
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 62224, this pair ranks #89,678 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of inoperable vs intolerable
Shared letters: abeilnor. Private to "inoperable": p. Private to "intolerable": t.
"inoperable" · 10 letters · shape VCVCVCVCCV · "intolerable" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- inoperable ← innoperable · inoeprable · inopearble · inoperabble · inoperabel · inoperablle · inoperalbe · inoperbale
- intolerable ← inntolerable · inotlerable · intloerable · intoelrable · intolearble · intolerabble · intolerabel · intolerablle
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "inoperable" and "intolerable" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "inoperable" vs "intolerable" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pair "inoperable" vs "intolerable" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "inoperable" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "intolerable" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #89,678 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "inoperable" and "intolerable" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "intolerable vs intolerance". 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 #89,678 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.