Which to use
“insist” and “insists” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,798
- “insist” frequency rank
- #11,050
- “insists” frequency rank
- 17848
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | insist | insists |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To hold up a claim emphatically. | third-person singular simple present indicative of insist |
Where the eye mixes insist and insists
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. insist runs 6 letters (VCCVCC) against insists's 7 (VCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: insist vs insists
A purely visual mix-up. insist (/ɪnˈsɪst/) and insists (/ɪnˈsɪsts/) 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 extra letter(s) - “insist” sits inside “insists”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17848, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
insist is recorded at frequency rank #6,798, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈsɪst/. insists is at rank #11,050, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈsɪsts/.
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 17848, this pair ranks #448,751 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of insist vs insists
Shared letters: inst. Private to "insist": -. Private to "insists": -.
"insist" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "insists" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "insist" for "insists" ever safe?
Frequency check: "insist" vs "insists" - which ranks higher?
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 "insist" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "insists" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #448,751 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "insist" and "insists" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "innit vs insist". 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 #448,751 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.